A call for papers for a dance-oriented session at the International Congress for Medieval Studies taking place next May in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Responses are needed pronto, as the paperwork has to be in to the Congress by the end of September. The conference is huge and very exciting, with scholars in many disciplines from all over the world; I've presented there the last three years (including my particularly exciting travel experience in 2008) and hope to have a paper there this year as well. They're looking for something a little beyond a simple dance reconstruction -- more on the process of reconstruction itself and the history of dance reconstruction and connections between dance history and other fields of study.
The call for papers:
Long Ago and Far Away: Intra-European perspectives on early modern dance.
Early Dance at Kalamazoo
45th International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 13-16, 2010)
Early Dance at Kalamazoo is an organization formed to encourage further scholarship at Kalamazoo in the field of early dance and its relation to other disciplines, including literature, art history, musicology, theater, history, and textiles through the interdisciplinary pursuit, independently or in conjunction, of textual and performative research. We are particularly interested in forming links between scholars in the field of dance history and those in other disciplines, as each group is, to its detriment, often unaware of the significant work done by the other. We focus on different aspects of issues in dance reconstruction and the general subject area, bringing together scholars of dance, manuscript illumination, textiles, and church history.
This year's proposed session looks at cross-cultural aspects of and perspectives on early modern dance, its history, and textual background, such as the Renaissance French interpretation of dance in the Ottoman Empire. It is a segment of the field that is rarely studied or discussed and deserves greater attention in order to further understanding of greater cross-cultural currents in 15th and 16th century Europe.
We are seeking papers dealing with these themes for the session entitled "Long Ago and Far Away: Intra-European perspectives on early modern dance." Abstracts are to be sent to [email protected] before the end of September.
My best wishes, Susan!
Posted by: Serge | September 16, 2009 at 01:45 PM
Not early dance, but I watched Mad Hot Ballroom last night and that's certainly young dance!
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | September 16, 2009 at 09:58 PM
Is that the documentary about the NYC students? I saw that and thought it was great, though too bad the teachers focused on competitive dance.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | September 17, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Yes, the fifth-graders in NYC. I'm not sure the kids would have learned as well if it wasn't competitive.
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | September 17, 2009 at 05:13 PM
Possible. But is that the ONLY motivator for things? (Would more kids like to read if we did all reading instruction in the form of contests?)
In dance, in particular, the competitive stuff is really a warping of a social activity - it's like doing sex as a contest or conversation as a contest.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | September 18, 2009 at 09:06 AM
I'm not big on learning that's based on competition with people other than myself.
Posted by: Serge | September 18, 2009 at 10:55 AM
Schools and libraries DO have reading competitions, though, where kids try to read the most books/pages/words. There's also spelling bees, geography bees, and maybe math bees? I dunno. I was homeschooled so I missed all of that stuff.
People are competitive by nature. I have to admit that if the chance arose, I would enter a belly dance competition just for the chance to practice dancing in front of an audience and see how I ranked against others in my region. It's not something I'd make a habit of, but once or twice would be either fun or ego-crushing.
Posted by: AJ | September 18, 2009 at 04:11 PM
As AJ says, there's a lot of competition in getting kids to read. Many people, kids and adults, are more likely to try things if they're competitive.
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | September 18, 2009 at 05:58 PM
AJ.... People are competitive by nature
As far as I can remember, yes, I'd find it great if I won. But I think the important thing was, like I said before, to be the best I could be.
Posted by: Serge | September 18, 2009 at 06:00 PM