Beauty, Identity, and Ballet in the Twenty-first Century
A Talk by Virginia Johnson
Dance Theatre of Harlem artistic director
Paterno Library’s Foster Auditorium
Refreshments will be served before the talk, beginning at 11:30 a.m., in 103 Paterno Library (Mann Assembly Room)
This event is sponsored by the African American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies departments in Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts.
America is at a crossroads. We are a plural nation holding on to distinctions of difference. Can the art form of ballet enable us to build a common future? Beauty is at the center of ballet as an art form, but is beauty a reflection of culture, or is there an elemental truth that transcends culture? This 45-minute talk includes a history of Dance Theatre of Harlem and is accompanied by PowerPoint slides.
Virginia Johnson is the artistic director of Dance Theatre of Harlem. She is a founding member and former principal dancer of the company. After retiring from performing, she founded Pointe magazine and served as its editor-in-chief from 2000–2009.