Syncopated Communities: Dancing with Ellison.

The article discusses the pervasive existence of dance in the fiction, non-fiction and life of author Ralph Ellison, who is known for his love of dancing as far back as toddlerhood. Ellison's love for dancing, especially those derived and/or creative of jazz music, were considered to be a significant part of his development as a person and as an artist. In Ellison's "Invisible Man," the first time music was thematized in the preface, it was explicitly linked to the body. The author says based on his reading of "Invisible Man," the work can be formulated using music theory, particularly that of Rahn's account of syncopation.