Society Dancing Fashionable Bodies in England, 1870-1920 [Hardcover]

Based on new archival research, this book uniquely presents a fresh interrogation of how, among London's fashionable society, dancing in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was variously a means of social modelling, change, conformity and creative individual expression.Acknowledgements Preface List of Illustrations Contents PART I: SOCIETY DANCES Fashionable Bodies and Society Dancing Fashioning Dance Histories The Seasonal Round Public Spaces Late Victorian Repertoire Anarchy in the Ball Room PART II: FASHIONING GENTILITY A Noble Profession Temples of Terpsichore The Fashioning of Ladies Modelling the Lady Where are our Men? Dancing Dogs and Manly Men PART III: MODERN MOVES Moving into the Twentieth Century Modernizing Terpsichore Civilization Under Threat Knuts and Aliens Civilizing from the Centre Looking Back, Moving On Notes Bibliography Index

'The strength of this book lies in the variety of facets of social dance in the late Victorian/early twentieth century which it addresses. This range of content culminates in a rich picture of time, place, people, their dances and their dancing.' - Alexandra Carter, Emeritus Professor in Dance Studies, University of Middlesex, UK

THERESA BUCKLAND Professor of Performing Arts at De Montfort University, UK.