这门课程会探讨塑造美国音乐舞剧之全球舞蹈传统的形式、概念、情境。例如，辨析非裔美人的传统舞蹈如何透过社会空间(social space)转化为音乐剧。同时，认识美籍舞蹈家如凯瑟玲-邓连(Katherine Dunham)、艾文-艾莉(Alvin Ailey)、伊莎朵拉-邓肯(Isadora Duncan)、及开创新局之舞蹈家如玛莎-葛莱姆(Martha Graham)、乔治-巴兰钦(George Balanchine)、梅西-康宁汉(Merce Cunningham)等人的创作生平。这门课程特别着重于音乐舞剧中性别与自我生平的建构，以及美籍舞蹈家运用这些特质创作的形式。

This course explores the forms, contents, and contexts of world traditions in dance that played a crucial role in shaping American concert dance. For example, we will identify dances from an African American vernacular tradition that were transferred from the social space to the concert stage. We will explore the artistic lives of such American dance artists as Katherine Dunham, and Alvin Ailey along with Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, George Balanchine, and Merce Cunningham as American dance innovators. Of particular importance to our investigation will be the construction of gender and autobiography which lie at the heart of concert dance practice, and the ways in which these qualities have been choreographed by American artists.