Overview

Dancers as Diplomats chronicles the role of dance and dancers in American cultural diplomacy. In the early decades of the Cold War and the twenty-first century, American dancers toured the globe on tours sponsored by the US State Department. Dancers as Diplomats tells the story of how these tours shaped and some times re-imagined ideas of the United States in unexpected, often sensational circumstances-pirouetting in Moscow as the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolded and dancing in Burma shortly before the country held its first democratic elections. Based on more than seventy interviews with dancers who traveled on the tours, the book looks at a wide range of American dance companies, among them New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Martha Graham Dance Company, Urban Bush Women, ODC/Dance, Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, and the Trey McIntyre Project, among others. During the Cold War, companies danced everywhere from the Soviet Union to Vietnam, just months before the US abandoned Saigon. In the post 9/11 era, dance companies traveled to Asia and Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

Full Product Details

9780199958214

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Reviews

Smoothly written with strong, coherent narrative, Dancers as Diplomats confirms the importance of dance in US cultural exchange. Researching across Cold War and Post-9/11 ideologies of nation and cultural diplomacy, Croft demonstrates how the international exposure of American dance remains inextricably bound up with Washington-based political economies. An essential offering for anyone interested in cultural studies, dance history, or international affairs, Dancers as Diplomats proves that performance might always exceed governmental guidelines and intentions. Thomas F. DeFrantz, Duke University

Author Information

Clare Croft is Assistant Professor in the Department of Dance at the University of Michigan.

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