How did African American dance pioneers use their lived experiences to create their choreographies?

Abstract

This thesis aims to explore the way African American dance choreographers used their lived experiences to create choreographies. The dance pioneers presented throughout this research are; Alvin Ailey, Katherine Dunham, and Kyle Abraham. The analysis chapter will provide a comparison on the way each pioneer created their choreographies through their experiences. Using the philosophical perspective of John Dewey and the phenomenological framework of Maxine Sheets-Johnstone, this study will aim to identify how the notion of experience was applied to their choreographies. Delving into these perspectives gave an insight into different factors of experience, such highlighting the difference between an experience and experiences. These perspectives also posed another factor regarding artistic sincerity, suggesting that the reason these choreographies were devised in the first place was for the presentation of true expression.