Ethnic and Racial Formation on the Concert Stage: a Comparative Analysis of Tap Dance and Appalachian Step Dance
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Ethnic and Racial Formation on the Concert Stage: A Comparative Analysis of Tap Dance and Appalachian Step Dance Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Janet Kathleen Schroeder, MFA Graduate Program in Dance Studies The Ohio State University 2018 Dissertation Committee: Harmony Bench, Advisor Melanye White Dixon Kwaku Larbi Korang Hannah Kosstrin Copyright by Janet Kathleen Schroeder 2018 Abstract “Ethnic and Racial Formation on the Concert Stage: A Comparative Analysis of Tap Dance and Appalachian Step Dance” is a revisionist project that explores the shared aesthetics and historical trajectories of these two percussive dance practices, which have ultimately developed into two distinct forms of dance. This dissertation investigates the choreographic and representational strategies choreographers use to transfer the histories and legacies of tap dance and Appalachian step dance to the stage, namely through a process I call concertization. In each analysis, I pay particular attention to representations of the complex ethnic and racial identities affiliated with each form and ways concertization highlights or obscures such affiliations. Additionally, I aim to understand the relationship between the practices of tap dance and Appalachian step dance and what I see as a contested idea of “America” as it is represented through choreography. My analyses suggest the migration of rhythm tap dance and Appalachian step dance from vernacular and social contexts to the concert stage is in tension with the ways these dance forms, as vernacular practices, also engage in the consolidation of ethnic and racial identities. As a result, concertized versions of tap dance and Appalachian step dance may inadvertently whitewash the racial projects of dancing in-situ in favor of presenting a unified vision of America. One strategy dance artists engage to disrupt whitewashed representational hegemony in concert dance contexts is to reassert the ethnic and racial affiliations of these dance forms specifically by making what I call their “dancestry” visible through their choreography and improvisation. i To undertake this investigation, I employ parallel analytical frameworks, which enable me to address the physical movement legacies of the practices within their social, cultural, and historical contexts. Examining what I call aesthetic philosophies, localized values, and dancestry, three frames that emerged through movement and historical analysis, I emphasize the importance of the past to both tap dance and Appalachian step dance. Further, these frames enable nuanced comparisons of the ways these practices conceive of historical continuity. Running parallel to this is the theoretical frame of ethno-racial projects, which enable me both to address socio- cultural and historical elements of the dance practices including their ethnic and racial inheritances as well as the representation of such legacies on the concert stage. Engaging a range of research methods including movement and choreographic analysis, participant observation, archival research, discourse analysis, and interviews with choreographers, I address the formal, aesthetic components of choreography as well as contextual elements that inform concert dance choreography. These include the forces that shape a dance practice over time, the social and political climate in which a dance was created, or a choreographer’s unique experiences and perspectives. My dissertation research contributes to a growing body of research on intercultural influences in dance practices and adds critical perspectives on two genres of dance that are not well-represented in the field of dance studies. ii Acknowledgments First, I thank my committee for guiding me kindly yet rigorously throughout the process of writing this dissertation. To my advisor, Dr. Bench, I am grateful for your clear, calm, and generous guidance as I navigated the unfamiliar terrain of dissertation research and writing. I sincerely would not have found my way to where I am without your support. Dr. Dixon, I have enjoyed our many conversations during my time at OSU, and I have especially appreciated your enthusiasm for this project. Dr. Korang, thank you for your patience and your incredibly challenging questions. Dr. Kosstrin, I continue to be amazed by the arsenal of dance scholarship and history you maintain at the ready. Thank you for sharing so much of it with me. In addition to my committee, I am grateful to many faculty mentors who have offered support and guidance in innumerable ways, from casual conversations to excellent assignments during coursework and beyond. Thank you especially to Maura Keefe, Candace Feck, Melanie Bales, Leslie Alexander, Dorry Noyes, and Katherine Borland. This project is what it is because of the choreographies I have been able to study so deeply. For engaging in conversation with me about their work, I thank Eileen Carson Schatz, Michelle Dorrance, Becky Hill, and Sharon Leahy. Though I did not write about their work, I also thank Brenda Bufalino and Livia Vanaver for talking with me. I am also appreciative of the informal conversations and correspondence I shared with Lynn Dally. And finally, while we did iii not connect to talk specifically about her work, I am indebted to Dormeshia Sumbry Edwards for leading the way on a rich piece that I continue to learn from. This research would not have been possible without generous support in the form of fellowships, grants, and scholarships. I am grateful for the Presidential Fellowship from the Graduate School at The Ohio State University, which enabled me to focus full-time on this dissertation research over the course of the last year. Thank you to Norton Owen, Director of Preservation at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, for your enthusiastic support and for offering me multiple research fellowships over the years. Further research support includes: OSU College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship, Coca-Cola Critical Difference for Women Research Grant administered by the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at OSU, OSU Council of Graduate Students sponsored Professional Development Grant and Ray Travel Award for Service and Scholarship, and finally many small grants from the Department of Dance at OSU as part of the Semester Funding Initiative. I have been honored by opportunities to explore my research choreographically, and for this I am indebted to Laurie Bell at Ohio Northern University and Elizabeth Osborn at University of Georgia. I am also grateful to my fellow percussive dance pals for talking and dancing with me over the years, which has brought my research to life again and again. Thank you Nic Gareiss, Lauren Squires, and the dancers of Movement Afoot. And to the musicians and dancers who participate in the old time jams and square dances at Rambling House, thank you for your willingness to include me, even if I only show up occasionally. To my peers on this graduate school journey, I am thankful for our conversations and “skull smashing sessions,” for sharing laughs and tears. We really could not do this alone. Thank you especially to Alex Harlig, Lyndsey Vader, and Kelly Klein for always being willing to read iv my work and to offer generous feedback even when the ideas were still germinating. Thank you also to Katelyn Sheffield, Joda Lee, Steven Ha, Kathryn Holt, Rohini Acharya, Benny Simon, Jazzlynn Goudy, Rachel Freeburg, and Quilan Arnold. And finally, I thank my family. Graduate school has been a long haul, and you have supported me all the way. Thank you for offering delightful distractions in the form of shopping trips and long days of swimming and sunshine with grown ups and kids alike. Thanks to Sally, Brent, Paige, and Dillon; Phil, Jodi, Taylor, Ally, and Sara; and Anne, Greg, Macy, Flynn, and Mia. Thanks especially to Mom and Dad. I do not know how I could have done this without you. I am eternally grateful for your continued support. And James, your patience and enthusiasm during long work days and your commitment to leisure have brought balance to life that I did not know I needed. Thank you. v Vita 2001 ............................................................... B.F.A. Musical Theatre, Ohio Northern University 2013 ............................................................... M.F.A. Dance, The College at Brockport, State University of New York 2013-2014 ..................................................... University Fellow, The Ohio State University 2014-2017 ..................................................... Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University 2018 ............................................................... Presidential Fellow, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major field: Dance Studies vi Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iii Vita ................................................................................................................................................. vi Introduction: Framing the Comparative Analysis ........................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Concertizing Vernacular Dance: Jazz Tap