DANCE AND PERFORMANCE ART HISTORY

This course is part of two Master Degree Programs: the first is History of Arts and Conservation of Artistic Heritage, aiming at providing a well-rounded education with in-depth knowledge of artistic phenomena. The second is the Master Degree Program is Economics and Management of Arts and Cultural Activities (EGArt) that provides a understanding of the dynamics and complexities of the creative industries. The specific goals of the course are: to provide a basic knowledge of contemporary dance and performance art and of the workings of the various models of representation and of audience response. Reaching these goals will enable students to widen their knowledge in the field of contemporary art and develop their critical skills. Specific terminology indispensable to understand the texts under scrutiny will be introduced and examined in class.

Students are invited to relate the contents of the course to their entire curriculum and, in particular, to situate dance history in the broader context of the history of the arts. Students are expected to be able to take notes in class and to express, in their required final paper, clear and well-argued points the contents of the course, using specific dance and performing arts terminology.

An advanced knowledge of written English is required to understand some of the required texts and excerpts from the dance shows examined in class.

The course presents a selection of 20th- and 21st-century choreographic works and performances that are directly or indirectly linked to the construction, representation, and reception of gender, ethnic, national, religious identities. Some lessons are dedicated to the programming of performances and contemporary dance in museums and art galleries and refers to the project supported by Creative Europe "Dancing Museums. The Democracy of Beings" (2018-2021) coordinated at Ca' Foscari by Susanne Franco. For students unable to attend the syllabus is the same and a meeting with the professor is necessary to agree upon the topic of the final paper.

Alessandro Pontremoli, La danza 2.0. Paesaggi coreografici del nuovo millennio, Roma, Laterza, 2018 (chapters 3, 4, 7).

R. Goldberg (a cura di) Performance. Live Art Since the 60s, London, Thames and Hudson, 2004 (1998) (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4).

C. Wood, Performance in Contemporary Art, London, Tate Publishing, 2018.

L. Vergine, L'arte in trincea. Lessico delle tendenze artistiche 1960-1990, Milano, Skira, 1996.

A selection of essays and videos will be available after each class (see moodle: the password is provided via email by Prof. Franco).

The final exam consists in a paper of 15 pages (30.000 signs, spaces included) that will be discussed during the orals. The topic of the paper must be previously agreed with the professor. The paper must involve substantial coverage of the texts in the reading list and of a couple of additional volumes or four articles specifically related to the chosen topic. Cross-disciplinary observations will be particularly appreciated. The paper should be submitted as a word file in its draft version (containing the bibliography and a clear structure) about 15 days before the exam in order to be revised and approved by the professor. The final version should be submitted a week before the exam. To edit the paper the student should use the file “Norme per la stesura della tesi” (available in the section of moodle.unive.it dedicated to this class).

Lectures with screenings of images and videos. The course offers an e-learning platform (moodle.unive.it) where selected materials, links to the videos, and bibliographic and videographic suggestions are available.

Italian

written and oral