THIS: February 22, 2009

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Part 6: Feb 26, 2009

Today we covered the framed photographs of the local dancers in Studio 300 with famous international dance artists/companies. Thank you thank you thank you to all of you who sent us photos. The photos you've provided have been valuable in informing our dialogue about which dance artists to represent in studio 300, and which we are choosing to leave out and place elsewhere in the building. The ones we didn't end up posting today, we are saving for later.

Today's posting was perhaps the most conflicting for us so far; as limiting as it may be, we ultimately decided on dance artists who fall under the category of what is labeled "Contemporary Dance" for the following reasons: 1. We wanted to provide an alternative to the photos that had originally been there (generally of Contemporary dance artists still alive and working, most or all of whom are U of M graduates, the majority White Americans) so as to provide international examples of Contemporary dance to contrast the local examples. The aim was to widen the scope but not change where it was looking; an alternative as opposed to a comprehensive cross-section of the world. 2. It is easier to find information about international "Contemporary Dance" companies and artists and search for photos which include performer citations that can print high enough quality in terms of file size. If we left gaps or were incomplete, it only speaks to our limited knowledge, education, and time - to thoroughly research every single awesome dance artist in the whole world while also reflecting all the cultural value systems for judging the signficance of each. We nonetheless did our best to represent, and we hope to go back and improve upon it, but no matter what, we will be leaving many important dance makers out. Our goal remains to provide an alternative; we are not attempting to assume a voice for everyone.

Dance Artists and Companies posted (clumped in terms of region but not in any particular order): Batsheva (Israel), Cairo Opera Dance Theatre (Egypt), Ibdaa Dance Troupe (Palestine), El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe (Palestine), Company Jant Bi (Senegal), Company Tche Tche (Cote d'Ivoire), Faustin Linyekula (South Africa), Gregory Maqoma/Vuyani Dance Theatre (South Africa), La Compañía Danza Fragmentada (Cuba), Makeda Thomas (Trinidad), Cloud Gate (Taiwan), Jin Xing (China), Sankai Juku (Japan), Astad Deboo (India), Jayachandran/Attakalari (India), Padmini Chettur (India), Navtej Singh Johar (India), Amrita Performing Arts (Cambodia), EcnaD (Singapore), Lee Swee Keong (Malaysia), Sardono Katsumo(Indonesia)

Combined person hours: 24
This figures does include last minute research and printing.
This figure does not include all research, organizing, printing, hashing and rehashing ideas, documentation, and recovery.

Financial costs: final costs to be calculated. We ran out of colored ink today ($42). $16 on more photo paper.

We did not take "before" photos. Our mistake.

PHOTOS AFTER

View entire album at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/thisbyus/Part6#

Sub-Saharan African, Indian Subcontinent, South America, Southeast Asia

From part 6

Middle Eastern

From part 6

Middle Eastern, East Asian, Carribean

From part 6

click below to view entire album:

part 6

Response: February 25 2009

This is the full text of the email sent to the dance program email list-serve, by the director of the dance program: Dr Ananya Chatterjea. It is the first official response we have received since we started the protest two weeks (15 days) ago.

Sub: [Dance] student activism
Date: 2/25/2009 7:42 AM

Dear all,

Many of us have recently witnessed an exhibit sprung from us from the stairwell of Barker. This has now spread to 301 and the entrances from the lobby.

Researching, planning, and realizing this exhibit has, no doubt, taken considerable time, energy, and resources. I still do not know who is responsible for this exhibit, but I have been tracking its progress.

I want to congratulate whoever has done this because of the thoughtful and thought-provoking insights with which this exhibit is filled. In particular, the thoughts around Black History Month draw our attention to today, what we need to do to think through our location in a month dedicated to commemorating "black history." I thank you for your work and for your guerilla tactics. I also thank you for your respect. There has been no angry defacing of walls but a filling up of spaces.

I am proud of this exhibit and am excited that as people from far and wide come to our campus during ACDF, they will witness a thoughtful and reflective group of students.

Thank you
Ananya

Monday, February 23, 2009

Response: Feb 23

Walking down the stairwell from the 3rd to the 2nd floor, we saw that someone had contributed by writing on one of our neon arrows.

From responses: feb 23

We responded.

From responses: feb 23

Also, approaching the inside of the 2nd floor door, from inside the stairwell, we saw that one of our postings had been ripped.

From responses: feb 23

So we replaced it, making it bigger.

From responses: feb 23

We also realized we had made a mistake: we credited Eriq LaSalle instead of Mekhi Phifer underneath his photo from "ER". We fixed it.

From responses: feb 23

click below to view album:

From responses: feb 23

http://picasaweb.google.com/thisbyus/ResponsesFeb23#

part 5: feb 23

Today we spilled out onto the third floor - the third floor foyer/lobby and classroom 301. 301 is where all of our history and theory courses take place. This is the same classroom where, 3 years ago, the faculty promised they were going to change the framed photographs of famous white dance artists to reflect the multitude of dance artists of color who have been seminal figures in shaping modern dance history. To date, the photos have not been changed.

So in honor of Black History Month (February), we have done it ourselves, for 16 of the photos in classroom 301, plus 2 in the foyer between classroom 301 and Studio 300. We posted photographs of seminal black dancers and choreographers over the glass frames, which included (in first name alphabetical order): Alvin Ailey, Arthur Mitchell, Bill "BoJangles" Robinson, Bill T. Jones, Carmen de LaVallade, Dianne Walker, Frankie Manning, Gregory Hines, Henry LeTang, Josephine Baker, Judith Jamison, Katherine Dunham, Norma Miller, Ralph Lemon, Robert Reed, Sammy Davis Jr, Savion Glover, Tight Eyez

In the 3rd floor foyer, we posted photos of the following African Americans (alphabetical order): Florence Griffith-Joyner, Langston Hughes, Melvin Tolson, Nikki Giovanni

We posted in both 301 and in the foyer writings and quotes from the following African Americans (alphabetical order): Angela Davis, August Wilson Jr., Colin Powell, Damion, Gwendolyn Brooks, James Baldwin, James Weldon Johnson, John Hope Franklin, Larry Wilmore, Malcolm X, Marimba Ani, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Ralph Ellison, W.E.B. Dubois, Yolanda Pierce, Zora Neale Hurston

One quote from a non-African American: Susun Weed

Combined person hours: 17
This figure does not include research, organizing, printing, hashing and rehashing ideas, documentation...and recovery.

Financial costs: final costs to be calculated. Today we spent $85 on refilling ink cartridges that had been brand new as of part 2 of this protest and had not been used for printing any other material. spent $15 on photo paper. Regular office paper, multiple rolls of tape.

PHOTOS BEFORE

View entire album at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/thisbyus/Part5Before#

before