Harvard Division of Continuing Education

This thesis is an intervention in the ballet field, seeking to provide an Afrocentric historical perspective on the evolution and history of ballet in the United States. Drawing on the work of Brenda Dixon Gottschild, I explore African diasporic traditions and Africanist aesthetics in classical ballet, and I reconfigure Katherine Dunham and Arthur Mitchell to situate their works within the American ballet canon. I explore Katherine Dunham’s role as founder of Ballet Négre (the first black ballet company in the United States) and Arthur Mitchell’s role in the evolution of the “Black Ballet Aesthetic.” I also examine the “Classic Black” era to document the histories of American Negro Ballet, First Negro Classic Ballet, and New York Negro Ballet. I give historical context leading up to the founding of Dance Theatre of Harlem. I analyze the emergence of the Black Ballet Aesthetic and how companies like Ballethnic Dance Company have taken the torch from Katherine Dunham and Arthur Mitchell to found a sustainable classical black ballet company and bring it successfully into the twenty-first century. This thesis also documents my original field research into the origins and history of five classical black companies: American Negro Ballet, First Negro Classic Ballet, New York Negro Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Ballethnic Dance Company. Field interviews with artistic directors, founders, and dancers from these companies reveal the challenges they faced even as they were determined to preserve their history, their art, and their legacy. In additional investigation, I examine how early black ballet companies established and maintained their classical ballet foundation and performed classical works in spaces that typically did not welcome black dancers. My research sheds new light on how early black ballet companies have been left out of history, while simultaneously providing insight into why it is important to preserve the work of these companies. I analyze how the Black Ballet Aesthetic evolved within these companies while also documenting how the companies that were created sparked a Black Ballet Renaissance by creating their own original works and story ballets that speak to the black experience. I seek to preserve their work while also providing a comprehensive history lesson that will further cement their legacy not just within the context of black history but more widely within the canon of American history.

This thesis proposes that heartbreak is the core of Hamlet’s character, that it is “the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to” that defines him, not madness. From the actor’s perspective, it is imperative to gain an in-depth understanding of the thoughts within the character’s mind, as well as all the feelings within the character’s heart, for a truthful performance. Scholarship suggests that Hamlet is either on a path toward madness, given the visitations of his father’s Ghost, or that he is an intellectual, perfectly sane, and only feigning madness on the path toward avenging his father’s murder. The research methods employed are as follows: we compare six different performances of Hamlet by professional actors, then we analyze Hamlet’s relationships, and conduct close-readings of the text and selected soliloquies in order to find answers pertaining to Hamlet’s essence. The chief result suggests that Hamlet’s multiple heartaches, in conjunction with his compounded stress, may have induced a psychotic break. More specifically, an acute psychosis, that peaks in intensity and transparency in the Closet Scene. The psychosis is triggered when he confronts and berates his mother. This type of mental illness, or “madness,” would be the most suiting and realistic in portraying the character. My conclusion is that any actor fortunate enough to play the role of Hamlet should focus on the emotions within the character’s heart, truly understand the world surrounding our protagonist, contextualize his text, and then decide the fate of his mental health. If the heartbreak is extreme enough, it most definitely affects the mind.

I examine ways in which new, cheap technology has enabled theater practitioners to create performances that redefine what theater is, and blur the boundaries of areas not traditionally considered theater (such as video games). My work will focus on affordable, “hobbyist” electronics, such as the Raspberry Pi (a powerful computer the size of a deck of cards, which costs approximately $35) or Arduino (a microcontroller - essentially a small, limited type of computer), as well as consumer electronics like cell phones and robotic vacuum cleaners. I will look at the work of, and interview, artists who use these devices in their productions, and explore where they think their projects sit in the performance world, and why they chose to approach their creations the way they did.