Writing at the dynamic intersection of dance and performance studies.

Mary Wigman, Germany’s premier dancer between the two world wars, envisioned the performer in the thrall of ecstatic and demonic forces. Widely hailed as an innovator of dance modernism, she never acknowledged her complex relationship with National Socialism. In Ecstasy and the Demon, Susan Manning advances a sociological explanation for the collaboration between German modern dancers and National Socialism. She models methods for dance studies that contextualize choreography in relation to changing sociopolitical conditions, bringing dance scholarship into conversation with intellectual trends across the humanities. The introduction to this second edition brings Manning’s groundbreaking work to bear on dance studies today and reconsiders Wigman’s career from the perspective of queer theory and globalization, further illuminating the interplay of dance and politics in the twentieth century. Susan Manning is professor of English, theater, and performance studies at Northwestern University.

Marina Svetlova: A Tribute is a book that is intended to engage the professional dancer, as well as the layman, to the dance. The work celebrates the career of one of the most influential ballerinas of the twentieth century. The journey begins with her days as a baby ballerina in the de Basil Original Ballet Russe company, culminating in a tenure as professor of ballet at Indiana University Bloomington. Her intermediary accomplishments in the arts, such as having been named the prima ballerina of New York’s Metropolitan Opera Ballet while enjoying a decade of tours with the Svetlova Dance Ensemble, are explored, along with an appreciation for a lifetime of guest appearances. She appeared around the world as a guest artist with major ballet companies, coupled with frequent performances on television shows such as the Firestone Hour and the Bell television show. Svetlova’s legacy in the dance world is extensively documented in this volume by the inclusion of reviews of many of her performances and is accompanied by a host of stunning pictures produced by several of the most important dance photographers of her day.