Dance and Activism : A Century of Radical Dance Across the World

This study focuses on dance as an activist practice in and of itself, across geographical locations and over the course of a century, from 1920 to 2020. Through doing so, it considers how dance has been an empowering agent for political action throughout civilisation. __Dance and Activism__ offers a glimpse of different strategies of mobilizing the human body for good and justice for all, and captures the increasing political activism epitomized by bodies moving on the streets in some of the most turbulent political situations. This has, most recently, undoubtedly been partly owing to the rise of the far-right internationally, which has marked an increase in direct action on the streets. Offering a survey of key events across the century, such as the fall of President Zuma in South Africa; pro-reproductive rights action in Poland and Argentina; and the recent women's marches against Donald Trump's presidency, you will see how dance has become an urgent field of study. Key geographical locations are explored as sites of radical dance - the Lower East Side of New York; Gaza; Syria; Cairo, Iran; Iraq; Johannesburg - to name but a few - and get insights into some of the major figures in the history of dance, including Pearl Primus, Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow and Ahmad Joudah. Crucially, lesser or unknown dancers, who have in some way influenced politics, all over the world are brought into the limelight (the Syrian ballerinas and Hussein Smko, for example). __Dance and Activism__ troubles the boundary between theory and practice, while presenting concrete case studies as a site for robust theoretical analysis. "This study focuses on dance as an activist practice in and of itself, across geographical locations and over the course of a century, from 1920 to 2020. Through doing so, it considers how dance has been an empowering agent for political action throughout civilisation. Dance and Activism offers a glimpse of different strategies of mobilizing the human body for good and justice for all, and captures the increasing political activism epitomized by bodies moving on the streets in some of the most turbulent political situations. This has, most recently, undoubtedly been partly owing to the rise of the far-right internationally, which has marked an increase in direct action on the streets. Offering a survey of key events across the century, such as the fall of President Zuma in South Africa; pro-reproductive rights action in Poland and Argentina; and the recent women's marches against Donald Trump's presidency, you will see how dance has become an urgent field of study. Key geographical locations are explored as sites of radical dance - the Lower East Side of New York; Gaza; Syria; Cairo, Iran; Iraq; Johannesburg - to name but a few - and get insights into some of the major figures in the history of dance, including Pearl Primus, Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow and Ahmad Joudah. Crucially, lesser or unknown dancers, who have in some way influenced politics, all over the world are brought into the limelight (the Syrian ballerinas and Hussein Smko, for example). Dance and Activism troubles the boundary between theory and practice, while presenting concrete case studies as a site for robust theoretical analysis"-- Provided by publisher Cover page 1 Halftitle page 2 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Dedication 6 Epigraph 7 CONTENTS 8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 10 PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 11 1 IF WE CAN’T DANCE, WE DON’T WANT TO BE PART OF YOUR REVOLUTION 18 Alienation 24 Solidarity 27 Method 36 2 PRELUDE TO ACTION 44 Martha Graham: Embodied Chronicle 45 “Go Ahead and be a Bastard”: Anna Sokolow 58 “Through Dance I Have Experienced the Wordless Joy of Freedom”: Pearl Primus 70 Dance as Intervention, Dance as Action 81 3 BALLET BEYOND BORDERS 82 “No One is Born Hating Another Person Because of the Color of his Skin”5 85 “Going around the House Like a Butterfly” 89 Ballet, Home, Syria 92 The Canon Must be Fired! Ballet and the Long Arc of History 97 There is Only Now: Radical Ballet Going Forward 103 4 ERBIL/NEW YORK CITY: BREAK/DANCE 106 The Body in Battle 106 Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay 109 Not Just for You, But for the Rest of the Earth 113 Ballade of Belonging 115 At the Still Point of the Turning World 118 Break/Dance: Echoing Further: Erbil 123 5 STEPS IN THE STREET: REVOLUTION DJ 126 Dance on the March 126 The People (Dancing) United Can Never be Defeated 127 Dancing Onwards! 143 6 DANCE AS A HOME 146 Transitions 148 Home, Exile, Words, Movement 152 Arriving 157 Storytelling 159 Unraveling 162 Homelessness–Devastation–Exile 165 7 SPECTRE, HAUNTING 168 NOTES 186 BIBLIOGRAPHY 206 INDEX 212