Choreographic Politics: State Folk Dance Companies, Representation and Power (review)

Rich with myths of the past and nostalgic allusions to days gone by, folk dance helps us better understand the workings, limitations, and concepts of nation, nationalism, and ethnicity. Through casting and choreography choices, movement, and costuming, folk dances can make visible gender and class relations, even when these are not overtly portrayed. Because folk performances bring together tourists, diasporic communities, and dance enthusiasts of all ages, they are rich sites for assessing the multiple levels of performance present on a stage committed simultaneously to entertainment and state. Author Anthony Shay, a performer with forty years of folk dance experience in Russia, Eastern Europe, and North America, gives an insider view of six national folk dance companies.