A Queer History of the Ballet (PDF)

"A Queer History of the Ballet"is the first book-length study of ballet's queerness.It theorizes the queer potential of the ballet look, and provides historical analyses of queer artists and spectatorships.It demonstrates that ballet was a crucial means of coming to visibility, of evolving and articulating a queer consciousness in periods when it was dangerous and illegal to be homosexual.It also shows that ballet continues to be a key element of the dance cultures through which queerness is explored.The book moves from the 19th century through the post-modern era, bringing together an important array of creative figures and movements, including Romantic ballet; Tchaikovsky; Diaghilev; Genet; Fonteyn; New York City Ballet; Neumeier; Bourne; Bausch; and Morris.It discusses the making and performance history of key works, including"La Sylphide, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty," and"Swan Lake."
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A Queer History of the Ballet"will be especially useful to students and scholars involved in the growing number of courses on queer culture, theatre studies, dance history, gender studies, and cross-disciplinary approaches to literature.It is written in a lively, clear style that will make it accessible to the non-academic reader who has an interest in queer and/or dance history.