Critical Race Theory and Copyright in American Dance

"Picart is familiar with not only the most relevant secondary literature on dance, choreography, and related topics, but also the copyright laws regarding artistic commodities. Her focus on specific figures and the most salient details of the actual history of modern dance makes this book an especially exciting one. I cannot imagine anyone interested in either dance or critical race theory who would not be drawn at least to peruse this work." - Vincent Colapietro, Liberal Arts Research Professor, Pennsylvania State University, USA" "In Critical Race Theory and Copyright in American Dance, Picart succeeds not only in her immediate project, but also in debunking the myth that some fields of law are race/sex/gender neutral. In her sophisticated treatment of copyright and dance, she traces the history of copyright application to art, and shows with fascinating ability the structural inequities in the legal and art worlds and processes. She peels away at the layers of discriminatory impetus - be it conscious or unconscious - and makes a convincing case for the distortions they effect. This book is a must-read for students and scholars of critical theory - race, feminist, queer, of law and of art (in all its sub-disciplines)." - Berta Hernandez-Truyol, Levin, Mabie and Levin Professor of Law, University of Florida, USA

Caroline Joan (Kay) S. Picart, formerly a tenured associate professor of English and Humanities at Florida State University, is a joint Juris Doctor-MA Candidate (WST) at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and an adjunct professor of Humanities at Santa Fe College.

1. Introduction 2. Comparing Aesthetics of Whiteness and Non-Whiteness in Relation to American Dance 3. Loie Fuller, "Goddess of Light," and Josephine Baker, 'Black Venus": Non-Narrative Choreography as Mere 'Spectacle' 4. George Balanchine, "Genius of American Dance": Whiteness, Choreography, Copyrightability in American Dance 5. Martha Graham, "Picasso of American Dance," and Katherine Dunham, 'Matriarch of Black Dance': Exoticism and Non-Whiteness in American Dance 6. Moving into New Directions: Cunningham and Ailey 7. Conclusions: Quo Vadis?