Daniel J. Walkowitz
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814794692
- eISBN:
- 9780814784525
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814794692.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter details the history of the American Branch of the English Folk Dance Society (EFDS), as well as its clashes with the International Folk Dance movement. In the years between 1915 and ...
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This chapter details the history of the American Branch of the English Folk Dance Society (EFDS), as well as its clashes with the International Folk Dance movement. In the years between 1915 and 1918, Cecil Sharp had come to establish a cultural hegemony that emphasized the American Branch as the leading authority on folk dance. However, the American Branch of EFDS was but one of many ethnic urban folk centers among a wide range of immigrant cultures with folk dance traditions. One person in particular embodied the alternative vision of an International Folk Dance of the peoples of many lands, and she found herself as the center of conflict with the American Branch, and most especially with Sharp: Elizabeth Burchenal.Less
This chapter details the history of the American Branch of the English Folk Dance Society (EFDS), as well as its clashes with the International Folk Dance movement. In the years between 1915 and 1918, Cecil Sharp had come to establish a cultural hegemony that emphasized the American Branch as the leading authority on folk dance. However, the American Branch of EFDS was but one of many ethnic urban folk centers among a wide range of immigrant cultures with folk dance traditions. One person in particular embodied the alternative vision of an International Folk Dance of the peoples of many lands, and she found herself as the center of conflict with the American Branch, and most especially with Sharp: Elizabeth Burchenal.
Daniel J. Walkowitz
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814794692
- eISBN:
- 9780814784525
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814794692.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This is the story of English Country Dance, from its 18th-century roots in the English cities and countryside, to its transatlantic leap to the United States in the 20th century. The book argues that ...
More
This is the story of English Country Dance, from its 18th-century roots in the English cities and countryside, to its transatlantic leap to the United States in the 20th century. The book argues that the history of country and folk dancing in America is deeply intermeshed with that of political liberalism and the “old left.” The book situates folk dancing within surprisingly diverse contexts, from progressive era reform, and playground and school movements, to the changes in consumer culture, and the project of a modernizing, cosmopolitan middle-class society. Tracing the spread of folk dancing, with particular emphases on English Country Dance, International Folk Dance, and Contra, the book connects the history of folk dance to social and international political influences in America. Through archival research, oral histories, and ethnography of dance communities, it allows dancers and dancing bodies to speak. From the norms of the first half of the century, marked strongly by Anglo-Saxon traditions, to the Cold War nationalism of the post-war era, and finally on to the counterculture movements of the 1970s, the book injects the riveting history of folk dance in the middle of the story of modern America.Less
This is the story of English Country Dance, from its 18th-century roots in the English cities and countryside, to its transatlantic leap to the United States in the 20th century. The book argues that the history of country and folk dancing in America is deeply intermeshed with that of political liberalism and the “old left.” The book situates folk dancing within surprisingly diverse contexts, from progressive era reform, and playground and school movements, to the changes in consumer culture, and the project of a modernizing, cosmopolitan middle-class society. Tracing the spread of folk dancing, with particular emphases on English Country Dance, International Folk Dance, and Contra, the book connects the history of folk dance to social and international political influences in America. Through archival research, oral histories, and ethnography of dance communities, it allows dancers and dancing bodies to speak. From the norms of the first half of the century, marked strongly by Anglo-Saxon traditions, to the Cold War nationalism of the post-war era, and finally on to the counterculture movements of the 1970s, the book injects the riveting history of folk dance in the middle of the story of modern America.
