UC Riverside UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Dancing in the Fringe: Connections Forming An Evening of Experimental Middle Eastern Dance Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/92c9590z Author Osweiler, Laura Publication Date 2011 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE Dancing in the Fringe: Connections Forming An Evening of Experimental Middle Eastern Dance A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Dance History and Theory by Laura Josephine-Hosch Osweiler June 2011 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Sally A. Ness, Co-Chairperson Dr. Linda J. Tomko, Co-Chairperson Dr. Marguerite Waller Dr. Anthea Kraut Copyright by Laura Josephine-Hosch Osweiler 2011 The Dissertation of Laura Josephine-Hosch Osweiler is approved: ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Committee Co-Chairperson ___________________________________ Committee Co-Chairperson University of California, Riverside ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to my Co-Chairs, Sally Ness and Linda Tomko, who tirelessly read through numerous drafts of my dissertation. Your strong guidance helped focus my research and lead me to become a better scholar. I am grateful to Marguerite Waller, Parama Roy, Anthea Kraut, and Derek Burrill for participating on my PhD committees. I would like to acknowledge the Department of Dance at University of California at Riverside for the financial support, scholarships, and teaching opportunities that helped me pursue my studies and research. Thank you to Amanda Hosch, Fred Hosch, and Maria Talamantes for reading through my dissertation. Your insights and feedback were invaluable. Special thanks to Anaheed, Claudia, Djahari, Elayssa, Jean, and Tatianna for graciously opening their lives and work to me. I appreciate your trust in me. I am indebted to you all for supporting me not only as a scholar, an artist, but also as a friend. I am also grateful of all my friends who have encouraged me along the way. Thanks to all the EEMED choreographers, performers, staff, and crew who have participated in EEMED over the years. I am forever indebted to Greg Osweiler. You have supported me in countless ways during my schooling and career in dance. I am grateful for your love and patience. Thank you. iv ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Dancing in the Fringe: Connections Forming An Evening of Experimental Middle Eastern Dance by Laura Josephine-Hosch Osweiler Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Dance History and Theory University of California, Riverside, June 2011 Dr. Sally A. Ness, Co-Chairperson Dr. Linda J. Tomko, Co-Chairperson This dissertation examines the development of experimental Middle Eastern dance in the United States. It focuses on terminology, ideas, and practices presented by six choreographers and their works performed at An Evening of Experimental Middle Eastern Dance (EEMED). In order to understand the emergence of experimental Middle Eastern dance, the dissertation analyzes discursive practices of genres and types of relationships choreographers produce between “traditional” and “experimental” Middle Eastern dance. The data for this dissertation primarily comes from oral history interviews conducted with six core EEMED choreographers. In order to present their original and innovative contributions, the project factors in literature from two groups with which they frequently connect, including dance scholarship covering predominantly the fields of Middle Eastern dance, American modern dance, American post-modern dance, and the v American Middle Eastern dance community. The project not only works to formulate theories that grow out of the core EEMED choreographers’ practices but supports them with scholarly theories, including Judith Butler’s gender construction, Edward Soja’s Thirdspace, Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s rhizome, Michel Foucault’s discourse, and Amy Devitt’s, John Frow’s, and Carolyn Miller’s genre construction. This dissertation demonstrates that through citation and reiteration most traditional Middle Eastern dance genres conceal their construction and solidify over time into stable inner essences, naturalness, and identities. In this process, they push those who do not comply with rules and structures into the margins. However, the core EEMED choreographers expand and empower these margins. Their practices highlight uniqueness and hybridization over repetition and solidification and create fluid movement through porosity borders. By claiming their experimental Middle Eastern dance is a part of Middle Eastern dance, the core EEMED choreographers expand Middle Eastern dance’s genre repertoire. Thereby, they create a new discourse of Middle Eastern dance. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE CORE EEMED CHOREOGRAPHERS ..................... 2 INTRODUCTION TO EEMED ................................................................................ 7 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT .................................................................. 14 METHODOLOGY AND DISCOURSE ANAYLSIS ............................................. 21 Oral History .................................................................................................... 22 Discursive Practices of Genres ....................................................................... 29 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 34 Introduction to the American Middle Eastern Dance Community ................. 34 Introduction to the Dance Scholars ................................................................. 36 FORM OF THE DISSERTATION .......................................................................... 41 CONCLUSION OF THE INTRODUCTION .......................................................... 45 SECTION ONE CHAPTER TWO, PART ONE TRADITIONAL MIDDLE EASTERN DANCE GENRES............................................. 47 INTRODUCTION TO PART ONE......................................................................... 49 ETHNIC DANCE .................................................................................................... 50 Dance Scholars’ Views ................................................................................... 51 American Middle Eastern Dance Writers’ Views .......................................... 53 Core EEMED Choreographers’ Views ........................................................... 55 Conclusion to Ethnic Dance............................................................................ 57 TRIBAL DANCE .................................................................................................... 59 Dance Scholars’ Views ................................................................................... 60 American Middle Eastern Dance Writers’ Views .......................................... 62 Core EEMED Choreographers’ Views ........................................................... 63 Conclusion to Tribal Dance ............................................................................ 64 FOLK DANCE ........................................................................................................ 64 Dance Scholars’ Views ................................................................................... 65 American Middle Eastern Dance Writers’ Views .......................................... 68 Core EEMED Choreographers’ Views ........................................................... 69 Conclusion to Folk Dance ............................................................................... 72 RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT PRACTICES .............................................................. 72 Dance Scholars’ Views ................................................................................... 73 American Middle Eastern Dance Writers’ Views .......................................... 79 Core EEMED Choreographers’ Views ........................................................... 77 Conclusion to Religious Movement Practices ................................................ 82 CONCLUSION TO PART ONE ............................................................................. 83 vii CHAPTER TWO, PART TWO TRADITIONAL MIDDLE EASTERN DANCE GENRES............................................. 88 STAGED-FOLK DANCE ....................................................................................... 89 Dance Scholars’ Views ................................................................................... 90 American Middle Eastern Dance Writers’ Views .......................................... 93 Core EEMED Choreographers’ Views ........................................................... 95 Conclusion to Staged-Folk Dance .................................................................. 97 CLASSICAL DANCE ............................................................................................. 97 Dance Scholars’ Views ................................................................................... 98 American Middle Eastern Dance Writers’ Views ........................................ 101 Core EEMED Choreographers’ Views ......................................................... 102 Conclusion to Classical Dance .....................................................................