Dance

A figure in an orange jumpsuit with a covered face poses in front of a colorful painting.

A group of female dancers in nude dresses pose in a gallery space around two, white oblong sculptures.

Three female dancers bend in a squat in front of a charcoal background covered in white doodles.

Five people pose with their arms raised in front of an abstract, earth-toned painting.

A young, black female and an older, white male pose with their arms raised with a group of people posing behind them.

A crowd watches as a young, Asian, female dancer poses with a wooden triangular sculpture.

Three young people, one male and two females, wearing colorful, patterned clothing dance with one foot out and arms raised up to their shoulders.

A white, older male talks to a group of people in front of a blue wall.

Dance—the rhythmic movement of bodies in space—can express a rich variety of ideas and emotions. Dance exists around the world and is present in ancient histories through to the present moment.

Explore dance by clicking on the images above and browsing the content below.

Explore collection stories—texts, videos, and creative responses from faculty, students, artists, scholars, and curators to works in the Tang collection.

Three figures in orange bodysuits, one male and two females, pose in front of a colorful painting.

A New Dance by Jason Ohlberg, Assistant Professor of Dance at Skidmore College

Metamorphosis

A middle-aged, Black male in colorful, patterned clothing holds a bongo standing in front of a group of people wearing similar clothing.

African Music, Dance, and Art with Charles Lwanga, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Skidmore College

Musicking the Collage

A black and white photograph of a light-skinned, female ballet dancer in a white dress posing with one arm raised above her head.

Chair and Professor of Art History Mount Holyoke College Ajay Sinha on

Carl Van Vechten

A black and white drawing of a Black, female dancer and a white, male dancer across an open book.

Tang Teaching Museum Assistant Director for Engagement Tom Yoshikami on

William Kentridge

Choreographer and Artist Jim Self on

Beehive

A checklist with artwork information on the left and thumbnail images of black and white dance photographs on the right.

View or download the checklist here!

Teaching Ideas

Students in Assistant Professor of Dance Jason Ohlberg’s “DA 335: Dance and Society II” course participated in a close-looking exercise with dance photographs from the Tang collection.

After a few minutes of looking at all photographs, each student selected an image that resonated with them. They then spent 5–10 minutes looking at and examining the image, followed by 5 minutes of writing their observations. Students repeated this process three times and then came together as a class to discuss the exercise and their findings. This temporal exercise teaches students that detailed information takes time to perceive, that perception is a skill that can be developed through structured activity, and that images can serve as primary documents, providing researchers with clues and valuable information about their subjects.

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Close-Looking Exercise

For a visual literacy assignment related to Nan Goldin’s Twisting at my birthday party, New York City 1980, download the PDF below. Interested in other artwork from the collection? Contact Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs Rachel Seligman.

View or download the close-looking exercise here!

A group of people partying, eating, and smoking in a sporadically decorated living space.

Doubling Part 1

Doubling, choreographed by Skidmore Professor of Dance Debra Fernandez with music by So Percussion, was set inside the exhibition I was a double and performed by Skidmore College students and professional dancers. It premiered on October 16, 2014.

Dance

Thematic Collections

See 41 artworks

Tang Collective Catalogs are short written responses from a multiplicity of voices responding to objects in the Tang Teaching Museum collection.

An abstract painting featuring different shades of blue with the lightest shades towards the edge and darkest towards the center.

Anna Caffarelli ’22, Cornish College of the Arts
May 18, 2020

In Mary Weatherford’s Georgia, I immediately distinguished an ice cave, which speaks to my current feelings of isolation. I feel like I can transpose my movement into the cave, below the starfish. Most of my movement is gestural and plays on the creation and destruction of energetic barriers around me. The walls of the cave feel similarly malleable to the walls I create with my body because of their dreamlike texture. The darker areas remind me of a darkness that feels just behind us all as the virus seeps through communities. There is a part of my solo where I twist my upper body back and forth as though keeping an eye on the dark part of the cave behind me. The starfish is an unexpected, almost absurdist, component. It reminds me of the duality between the unpredictable and predictable nature of being quarantined. I’m excited to continue working with this painting to see how its icy, layered, confined vibes are interpreted in my dancing!

Additional Resources

Browse the Lucy Scribner Library Dance Research Guide here.