Choreographies of 21st Century Wars

Wars in this century are radically different from the major conflicts of the 20th century--more amorphous, asymmetrical, globally connected, and unending. Choreographies of 21st Century Wars is the first book to analyze the interface between choreography and wars in this century, a pertinent inquiry since choreography has long been linked to war and military training. The book draws on recent political theory that posits shifts in the kinds of wars occurring since the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War, all of which were wars between major world powers. Given the dominance of today's more indeterminate, asymmetrical, less decisive wars, we ask if choreography, as an organizing structure and knowledge system, might not also need revision in order to reflect on, and intercede in, a globalized world of continuous warfare. In an introduction and sixteen chapters, authors from a number of disciplines investigate how choreography and war in this century impinge on each other. Choreographers write of how they have related to contemporary war in specific works, while other contributors investigate the interconnections between war and choreography through theatrical works, dances, military rituals and drills, the choreography of video war games and television shows. Issues investigated include torture and terror, the status of war refugees, concerns surrounding fighting and peacekeeping soldiers, national identity tied to military training, and more. The anthology is of interest to scholars in dance, performance, theater, and cultural studies, as well as the social sciences.

Auteur

Gay Morris is a New York based dance and art critic whose work has appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines, and journals. She is the author of A Game for Dancers: Performing Modernism in the Postwar Years, 1945-1960, and is the editor of a collection, Moving Words, Rewriting Dance. Morris is the reviews editor of Dance Research Journal and a member of the editorial board of Congress on Research in Dance. Jens Richard Giersdorf is an Associate Professor of Dance at Marymount Manhattan College. He is author of The Body of the People: East German Dance since 1945, and his work has been anthologized internationally and his articles have appeared in a number of scholarly journals. Giersdorf is a member of the Editorial Boards of the Society for Dance History Scholars and the Congress on Research in Dance.

Contenu

Preface Introduction: Contemporary Choreographies of Wars, Gay Morris and Jens Richard Giersdorf Chapter 1: Access Denied and Sumud: Making a Dance of Asymmetric Warfare, Nicholas Rowe Chapter 2: Questioning the Truth: Rachid Ouramdane's Investigation of Torture in Des Témoins Ordinaires/Ordinary Witnesses, Alessandra Nicifero Chapter 3: "There's a Soldier in All of Us": Choreographing Virtual Recruitment, Derek A. Burrill Chapter 4: African Refugees Asunder in South Africa: Performing the Fallout of Violence in Every Day, Every Year, I am Walking, Sarah Davies Cordova Chapter 5: From Temple to Battlefield: Bharata Natyam in the Sri Lankan Civil War, Janet O'Shea Chapter 6: Choreographing Masculinity in Contemporary Israeli Culture, Yehuda Sharim Chapter 7: Affective Temporalities: Dance, Media, and the War on Terror, Harmony Bench Chapter 8: Specter of War, Spectacle of Peace: The Lowering of Flag Ceremony at Wagah and Hussainiwala Borders, Neelima Jeychandran Chapter 9: A Choreographer's Statement, Bill T. Jones Chapter 10: Dancing in the Spring: Dance, Hegemony and Change, Rosemary Martin Chapter 11: War and P.E.A.C.E, Maaike Bleeker & Janez JanSa Chapter 12: The Body is the Frontline, Rosie Kay and Dee Reynolds Chapter 13: Geo-Choreography and Necropolitics: Faustin Linyekula's Studios Kabako, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ariel Osterweis Chapter 14: Re: moving bodies in the Mexico-USA drug, border, cold, and terror wars Ruth Hellier-Tinoco Chapter 15: After Cranach: War, Representation and the Body in William Forsythe's Three Atmospheric Studies, Gerald Siegmund Chapter 16: The Role of Choreography in Civil Society under Siege: William Forsythe's Three Atmospheric Studies, Mark Franko Contributors Index