Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-228) and index.
Contents:
Comparing aesthetics of whiteness and nonwhiteness in relation to American dance -- Loíe Fuller, "Goddess of Light," and Josephine Baker, 'Black Venus" : non-narrative choreography as mere 'spectacle' -- George Balanchine, "Genius of American Dance" : whiteness, choreography, copyrightability in American dance -- Martha Graham, "Picasso of American Dance," and Katherine Dunham, 'Matriarch of Black Dance' : exoticism and nonwhiteness in American dance -- Moving into new directions : Cunningham and Ailey.
Summary:
"The effort to win federal copyright protection for dance choreography in the United States was a simultaneously racialized and gendered contest. Copyright and choreography, particularly as tied with whiteness, have a refractory history. This book examines the evolution of choreographic works from being federally non-copyrightable, unless they partook of dramatic or narrative structures, to becoming a category of works potentially copyrightable under the 1976 Copyright Act. Crucial to this evolution is the development of whiteness as status property, both as an aesthetic and cultural force and a legally accepted and protected form of property. The choreographic inheritances of Loíe Fuller, George Balanchine, and Martha Graham are particularly important to map because these constitute crucial sites upon which negotiations on how to package bodies of both choreographers and dancers--as racialized, sexualized, nationalized, and classed--are staged, reflective of larger social, political, and cultural tensions"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.