Theatres of the Body: Dance and Discourse in Antebellum Philadelphia
| AUTHOR | Brooks, Lynn Matluck |
| PUBLISHER | Temple University Press (07/18/2025) |
| PRODUCT TYPE | Hardcover (Hardcover) |
Description
Theatres of the Body is Lynn Matluck Brooks' critical examination of danced stage productions in antebellum Philadelphia. Starting in the 1820s, Brooks explores visual art and social and theatrical dancing across different classes, focusing on the work of E. W. Clay. Continuing through the 1830s, she looks at pantomime ballets and blackface minstrelsy through a political lens, asking questions regarding citizenship, slavery, and freedom. At the time, the city boasted the largest number of native-born ballet dancers in the young nation. Philadelphia also became a creative home to blackface star T. D. Rice, who helped popularize that performance genre. Reviewing print culture in the 1840s, Brooks shows how newspapers, magazines, and popular fiction provided documentation of dancing in Philadelphia as well as the responses of dance commentators, practitioners, and moralists. Theatres of the Body also considers the interplay of science with dance in the 1850s, which impacted both dance practices and reception. Providing an expansive historiography of these significant contributions to dance in the United States, Brooks deepens our understanding of antebellum culture and history.
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Product Format
Product Details
ISBN-13:
9781439923030
ISBN-10:
1439923035
Binding:
Hardback or Cased Book (Sewn)
Content Language:
English
More Product Details
Page Count:
300
Carton Quantity:
20
Product Dimensions:
6.00 x 0.81 x 9.00 inches
Weight:
1.28 pound(s)
Feature Codes:
Bibliography,
Index,
Illustrated
Country of Origin:
US
Subject Information
BISAC Categories
Performing Arts | Dance - History & Criticism
Performing Arts | Cultural & Ethnic Studies - American - General
Performing Arts | United States - State & Local - Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD,
Dewey Decimal:
792.809
Library of Congress Control Number:
2025003084
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
publisher marketing
Theatres of the Body is Lynn Matluck Brooks' critical examination of danced stage productions in antebellum Philadelphia. Starting in the 1820s, Brooks explores visual art and social and theatrical dancing across different classes, focusing on the work of E. W. Clay. Continuing through the 1830s, she looks at pantomime ballets and blackface minstrelsy through a political lens, asking questions regarding citizenship, slavery, and freedom. At the time, the city boasted the largest number of native-born ballet dancers in the young nation. Philadelphia also became a creative home to blackface star T. D. Rice, who helped popularize that performance genre. Reviewing print culture in the 1840s, Brooks shows how newspapers, magazines, and popular fiction provided documentation of dancing in Philadelphia as well as the responses of dance commentators, practitioners, and moralists. Theatres of the Body also considers the interplay of science with dance in the 1850s, which impacted both dance practices and reception. Providing an expansive historiography of these significant contributions to dance in the United States, Brooks deepens our understanding of antebellum culture and history.
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List Price $119.50
Your Price
$118.30