Revolutionary Bodies: Chinese Dance and the Socialist Legacy

Abstract

Revolutionary Bodies is the first English-language primary source–based history of concert dance in the People’s Republic of China. Combining over a decade of ethnographic and archival research, Emily Wilcox analyzes major dance works by Chinese choreographers staged over an eighty-year period from 1935 to 2015. Using previously unexamined film footage, photographic documentation, performance programs, and other historical and contemporary sources, Wilcox challenges the commonly accepted view that Soviet-inspired revolutionary ballets are the primary legacy of the socialist era in China’s dance field. The digital edition of this title includes nineteen embedded videos of selected dance works discussed by the author. “This excellent book is based on abundant archival materials and Emily Wilcox’s practiced knowledge of dance. Its dramatic biographical data, clear conceptual design, and close readings of choreographic works make for engaging reading and engaged scholarship. An important contribution.” REBECCA KARL, Professor of History, New York University “Tracing the rise of Chinese dance in the turbulent times of twentieth-century China, Wilcox has offered a brilliant account of the mutation of diverse dance forms. A productive blend of choreography, ethnography, performance, and cultural studies, this book not only fills the gaps in dance studies, but also addresses broad issues of interaction between China and the West, ancient forms and socialist agenda, and regional traditions and national culture.” BAN WANG, William Haas Professor in Chinese Studies, Stanford University EMILY WILCOX is Assistant Professor of Modern Chinese Studies in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

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