Alice Hasters and Kurt A. Douglas, moderated by Peter DiMuro
Alice Hasters, German author and journalist, and Kurt A. Douglas, Professor of Dance at Boston Conservatory, talk about diversity in dance.
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Who dances and how, what we see as culturally and artistically relevant, is strongly influenced by racism – an assumption Alice Hasters is researching in her fellowship at the Thomas Mann House in LA. The notion that "Black people can dance, white people can't" is particularly strong in multi-ethnic societies. In Western societies, dance seems to be something that is incompatible with power. The rich, the white, the male, the heterosexual, the old - they don't dance - unless they have a stage or are not sober.
This conversation will explore some of the following questions:
To what extent does dance as a lived or as a non-lived practice shape black, white and other identities? Can dance be an instrument to dismantle and challenge positions of power? What does diversity in dance really mean? Is dance universal –can everybody dance? Or is dance an expression of your own specific identity?
Alice Hasters was born 1989 in Cologne, Germany. She studied journalism at Ludwig Maximilian Universität and the Deutsche Journalistenschule in Munich. She worked as a digital format developer and host for institutions such as Tagesschau, RBB and Deutschlandfunk. Hasters is the Co-founder of Podcast „Feuer&Brot“, which she is running independently with Maximiliane Häcke. Today she works as an author, writing and speaking about social justice, race and identity.
Publications (Selection)
2021 | Schwarz wird großgeschrieben, undtoechter
2019 | Was weiße Menschen nicht über Rassismus hören wollen aber wissen sollten, hanserblau
Kurt A. Douglas is Associate Professor of Dance at Boston Conservatory. Originally from Guyana, South America, Douglas earned a B.F.A. in dance from Boston Conservatory and an M.F.A. in dance from Hollins University. After graduating from the Conservatory, Kurt joined the Limón Dance Company, where he performed in many of Limón’s most influential works. Kurt Douglas joined the Boston Conservatory at Berklee faculty in 2015 where he is an instructor of technique, repertory, critical theory, and pedagogy for modern dance.
© Peter Torres
Peter DiMuro has woven a career as a dancer, actor, choreographer, director, teacher, facilitator of creativity and as an arts engager for more than thirty years. As Executive Director of The Dance Complex, he continues to invest in advancing the craft of choreography and the field of dance, creating an arc of programs for young-to-established dance-makers.
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