From the first steps towards civilization among prehistoric peoples, this visual encyclopedia moves on to explore the early societies of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, and their history-making achievements such as the invention of writing.

From the first steps towards civilization among prehistoric peoples, this visual encyclopedia moves on to explore the early societies of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, and their history-making achievements such as the invention of writing.

This groundbreaking collection combines ethnographic and historic strategies to reveal how dance plays crucial cultural roles in various regions of the world, including Tonga, Java, Bosnia-Herzegovina, New Mexico, India, Korea, Macedonia, and England. The essays find a balance between past and present and examine how dance and bodily practices are core identity and cultural creators. Reaching beyond the typically Eurocentric view of dance, Dancing from Past to Present opens a world of debate over the role dance plays in forming and expressing cultural identities around the world.