Dance 377 - ADV ST. HIST & AESTHETC: SALSA

Spring
2018
01
4.00
Lester Tomé
M 07:00-10:00
Smith College
30785-S18
THEATR 207A
ltome@smith.edu
This course explores a specific idea, concept, period, person or event important in the history and/or aesthetics of dance. Topics vary depending on the instructor’s research and expertise. Enrollment limited to 20.: This course promotes theoretical and embodied knowledge of salsa through seminar sessions and dance lessons. It examines the literature on salsa, cutting across the fields of history, anthropology, musicology and cultural studies. Readings, documentaries, class discussions and research assignments situate salsa as an expression of Latino, Caribbean and Latin American cultures, but also as a global product through which dancers and musicians perform notions of gender, ethnicity, ideology, nationality and transnationalism. Theoretical discussions are paired with dance lessons that familiarize students with salsa technique and foster an Afro-Caribbean approach to musicality, expressivity and improvisation. No previous dance experience is required.
Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.