Dance and politics don’t seem to have much in common, but dance ethnologist Judy Van Zile will draw the parallels in two lecture presentations today on campus.
The School of Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies, the Dance Program of the Kinesiology Division, Asian Studies and the College of Musical Studies all collaborated together to bring Van Zile, professor of dance at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, to Bowling Green. Van Zile has been focusing on dance in Korea since the 1980s.
She will present “The Music-Dance Relationship in Korean Dance” from 1-2:15 p.m. in Room 1002 in the College of Musical Arts. From 3-4 p.m. she will lecture on “Dance and Politics in Korea” in 223 Eppler Center. Dancers and non-dancers alike can attend and learn from her sessions.
“Her lectures aren’t solely on dance,” said Maria Perez, University senior and president of the University Dance Alliance. “This is a chance for students to get involved outside of the normal classroom and hear someone from outside the campus.”
Van Zile is a frequent presenter at conferences, not just in the U.S., but also in Europe and Asia. Her book “Perspectives in Korean Dance” received the Outstanding Publication Award from the Congress on Research in Dance in 2001.
“Korean Dance is not as widely known or recognized,” Tammyann Starr, lecturer in the School of HMSLS said. “There are a variety of forms, ranging from graceful movements to dynamic drumming.”
According to Van Zile, the differences in Korean dance from what Americans are used to go beyond form and movement.
“The way the body is used is quite different, but some of the context is very different from what we are used to,” she said.
She explains that the hierarchical structure of Korean society is portrayed and reinforced through their dance.
“In the lecture I am looking at politics and dance from the standpoint of authority and structure,” she said.
Starr welcomes all students who are interested to simply show up and take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn about dance.
“I’m really excited,” Perez said. “I can’t think of other times when lectures have come to campus just to talk about dance.”
