Tracing the African American dance from the Diaspora to the dance floor, this book covers a social history germane not only to the African American experience, but also to the global experience of laborers who learn lessons from hip hop dance. Examining hip hop dance as text, as commentary, and as a function of identity construction within the confines of consumerism, the book draws on popular cultural images from films, commercials, and dance studios. A bibliography, discography, and filmography are included. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination...

The influence of dance upon consumers has long been understood by advertisers. This historical work investigates the anthropologic aesthetic of black social dance in television advertising. Covering the 1950s through the 2010s in the United States, each decade is explored in detail as dance is shown to provide value to brands, thus effecting consumption experiences. An interdisciplinary work drawing upon anthropological, phenomenological and cultural theoretical approaches, the text provides a theory of dance for a culture that has consistently drawn upon African-American arts to sell...

Divorced, in debt and unemployed, Olivia Clarke figured she had nothing to lose if she left California. She was sick of the plastic lifestyle and her familys lifelong casting her as its scapegoat. Nearly some thirty-five years after her fathers murder she was still haunted by guilt. It was the best time to leave anyway, because all she had left was her dissertation. Actually if shed felt like she had a choice, she would have just walked away, disillusioned and despairing. In Kansas City she found peace, spending six months finishing her dissertation, healing, and taking ballet classes-all the...