When we watched the hip-hop video during “Week 1”, something stood out to me. There is a moment when hip-hop artist Rennie Harris refers to Fosse (Bob Fosse-famous for jazz in the US) and Balanchine (famous for innovating American ballet). This moment goes by very quickly in that video but Rennie Harris is talking about the African influence that made the work of these choreographers “new” and “modern” and “innovative”. Elements like “grounded-ness”, “polycentrism”, “polyrhythm”, “assymmetry”, and “the aesthetic of the cool” are a few of those elements in the choreography of both Fosse and Balanchine.

Read the essay “The Diaspora Dance Boom” written by dance-scholar Brenda Dixon-Gottschild.

Choose The Diaspora Dance Boom under Essays (Links to an external site.)

Respond by recording yourself or typing up responses to the following:

What is the author’s premise/thesis/main point?
What sources does the author refer to in the essay? Name one or two. (choreographer? dance company? author?)
Describe in your own words one of the Africanist Aesthetics (examples include poly-centered, grounded to the earth, aesthetic of the cool).

Sample Solution