World History of the Dance / Spring 2025

      I   Unit: Diasporic Eclecticism Theme: Carnival Introduction The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term describes the process of dispersal and the dispersed ethnic population. The African Diaspora has been formed by the movements of Africans and their descendants. Their varied ethnic groups found common ground in the Americas. Their traditions mixed with other diasporic influences from Indigenous America, Europe and Asia. Carnival is an example of how carnival is performed in different areas if the Americas as an eclectic transformation of other cultures.     II   Learning Objectives  Understand carnival as an expression of African diasporic history Explain the meaning of the terms circum-Atlantic memory and socio-cultural density Gain an awareness of the meaning of  the society of the spectacle Experience carnival dan...

  I   Unit: Cultural Eclecticism Theme: Comparsa Introduction Eclecticism adopts elements from various systems without necessarily integrating them into a single cohesive framework. This distinction allows for a broader, more inclusive approach in eclecticism, where the selection is based on individual merit or preference rather than an attempt to create a new unified tradition. The Spanish conquistadors did not plan for their culture to eclectically mix with other traditions. Comparsa , a street dance performed by a neighborhood band has elements from all cultures that shared the same space in the Americas.   II   Learning Objectives  Understand carnival as an expression of African diasporic history Explain the meaning of the terms Circum-Atlantic memory and socio-cultural density Gain an awareness of the meaning of  the society of the spectacle Experience carnival dance choreography  III   Main Lesson    1     Havana Que...

   Unit: Syncretic Retentions from African Iron Age Theme:  Dances of the Orishas    I     Capoeira Circle Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian cultural practice – simultaneously a fight and a dance – that can be interpreted as a tradition, a sport and even an art form. Capoeira players form a circle at the centre of which two players engage with one another. The movements require great bodily dexterity.     II   Introduction Cultural retention, such as capoeira, is the act of retaining the culture of a specific ethnic group of people, especially when there is reason to believe that the culture, through inaction, may be lost . Many African-American cultures experience cultural retention as a result of the influx of Africans into the Americas during the slave trade. The larges group brought to Cuba, for instance, was the Bantu (colloquially referred to as Palo Monte, or the rule of Congo), then the Yoruba (colloquially referred to...