Democracy's Body: Judson Dance Theatre, 1962-1964 » (1st Edition)

Democracy's Body offers a lively, detailed account of the beginnings of the Judson Dance Theater—a popular center of dance experimentation in New York's Greenwich Village—and its place in the larger history of the avant-garde art scene of the 1960s. JDT started when Robert Dunn, a student of John Cage, offered a dance composition class in Merce Cunningham's studio. The performers—many of whom included some of the most prominent figures in the arts in the early sisties—found a welcome performance home in the Judson Memorial Church in the Village. Sally Banes's account draws on interviews, letters, diaries, films, and reconstructions of dances to paint a portrait of the rich culture of Judson, which was the seedbed for postmodern dance and the first avant-garde movement in dance theater since the modern dance of the 1930s and 1940s. Originally published in 1983, this edition brings back into print a highly regarded work of dance history.

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**** Reprint of the UMI Research Press edition originally published in 1983 (and distinguished by inclusion in BCL3). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)