The elusive and evocative histories of Cuban dance

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36025/arj.v8i2.26006

Keywords:

dance, Cuban arts, revolution, historiography, art and politics

Abstract

In interview given to Igor Lemos Moreira, the American historian Elizabeth Schwall reflects on the role of Cuban dance in the island's revolutionary context. Specialist in the interface between arts and politics in the Americas, Schwall discusses theoretical-methodological aspects of studying the performing arts in historiography, the different processes that involved the institutionalization of dance by the Cuban revolutionary government and the interconnected histories between exiles and artists who support the revolution. Throughout the interview, carried out remotely, it is clear that, in addition to being a fruitful field for art historiography, the study of Cuban dance in the 20th century makes it possible to reflect on the global and intertwined connections between politics, society, art and individuals.

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Author Biographies

Elizabeth Schwall, Northern Arizona University

Elizabeth B. Schwall is a historian specializing in Latin American and Caribbean studies, with an emphasis on 20th-century Cuban dance. Dedicated to the hypothesis that art played a fundamental role in political and social life over the past century, published Dancing with the Revolution: Power, Politics, and Privilege in Cuba (University of North Carolina Press, 2021), in addition to several articles on dance in Cuba and abroad. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of History (Northern Arizona University) and was previously a fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University (2018) and a postdoctoral fellow in dance studies at Northwestern University (2016-2018).

Igor Lemos Moreira, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina

Doctoral candidate in History by the Graduate Program in History at the Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (PPGH-UDESC), in the Linguagens eIdentificações research line. Master and Graduated in History (Licentiate) by the same institution. Member of the UDESC Image and Sound Laboratory (LIS/UDESC), of the Exile and Migration Studies Center of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (NEEM-UFMG), of the Cuban History Researchers Network and of the editorial support team of the Tempo e Argumento journal. Associated with ANPUH-SC, ANPHLAC and IASPM-AL.

References

BURDSALL, Lorna. More than Just a Footnote: Dancing from Connecticut to revolutionary Cuba. Quebec: AGMV Marquis, 2001.

CALERO, Sonia. Interview with Elizabeth Schwall, Miami, Florida. December 5, 2013.

DE LA FUENTE, Alejandro. A Nation for All: Race, Inequality, and Politics in Twentieth-Century Cuba. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.

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GUILLERMOPRIETO, Alma. La Habana en un espejo. Barcelona: Literatura Random House, 2018.

JOHN, Suki. Contemporary Dance in Cuba: Técnica Cubana as Revolutionary Movement. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012.

KENYON, Kathryn. “Cuban Ballet’s ‘Giselle’ Is Success Despite Defections.” Los Angeles Times, November 17, 1966, p. D22.

LAMBE, Jennifer. Madhouse: Psychiatry and Politics in Cuban History. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2017.

LEAL, Rine. Teatro Escambray. Havana: Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1978.

MARTÍNEZ, Caridad. Interview with Elizabeth Schwall. New York City, New York. January 18, 2019.

MIRABAL, Elizabeth; VELAZCO, Carlos. Hablar de Guillermo Rosales. Miami: Editorial Silueta, 2013.

MOORE, Robin. Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.

SCHWALL, Elizabeth. Coordinating Movements: The Politics of Cuban-Mexican Dance Exchanges, 1959-1983. Hispanic American Historical Review, v. 97, n. 4, p. 681-716, 2017.

SCHWALL, Elizabeth. A Spectacular Embrace: Dance Dialogues between Cuba and the Soviet Union, 1959-1973. Dance Chronicle, v. 41, n. 3, p. 275-302, 2018.

SERRA, Ana. The “New Man” in Cuba: Culture and Identity in the Revolution. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2007.

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Published

30-12-2021

How to Cite

SCHWALL, E.; MOREIRA, I. L. The elusive and evocative histories of Cuban dance. Art Research Journal: Revista de Pesquisa em Artes, [S. l.], v. 8, n. 2, 2021. DOI: 10.36025/arj.v8i2.26006. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufrn.br/artresearchjournal/article/view/26006. Acesso em: 21 dec. 2024.

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021): Multidisciplinary Perspectives in the Field of Art | Articles

Section

Interviews

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Elizabeth Schwall, Igor Lemos Moreira (Autor)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License. 
Authors retain copyright, while licensing their work under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License.