ABSTRACT This thesis examines Urban Bush Women's contemporary dance work, HairStories, through the lens of three musical impulses as explained by ethnomusicologist Craig Werner: blues, jazz, and gospel. Werner developed this musical framework to analyze black music from the 1950's to the present to provide additional insight into America's struggle to be a democracy. Interestingly, Werner's theory can be applied to the movement and message of Urban Bush Women's HairStories to understand the piece's embodied method of grappling with the burden of America's racial history. Through the driving thematic concept of hair, choreographer Jawole Zollar and her company take the viewer on a journey that addresses black women and community. This journey intersperses personal history, notable hair figures, and creative representations of hair rituals to educate multicultural audiences, validate multiple voices, and reveal the necessity of community in challenging racist and sexist social injustice. Demonstrated through often humorous and sometimes tragic childhood stories of getting hair done, the blues impulse offers a cathartic release that allows overwhelming experiences to be bearable. The jazz impulse is evidenced through a Dr. Professor character, who questions assumptions of race and gender in language and movement. Jazz also encourages the constant process of redefinition - to self, to community, and to the past. The final impulse, gospel, suggests that redemption, transcendence, and freedom are found communally. / A Thesis submitted to the School of Dance in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Fall Semester, 2011. / March 30, 2011. / African-American, Dance, Hair, Women / Includes bibliographical references. / Tricia Young, Professor Directing Thesis; Sally Sommer, University Representative; Jennifer Atkins, Committee Member; Lynda Davis, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_182921 |
| Contributors | Howell, Rachel (authoraut), Young, Tricia (professor directing thesis), Sommer, Sally (university representative), Atkins, Jennifer (committee member), Davis, Lynda (committee member), School of Dance (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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