READ THIS ENTIRE PAGE VERY CAREFULLY BEFORE VIEWING THE VIDEO!
Write a ‘journal entry’ that will allow you to do some self-reflection about your religious and cultural beliefs as well as your views of the body. When responding to the video below, it will be necessary to interrogate your own biases and beliefs.
As you have learned in this unit, our beliefs about the body shape how we dance and how we experience dance as an observer. When we are watching a dance, we are noticing and judging the bodies that are dancing. We witness their size, age, gender, ethnicity, and race, and we might make guesses about their sexuality. Our biases, both recognized and implicit, will impact our reactions.
STOP! IMPORTANT: do not attempt this assignment if you haven’t read this week’s lecture and the “I See America Dancing” course reading. The information in these documents will be essential in your journal response. Also, review both of the following documents before completing this assignment.
Google links: Journal Entry Instructions Links to an external site. and Journal Rubric. Links to an external site.
Let me know if you would prefer a word doc for the documents above and I can send it to you.
Now What?
You will watch a video (posted below) and respond in writing. This assignment is NOT a CRITIQUE of the dancing or the dance form you will watch. Instead, this assignment is meant to have you reflect on your own reactions and the experiences, beliefs, and influences that shape your response. It is an opportunity to understand your biases and the lens through which you are looking at dance and the world.
Answer the following questions within your response paper. Create a cohesive 1 to 1.5 page response.
What is your initial response to this dancing? Analyze why you think you feel this way about the dancing.
What cultural, social, or religious beliefs contribute to your response?
How do your views about the body impact and influence your reaction? Where do your views of the body come from?
We all have biases. What biases are contributing to your reaction?
And,
What are the emotional, physical, artistic, creative, and/or cultural benefits of this dance form?
How do you imagine that this dance empowers the dancers?
Why do you think this dance has cultural power? Why do you think this dance is important?