The recent Dancing the African Diaspora Conference had 206 registrants and 70 presenters! Said Dance Program Director, Keval Khalsa: "Just want to extend my CONGRATULATIONS and gratitude once again to the Collegium for African Diaspora Dance (CADD) Executive Committee for an amazing weekend of scholarship, performance, workshops, dialogue, and inspiration. Through your collective efforts, the Conference was an open, respectful, sacred and spirited container that welcomed all participants, from the amazing keynote speakers to faculty, dance educators, students, etc. I loved the intergenerational span -- from babes in arms to elders. Everyone that I met/reconnected with expressed their gratitude for the conference and the opportunity to be part of it. Many, many and deeply heartfelt thanks for ALL your work!!"
The promotional interview (WUNC-FM's "the State of Things", 2/5/14) for the conference was picked up by NPR, generating some national exposure for Duke and Dance! http://wunc.org/post/duke-conference-dances-across-african-diaspora
Here are some informal photos of the conference taken by our friend, Alec Himwich. Thank you, Alec! http://www.alechimwich.com/Dance/Dance-Events/Conference-on-Dancing-the
"Dancing the African Diaspora: Theories of Black Performance" aims to re-ignite the discourse on defining black dance on a global scale by bringing together scholars, practitioners, educators, and other stakeholders for three days of intellectual and artistic inspiration.
- What sorts of embodied practices constitute African diaspora dance?
- In what ways has black dance been recognized and acknowledged?
- What sorts of historical events have placed dance into enactments of black struggles for civil rights and recognition of citizenship?
- How does dance, as a field of study, define African diasporic movement?
Anchored by special guests and provocative research presentations, the conference featured breakout sessions, movement workshops, film screenings, and a premiere performance by Urban Bush Women culminating their Duke residency. The conference committee intends to produce a volume of materials presented at the conference in an edited anthology.
Website: http://aaas.duke.edu/dancing-the-african-diaspora-2014
Sponsors:
- Collegium for African Diaspora Dance (CADD)
- Duke University Humanities Writ Large Grant
- SLIPPAGE: Performance|Culture|Technology in residence at Duke
- Corporeality Working Group
- Dance Program
- African and African American Studies Department of Duke University
Conference Committee|CADD Founding Members:
Takiyah Amin, Thomas F. DeFrantz, Shireen Dickson, Nadine George-Graves, Jasmine Johnson, Raquel Monroe, C. Kemel Nance, Carl Paris, John Perpener, Will Rawls, Makeda Thomas, Andrea E. Woods Valdés, Ava LaVonne Vinesett.