Winter 2009 Letter

January 2009

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to 2009!! It is year of change and transition marked by Barak Obama becoming president in the United States. It is also a year of concern as we grapple in our personal and professional lives with the current economy and watch the global situation in which peace never seems to have as much political ascendency as conflict. In all this, I am reminded that as dance scholars we have the opportunity to bring attention to these situations through our creative and scholarly research.

During the November Conference “Dance Studies and Global Feminisms,” I was reminded of the depth and dimension of what dance creators and scholars bring to the dialogue on contemporary issues. Held on the lovely and intimate campus of Hollins University, the conference organized by Donna Faye Burchfield (Hollins University), Ananya Chatterjea (University of Minnesota), and Thomas F. DeFrantz (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) provided an opportunity to share considerations of the forces of globalization and how they define feminist discourse and dance studies. In individual presentations, performances and roundtables, questions regarding dance studies positioning within these forces were analyzed from the images of women’s bodies to examinations of what does the ‘feminine’ mean in global terms. It was particularly exciting to hear filmmaker, writer, academic and composer Trinh T. Minh-ha discuss her latest project and to be present at the reading of Jamaica Kincaid’s latest work. Finally, it was a privilege to be present at the 15th Annual Fall Dance Gathering of Hollins University and the group of international artists associated with it. Throughout the conference, I was reminded of the diversity of perspectives provided by CORD members’ research and how the historical intersected with the pedagogical, pedagogical with performative, the performative with the political, the political with performance and more.

My thanks to Donna Faye Burchfield, the students and administration of Hollins University for providing the opportunity for us to gather, converse and be inspired.

I am delighted to remind you that CORD is hosting a Special Topics Conference, June 25-27 in conjunction with the Centre of Excellence in Teaching and De Montfort University in Leicester, UK. Focused on pedagogy, the event engages questions of the impact that pedagogies of the past have on the present to questions of the implications of technology for the future of teaching. You can register for this conference now on the CORD website by visiting http://www.cordance.org/conference-2009.

In November of 2010, CORD will be joining with American Society for Theatre Research to reflect on ‘power and the performative.’  Please watch the CORD website for details on this conference in the coming year. Please join me in thanking current Chair of Conferences Juliet McMains for organizing this opportunity.

The many activities of CORD in support of dance scholarship are supported by a very active board that includes the following newly elected members Danielle Robinson, Karen Vedel, Patrick Alcedo, and current and continuing member SanSan Kwan. Please join me in thanking them for their willingness to be in service to the dance community.  

I also want to thank those members of the board who have served for many years and left at the end of 2008. These include Janice Ross who served as Chair of Conference Committee, Paul Scolieri who organized CORD’s 2007 conference, Kista Tucker who was Chair of the Membership committee, and Freya Vass-Rhea, who was Graduate Representative and Newsletter Editor. It was a joy to work with each of the retiring board members and I know that each of you extends your thanks to them for their contribution to dance studies.

I want to acknowledge Dance Research Journal Editor Ann Dills who has helped to transition DRJ to the University of Illinois Press. I am certain that each of you appreciate the timeliness and consistency of the publication that is the result of this move. The winter publication of DRJ, which is Ann’s last journal as editor, was guest edited by Paul Scolieri and was evolved from the CORD 2007 conference, “Choreographies of Migration”. Mark Franko has become the Editor and will be guiding the direction for the Dance Research Journal.

I also want to thank Ninotchka Bennahum for overseeing the proceedings from the Montreal and Tempe conferences and welcome the new proceedings editor, Teresa Randall.

In the next month, you will be receiving a questionnaire that asks your thoughts on the possibility of the Congress on Research in Dance combining in some fashion with the Society of Dance History Scholars.  Please take time to answer this survey as your viewpoint is very important as the CORD board in combination with the SDHS board considers this important question. This survey will become part of the CORD board deliberations in April and be shared with the SDHS board in June.

Thank-you for taking time to read this letter and for your ongoing contributions to CORD as a member, participant in conferences, submissions to our journal and other. It is you and your contribution which make all that CORD does possible.

I wish you a fulfilling and productive year,

Barbara

Barbara Sellers-Young
President, Congress on Research in Dance