Dance and Activism

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.

Dana Mills

Preface and Acknowledgments If we can't dance, we don't want to be part of your revolution Alienation solidarity Method Prelude to action Martha Graham: Embodied Chronicle 2. 'Go ahead and be a bastard' Anna Sokolow Through dance I have experienced the wordless joy of freedom: Pearl Primus Dance as intervention, dance as action Ballet beyond borders 'No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin' 'Going around the house like a butterfly' Ballet, home, Syria The canon must be fired! Ballet and the long arc of history There is only now: radical ballet going forward Erbil/ New York City: Break/ Dance The body in battle Those who leave and those who stay Not just for you, but for the rest of the earth Ballade of belonging At the still point of the turning world Break/ dance: echoing further: Erbil Steps in the street: Revolution DJ Dance on the march The People (dancing) united can never be defeated Dancing onwards! Dance as a home Transitions Home, exile, words, movement Arriving Storytelling Unraveling Homelessness- Devastation- Exile Spectre, haunting Bibliography Index