Dancing National Ideologies: The Athens Festival in the Cold War. (2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Prickett, Stacey; Tsintziloni, Steriani
• Is Part Of: Conference proceedings. (2016)
• Page Start: 306
• Page End: 314
• Publication Date: 2016
• Subjects: Dance -- Congresses; Dance -- History and criticism -- Congresses; Dance criticism -- Congresses; 792.8
• DOI: 10.1017/cor.2016.41
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2049-1255

Abstract

Abstract : The international Athens Festival was prominent in shaping a cosmopolitan identity and openness within Greek society. During its first decade (1955–1966), the Festival also functioned as a significant form of cultural diplomacy. Audiences were exposed to elite dance companies from nations such as the U.S., which functioned ideologically and diplomatically. Our presentation interrogates the construction of a dance field in Greece and the shaping of aesthetic values, contextualized within socio-cultural tensions. Research exposes imperatives of a rising superpower consolidating its position, revealing multiple types of influence on Greece and other nations in a battle of political wills with the USSR.