Elizabeth B. Schwall aligns culture and politics by focusing on an
art form that became a darling of the Cuban revolution: dance. In
this history of staged performance in ballet, modern dance, and
folkloric dance, Schwall analyzes how and why dance artists
interacted with republican and, later, revolutionary politics.
Drawing on written and visual archives, including intriguing
exchanges between dancers and bureaucrats, Schwall argues that
Cubans dancers used their bodies and ephemeral, nonverbal
choreography to support and critique political regimes and cultural
biases.
As esteemed artists, Cuban dancers exercised considerable power and
influence. They often used their art to posit more radical notions
of social justice than political leaders were able or willing to
implement. After 1959, while generally promoting revolutionary
projects like mass education and internationalist solidarity, they
also took risks by challenging racial prejudice, gender norms, and
censorship, all of which could affect dancers personally. On a
broader level, Schwall shows that dance, too often overlooked in
histories of Latin America and the Caribbean, provides fresh
perspectives on what it means for people, and nations, to move
through the world.