Abstract

This dissertation analyses the use of performance as a form of unlegislated, grassroots activism through the case study of Franziska Boas (1902-1988), an American dancer, teacher, choreographer, percussionist and theorist. Boas's commitment to social change and the diverse nature of her activities provide entry into some of the most radical twentieth-century ideas involving education, therapy, political affiliation, performance theory and practice, gender and race.

Chapter One examines how Boas politicized the teachings of her dance predecessors through the use of structured improvisations in her interracial studio to further her belief in inclusiveness and accessibility. Chapter Two investigates Boas's contribution to dance therapy at Bellevue Hospital in New York during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Her experience illuminates many of the early issues encountered in the discipline, particularly concerning the parameters of the dance teacher's authority and the skepticism of traditional medical professionals. Chapter Three explores the two anthropological seminar series Boas organized in the 1940s, which she used for a variety of ends: to foster dialogue between anthropologists and dancers; to initiate a more informed approach to the study of so-called primitive art; to promote positive images of non-industrialized peoples; and to generate interest in the social utility of dance in the United States. Chapter Four analyzes how Boas's company, the Boas Dance Group, challenged accepted definitions of excellence through choreography. Boas also tried to engage her dancers politically by offering opportunities for them to exercise responsibility and authority within a performance setting. Chapter Five investigates Boas's work in Rome, Georgia, during the 1950s and first half of the 1960s. In promoting racial equality and desegregation in the South, Boas employed a "quiet activism" as she worked within established systems. Chapter Six revisits the previous chapters to evaluate how Boas repeatedly capitalized on dance's marginalized and non-threatening status to bring together diverse groups of people. Her career also consistently demonstrated how performance could help foster attitudes of self-empowerment.