ニューヨークの学生たち（The State University of New York at New Paltz）によって「女性史（Women's History Month）」の月を祝う舞踏劇の題材の一つに選ばれたのが「慰安婦」。ただしこの記事では、慰安婦とは人身売買に強制され兵士の貢物にされた「日本人」という事になっている。"Comfort women"は世界的にすっかり有名になった。
学生ダンサーたちは、他に「ホロコースト下のレズビアン」というテーマも演じている。アメリカやイギリスでは、3月が女性史の月とされているそうである。
I Am a Woman: Warriors’ Dance Celebrates Women’s History Month
In honor of Women’s History Month, Warriors dance club presented a new way to look at women’s struggles at McKenna Theatre at SUNY New Paltz.
“I Am A Woman” was put on by the newly formed SUNY New Paltz dance club, Warriors. President of the club, Cinthia Pimentel, second-year communications major, formed the dance team a year and half ago to create a dance team for dancers who didn’t belong in the other dance teams on campus.
In honor of Women’s History Month, “We decided to tell stories of women’s struggles through dance and other art forms such as poetry,” said Mary-Anne Ramirez. Ramirez, a first-year graphic design major, is a performer in Warriors and is responsible for maintaining the club’s blog.
Each dance took on a particular issue or topic throughout women’s history. They ranged from women’s stories of sex trafficking, racism, workplace issues, lesbianism and war.
The program opened with a contemporary beat by compiling some hit songs by popular female artists. “Modern Women In Music” featured dances to songs by the Pussycat Dolls, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, and Britney Spears.
The Warriors dance style varied from performance to performance. “Comfort Women,” a piece that reflected on the hardships faced by Japanese women who were forced into sex trafficking and offered to soldiers during World War II, had elements of ballet.
Pimentel said they weren’t exactly sure how to capture to the elements of the abuse these women suffered, which is why when the dancers removed the white masks they were wearing they revealed that their faces had been painted black. According to Pimentel it was made to “represent the battle that they must go through all alone.” She emphasized that pieces like these are specifically important because people don’t believe that things like these really happened in the past.
Another routine also displayed the more tragic and somber aspects of women’s history. “The Forbidden Love Story: Lesbian Couple in the Holocaust” was performed in the second half of the set, and covered another tragic and somber topic, the persecution of lesbians in the holocaust. Traditionally considered a taboo topic, the dancers embraced the topic through a moving routine that incorporated the emotional struggle these women dealt with...（以下略）
The Little Rebellion 2011.3.19
