Visual Arts and Film Studies

Visual Arts and Film Studies

Ability & Dance

 

This assignment continues the discussion of ability and disability in dance from Lesson 6, resources 6.10 and 6.11. It also examines dance within a narrative structure much like the musicals from Lesson 4. Dance is used sometimes as an occupation or social setting, sometimes in an abstract way. While ability is present, there are other themes that arise including gender identity and relationships. Read through the entire assignment first then create a thesis statement about ability/disability in dance and answer the following prompts.

Paragraph 1

Explain ability and disability in dance, briefly and broadly. For instance, how do these concepts mesh together? How do these concepts affect your personal definition of dance? How have dance and ability historically and culturally intersected? This paragraph will require you to do some outside research and cite your sources. The following short essay can provide some thoughtful contexts for your discussion: http://acceleratedmotion.wesleyan.edu/primary_sources/texts/bodiesandmachines/other_body.pdf

Paragraph 2

Describe how The Cost of Living reflects the themes of ability. Choose two specific dance scenes; compare them and discuss how each dance contributes to the themes and characters. In your analysis, address the Form, Technique, and Structure of the dance sequences in the film. Though each element might not carry equal weight, carefully consider which element will stand as your strongest evidence.

Although this is not a musical, it does use dance as an integral part of the narrative. To discuss the two dance scenes, consider a variety of topics that have been covered in this course. These include gender, socio-economic status, “otherness” and exoticism, vernacular dance and pedestrian movement forms, and autobiographical story telling like Bill T. Jones. How is dance a metaphor for ability? Is physical ability the only kind of disability represented? How do ideas of gender, sexuality, and identity intersect in your examples and throughout the short film?

And, yes, this is not an American production. Are there aspects of this dance film that are hard to relate to or understand—are there cultural differences that impact your own experience and perspective on ability and dance?
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