Of the Presence of the Body

by Lepecki, Andre

• ISBN13: 9780819566126
• ISBN10: 0819566128
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-24
• Publisher: Wesleyan Univ Pr

Summary

Of the Presence of the Body gathers nine original essays by eminent scholars in the fields of dance and performance studies. Its focus is the historical, cultural and political contexts that inform choreographic and dance practices and critical readings of dance--in other words, how dance operates as critical discourse. The question that runs throughout the essays is the theoretical and political problem of "how dances come to be seen," how the presence of the body leaves its mark on critical theories and performances. Focusing exclusively on 20th century dance, the interdisciplinary perspectives range from history to race studies, deconstruction, Marxist theory, feminist theory, literary studies and feminist ethnography. The anthology provides an overview of the current methodologies and theoretical developments in the field of dance studies. These essays expand our understanding of the performing body, and their organization around the epistemological problem in dance studies--the dynamics of seeing, remembering and writing--will make the collection useful for classes in dance criticism and theory, cultural theory, performance studies, and aesthetics. CONTRIBUTORS: Barbara Browning, Ramsey Burt, Thomas De Frantz, Mark Franko, Andre Lepecki, Karmen MacKendrick, Susan Manning, Randy Martin, Peggy Phelan.

Author Biography

ANDRE LEPECKI is Assistant Professor in the Department of Performance Studies at New York University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction: Presence and Body in Dance and Performance Theory	1	(12)
ANDRÉ LEPECKI
I. Genealogies of Presence
1. Trisha Browns Orfeo: Two Takes on Double Endings	13	(16)
PEGGY PHELAN
2. Genealogy and Dance History: Foucault, Rainer, Bausch, and de Keersmaeker	29	(18)
RAMSAY BURT
II. Dancing Othering
3. Dance and Its Others: Theory, State, Nation, and Socialism	47	(17)
RANDY MARTIN
4. The Black Beat Made Visible: Hip Hop Dance and Body Power	64	(18)
THOMAS F. DEFRANTZ
5. Danced Spirituals	82	(15)
SUSAN MANNING
6. Breast Milk Is Sweet and Salty (A Choreography of Healing)	97	(16)
BARBARA BROWNING
III. Ontology's Events
7. Given Movement: Dance and the Event	113	(11)
MARK FRANKO
8. Inscribing Dance	124	(16)
ANDRÉ LEPECKI
9. Embodying Transgression	140	(17)
KARMEN MACKENDRICK
Notes	157	(20)
Contributors	177	(2)
Index	179