First major study of two important contemporary female dancers.
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Chandralekha are major choreographers of the 20th century whose work will leave the dance field with a legacy as important and strong as that of Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey. Zollar is Artistic Director of the world-renowned company, The Urban Bush Women (based in New York City), and Chandralekha is an Indian choreographer (based in Madras) who has performed internationally and is known for her radical mixing of postmodern and traditional dance forms. In this nuanced and in-depth study, dance scholar Ananya Chatterjea shows how each of these choreographers has positioned herself through performance in terms of gender, race, and nationality. Reading each dancer's major works in order to assess their unique contributions to the development of global culture, Butting Out does important theoretical work to identify common threads in the history of cultural production and the aesthetic philosophies of the artists. Chatterjea draws on theory from an array of complementary fields, including women's studies, African-American studies, and postcolonial studies. The book is beautifully enhanced by 42 black and white photographs.
“In her clairvoyant contribution to the emerging discourse on class, race, and gender in dance, Chatterjea’s treatment of Zollar’s and Chandralekha’s artistry simultaneously complexifies and illuminates.” —Brenda Dixon Gottschild, author of The Black Dancing Body
“The scholarship is masterful. Chatterjea utilizes diverse voices and discourses to present new slants on choreographic works, historical developments, and theoretical constructs.”—Veta Goler, Chair of Drama and Dance, Spelman College
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ANANYA CHATTERJEA is Assistant Professor of Theater Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota. She is also Artistic Director of the dance company Women in Motion.
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