“There is a ladder.”: Reckoning the Contemporary Black Woman Perspective in Post/Modern Dance

Abstract

Black choreography is integral and vital yet underrepresented undercurrent in the history of American modern dance. This essay provides the historical foundation of modern dance and Black people's positionality within the lineage by analyzing dance historian contributions. The essay then shifts to analyzing traditional archival research and shifts to de-center colonial and racist archival practices. The archival methodologies I describe offer a continuation of community and liberatory archival practices to preserve, innovate, and integrate into existing Black choreographic archiving. In response to my observations in the archive and North Carolinian presentations of Black women choreograph, I have created a choreographic and curated installation. I curated text, video, photography, and edited images with Solomon Thuo to apply the curatorial and archival methods I have researched. Through There is a ladder. and my archival instigation, I embody and demonstrate a choreographic liberatory practice that explores Black women perspective beyond archival limitations. This essay provides the introduction, positionality, historical contexts, and my thesis offerings to Black feminist choreography and archive practices in dance studies.