Women, Dance and Revolution: Performance and Protest in the Southern Mediterranean

Description

The countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean-- Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria--have undergone major turmoil in recent years, with civil war, occupation and uprising. Women, Dance and Revolution offers a highly original perspective on the political and cultural tensions through the experiences of contemporary dance practitioners from the region. It shows how these women--all established performers, choreographers and teachers--have responded to the changes brought about by the troubles. Through dance they engage in public protest and performance, endure violence and repression, and reveal new meanings of identity, gender and body politics. Their journeys of dance illuminate how, despite moments of disillusionment, objection and betrayal, being a woman and being a dancer can still mean many things and influence society in many ways in the Arab World.

Rosemary Martin trained at the New Zealand School of Dance, Wellington and was subsequently a member of the Royal New Zealand Ballet. She performed in Australia, London, Canada and Japan. She has extensive experience in research and teaching in the Middle East and has taught at Cairo Modern Dance Company; El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe; the Jordanian National Dance Center; and the Lebanese American University. She is the co-author (with Nicholas Rose and Ralph Buck) of Talking Dance: Contemporary Histories from the Southern Mediterranean (2013).