Focused Topics in Voice: Dada's Divas

DADA'S DIVAS is a two-semester course (one
historical, one performative) dedicated to the
(re)discovery of the Dada movement's female
pioneers, most of whom have been overshadowed
historically by their male counterparts. These
women, operating independently of one another,
were highly regarded performers, poets, visual
artists, writers, actresses, models, feminists,
and political activists who lived incredibly
interesting lives. Now, 100 years after the birth
of Dada, they deserve to have their stories told
and their art resurrected.

Taking as its basis the experimental opera and
research project "Dada Divas," as well as newly
digitized archives and a growing wealth of other
resources, this course will delve deeply into the
artistic works and lives of Mina Loy, Baroness
Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, Emmy Hennings, and
others. The first semester will begin with a
historical study of early twentieth-century
artistic and literary movements-Futurism, literary
Expressionism, Modernism, various performance
movements, and cabaret and its offshoots-and will
continue into the birth and early years of Dada.
The course will take an interdisciplinary approach
from a variety of perspectives including
performance and gender studies, literary
modernism, and socio-political and cultural
history, while relating these subjects to the
status of women, immigration, drug addiction, war,
and other concerns that are as pressing today as
they were when Dada erupted a century ago.

The second semester will be devoted to the
development and performance-by class members and
guests-of a newly constructed, interdisciplinary,
Dada-inspired performance work. In the spirit of
Dada's origins, this may take the form of a
low-budget "guerilla theatre" event, and may
include the performance of already composed as
well as newly created works. Appropriate written
material will accompany or follow the performance.
Students are encouraged to enroll in both
semesters of the course.