Dancing Cultures

In this volume, edited by Kringelbach (U. of Oxford, England) and Skinner (Queen's U. Belfast, Northern Ireland), anthropologists engage with dance through three themes: dance and globalization; tourism, social transformation, and dance; and dance, identity, and nation. For the first theme, papers discuss the diffusion of jive dancing as a process of American urbanization, the commercial transnational touring of national ballet companies, and the commoditization of a dance healing ritual. The second theme is addressed in chapters examining the impact of tourism upon local indigenous dance and identity in Java, Panama, and among Canadian Native Americans. Finally, the theme of dance, identity, and nation is explored in papers discussing neo-traditional performance in Senegal, transnational Mexican folklore ballet, dance and gender identity among youth in Korea, and the training of social relations as an embedded aspect of dance training in a village studio in Bali. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Jonathan Skinner is Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Roehampton. He is the author of Before the Volcano: Reverberations of Identity on Montserrat (Arawak Publications 2004) and co-editor of Great Expectations: Imagination and Anticipation in Tourism (Berghahn Books 2011).