Abstracts

An abstract is a “trailer” for a larger written work. Your task is to prepare a 250-500 word (1-2 pages double-spaced) abstract of the final paper you would have written based on your research. Think of it as a proposal or preview of the research topic, main ideas, and your research methods and findings. 

Key Elements of an Abstract: 

-create a title that indicates the topic

-provide pertinent context and background information

-specify case study and relevant details

-indicate research methods and methodology (use of source material, choreographic analysis, any academic disciplines or theoretical lenses you are drawing on in your scholarly literature) 

-include a thesis statement if possible

Example Below: 

“Something’s Coming, Something Good”: Universalism, Colorblindness, and the Los Angeles Commercial Dance Industry

According to an oft-recounted apocryphal story, the creators of West Side Story changed the musical’s original catalytic rivalry from Catholics versus Jews to Puerto Ricans versus “white” second-generation immigrants upon reading a Los Angeles Times article about gang violence between white and Mexican youth in LA as they relaxed poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel (Acedevo-Muñoz 2013; Berson 2011; Negrón-Muntaner 2000). The translocal histories and parahistories of West Side Story continued throughout the latter half of the twentieth century (Herrera 2012). Despite its iconic setting in urban New York City, West Side Story was primarily filmed on the soundstages of Samuel Goldwyn studios in Hollywood. Moreover, multiple dancers involved either in the 1957 Broadway musical and 1961 film were generative forces behind the scenes in the entertainment industry on the west coast during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. 

This presentation explores the influence of West Side Story on the Los Angeles commercial dance industry via a choreographic genealogy that includes Jerome Robbins, Peter Gennaro, Donald McKayle, David Winters, Michael Bennett, Andre Tayir, Jaime Rogers, Bob Banas, Anita Mann, and Toni Basil. Through an examination of subsequent television programs, musical films, music videos, and commercials, I argue that West Side Story’s racial politics and danced ideologies laid the groundwork for the racial idealism and colorblindness ubiquitous in commercial dance entertainment from the 1960s to today. By foregrounding the voices and perspectives of these dancer/choreographers and exploring how they grappled with racial politics and racialized dancing in their subsequent work, this paper contributes to my larger project on the sociocultural history of the U.S. commercial dance industry.