Border Crossings: Explore the Exhibition through In-Person Visits and Teaching Resources
As we open a new large-scale exhibition, Border Crossings: Exile and American Modern Dance, 1900–1955, we invite educators and students to The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts for a facilitated learning experience that focuses on the history of modern dance in the United States. Learn more below about incorporating our lesson guide into your classroom before your visit, joining us on a class tour at the Library for the Performing Arts, and closing out the experience back in the classroom with a reflective dance activity.
Katherine Dunham, 1949.
Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Didn’t get a chance to view the exhibition? Many of the objects on display will continue to live at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division even after the exhibition closes, and we would be happy to share them with your class upon request. To view a specific image presented in this guide in-person, please include the call number, which can be located in the citation accompanying the image in the pre-visit Exhibition Guide below, when reaching out to us.
If you would like to schedule a class tour or see even more from the Dance Division, please contact: dance@nypl.org
About the Exhibition and Lesson
Curated by Ninotchka Bennahum, PhD, and Bruce Roberston, PhD, Border Crossings investigates the effect that large-scale political and geographical circumstances had on the creation of new dance genres. Historically, American modern dance has been studied and articulated through a narrow lens, marginalizing many performers. The goal of Border Crossings is to offer a fuller, more inclusive narrative about those who contributed to the formation of modern dance.
We have created pre-lesson and post-lesson handouts to supplement a free class tour, which educators can book with the expert staff at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division. Intended to be modular, the following components can be used as is, adapted, or remixed to fit the needs of your classroom and learning goals.
Begin with the Pre-Visit Exhibition Guide
Created in collaboration with NYPL’s Center for Educators and Schools, the Border Crossings Exhibition Guide serves to kick off the three-part lesson in your classroom before your class tour. The central goal of this guide is to get students thinking about the question: Where did modern dance come from?
The Exhibition Guide is divided into three components: a section for educators with key background information; prompts for the classroom, which include model questions, photographs, and essays related to the exhibition; and additional questions and activities to prepare your students for the class tour. The themes explored in the guide can be easily integrated into lessons about the Industrial Revolution, World War I and II, and early 20th century revolutions, like the Mexican and Russian Revolutions.
Visit the Exhibition with Your Class
Didn’t get a chance to view the exhibition? Many of the objects on display will continue to live at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division even after the exhibition closes, and we would be happy to share them with your class upon request. If you would like to schedule a class tour or see even more from the Dance Division, please contact: dance@nypl.org
Upon your scheduled arrival to the Library for the Performing Arts, an expert educator from the Dance Division will guide you and your students in a free tour of the exhibition, touching on key themes explored in the Exhibition Guide. We are happy to focus on specific items on display to fit the needs of your learning goals.
Students will have the chance to view materials from the Dance Division’s collections, including programs, photographs, and original costumes of dancers frequently left out of the modern dance narrative. Throughout the tour, there will be opportunities for students to engage in discussion on a variety of topics, including how historical events shaped these artists’ journeys. In the gallery, students will be prompted to respond to the exhibition using small physical movements, so they can experience how an artist might create in response to an external source. By integrating movement and inquiry, students gain an opportunity to engage with the Library’s collections and resources in a unique way.
Wrap Up with a Post-Visit Activity
We encourage educators to conclude the lesson with the post-visit handout that can be taken back to the classroom to reinforce concepts from the exhibition. This final part is intended to guide students to tie the exhibition’s themes together and explore how current events can influence dancers and choreographers today. Using databases to research current events and through simple movement prompts, students are encouraged to explore what choreographers and dancers consider when constructing and performing dance.
Border Crossings was on view from June 8, 2023, through March 16, 2024.
Aida Overton Walker
Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division.
Border Crossings is made possible through the generosity of Jody and John Arnhold｜Arnhold Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and The Jerome Robbins Foundation.
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the leadership support of Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman. Additional support for exhibitions has been provided by Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg and the Miriam and Harold Steinberg Foundation.
The work of the Center for Educators and Schools is part of the Library’s overall commitment to our branch patrons and education programs, led by the Merryl H. and James S. Tisch Director of The New York Public Library. Major support for educational programming is provided by Merryl H. and James S. Tisch.
The Center for Educators and Schools is supported in part by a generous grant from the Hearst Foundations.