Dancing Modernism / Performing Politics

Mark Franko

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN: 9780253065445
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Art & Politics

In the much-anticipated update to a classic in dance studies, Mark Franko analyzes the political aspects of North American modern dance in the 20th century.

A revisionary account of the evolution of modern dance, this revised edition of Dancing Modernism / Performing Politics features a foreword by Juan Ignacio Vallejos on Franko's career, a new preface, a new chapter on Yvonne Rainer, and an appendix of left-wing dance theory articles from the 1930s. Questioning assumptions that dancing reflects culture, Franko employs a unique interdisciplinary approach to dance analysis that draws from cultural theory, feminist studies, and sexual, class, and modernist politics. Franko also highlights the stories of such dancers as Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and even revolutionaries like Douglas Dunn in order to upend and contradict ideas on autonomy and traditionally accepted modernist dance history.

Revealing the captivating development of modern dance, this revised edition of Dancing Modernism / Performing Politics will fascinate anyone interested in the intersection of performance studies, history, and politics.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword by Juan Ignacio Vallejos: Genealogy and Event in the Work of Mark Franko
• Preface
• Introduction: The Politics of Expression
• 1. The Invention of Modern Dance
• 2. Bodies of Radical Will
• 3. Emotivist Movement and Histories of Modernism: The Case of Martha Graham
• 4. Expressivism and Chance Procedure: The Future of an Emotion
• 5. Some Notes on Yvonne Rainer, Modernism, Politics, Emotion, Performance, and the Aftermath
• Appendix: Left-Wing Dance Theory: Articles on Dance from New Theatre, New Masses, and Daily Worker
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Authors