Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Vesperi, Maria D.
Keywords
Contra, Collective Performance, Embodiment
Area of Concentration
Anthropology
Abstract
This thesis is an ethnography of practice on concentrating on contra, a contemporary American folk dance. Contra is also a style of music; both are inspired by European dance traditions and oldtime American music traditions. Present-day contra is unique because it is a collectively embodied performance art that does not assume an audience, and is therefore fully participatory in its approximation of social equality. Aside from using participant observation at the 2012 Snow Ball in Gulfport, Florida to approximate the experience of contra, this thesis is an account of change in the tradition from past to present, while attempting to comment on the atomizing tendencies of the modernized world by articulating contra as an act that establishes community by means of collective recognition and acceptance of difference, through a contextually accepted assumption that "all dancers are equal."
Recommended Citation
Lado, Julie Allison, "Contra Dance An Example of Fully Participatory Dance Performance in the United States" (2012). Theses & ETDs. 4622.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/4622
Rights
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