Brown Bag Discussion Series Continues With Dance Director

SALISBURY, MD---Dr. Victoria Hutchinson, director of the Salisbury University Dance Company, continues the Charles R. and Martha N. Fulton School of Liberal Arts Brown Bag Lunch Discussion Series noon Wednesday, March 15, in the University Gallery of Fulton Hall.

Hutchinson speaks on “From Hula to Hustle: A Look at Dance in Culture.” Through video examples organized by three themes, she takes listeners on a close-up, cross-cultural look at the rules, messages, and meanings embodied in dance around the world. Dance as an emblem of cultural identity focuses on the Polynesian Hula and the Native American Powwow. Dance as an expression of cultural values focuses on the Middle Eastern Raqs Sharqi and the European Waltz. Dance as a medium for cultural fusion focuses on the African-American Ring Shout and Lindy Hop and the Latin-American Hustle.

“Reading the culture-specific ‘language’ of dance can be tricky,” Hutchinson said. “In order to understand a dance then, we must open ourselves to the culture from which it springs.”

Hutchinson, who earned her doctorate in dance from Temple University, has published research on the Eastern Cherokee Booger Dance and observed the tribal dances of the Australian Woomera. Childhood memories of Powwow dancing in Anadarko, OK, inspire her current research into the lives of Native American powwow dancers through in-depth, on-site interviews. She directs the Fulton School’s dance program and teaches courses including dance appreciation.

Admission is free and the public is invited. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu. "