Dance and Politics: Moving Beyond Boundaries

i Dance and politics ii iii Dance and politics Moving beyond boundaries Dana Mills Manchester University Press iv Copyright © Dana Mills 2017 The right of Dana Mills to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by Manchester University Press Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data applied for ISBN 978 1 5261 0514 1 hardback ISBN 978 1 5261 0515 8 paperback First published 2017 The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any external or third- party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Typeset in Minion by Out of House Publishing v In song and dance man expresses himself as a member of a higher commu- nity: he has forgotten how to walk and speak and is on the way forward flying into the air, dancing. Friedrich Nietzsche You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive. Merce Cunningham vi For my father, Harold Mills, who taught me how to love dance, books and the world. With love and thanks, always. vii Contents Acknowledgements page viii Introduction 1 1 Moving beyond boundaries: writing on the body 11 2 ‘I dreamed of a different dance’: Isadora Duncan’s danced revolution 28 3 ‘The body says what words cannot’: Martha Graham, dance and politics 48 4 ‘I want to tell them how I feel and how black people feel’: gumboot dance in South Africa 66 5 Dancing the ruptured body: One Billion Rising, dance and gendered violence 83 6 Dancing human rights 99 Conclusions: the dancer of the future dancing radical hope 116 References 123 Index 128 viii Acknowledgements I thank everyone at Manchester University Press. I thank Chris Goto- Jones and Cissie Fu for having faith in this project since its inception. Special thanks to Caroline Wintersgill, who really made this project possible on so many levels. I am indebted to Michael Freeden, who encouraged me to pursue this project and commented on many drafts since its inception. I thank David Leopold for his wonderful conversation on political theory and beyond, who with exceptional generosity and kindness has helped me bring many of the ideas here into writing. David’s engagement with political theory has been a constant source of inspiration for me. I thank Marc Stears and Beverley Clack for their comments on an early version of this book, and for their ongoing generosity and inspiration. I would especially like to thank practitioners who made time for me and shared their experiences of working on the various pieces I write about in the book. Lori Belilove, artistic director of the Isadora Duncan Dance Company, invited me to watch a rehearsal and spoke with me about her dance education. I spent some valuable time in the Martha Graham archives in the Library of Congress as well as in the Graham School in New York. I would particularly like to thank Janet Eilber, artistic director of the Graham Dance Company, for talking with me and giving me insights into the company’s work during its time at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. A very special thank you goes to the inimitable Marni Thomas Wood; first, for an inspirational Graham class I carry in my body still, and then for ongoing conversations in New York and Oxford, which taught me I can never really know enough about Martha Graham. Norton Owen, director of preserva- tion at Jacob’s Pillow, made my stay there transformative and helped me through the many Graham materials the Pillow holds. Arkadi Zaides was very generous in sharing his work with me and talking with me about it. ix Acknowledgements ix I have benefited hugely from conversations with many scholars who engage with themes explored in this book in various ways. I would like to thank: Davide Panagia (for the best reading recommendations and for his inspiring energy), Vicki Thoms, Susan Jones, Fiona Macintosh and everyone at the APGRD, Pamela Sue Anderson (for fantastic feminist support and wonderful conversations on feminist philosophy and life beyond it), my dear friend Jonna Patterson (my favourite Rancière inter- locutor who always pushes me to think further and harder), participants of an APSA panel in 2013 in which I gave an earlier version of Chapter 3 of this book, Elisabeth Anker (for support and inspiration) and my select group of theorist friends and comrades – Eloise Harding, Or Rosenboim and Genia Ivanova – for friendship, encouragement and always stimulat- ing conversation. I was fortunate to spend time in the classics and political science departments at Northwestern University. I thank all members of those departments, who were such hospitable hosts. Sara Monoson had made the experience happen and has been a wonderfully generous mentor to me since. I thank Mary Dietz for an inspirational exchange that has inspired me to extend my thinking what I am doing. I thank Bonnie Honig for ongoing conversations which never cease to galvanise and inspire me. Bonnie’s example has been truly transformative for me. I met Rachel Holmes too late in this project for her to suffer its full con- sequences. However, her never- ending passion and commitment to both social justice and writing, and her inimitable combination of principle and compassion, have been transformative for me. I thank Rachel – Sister Comrade – for her inspiration and generosity, in conversation between living and dead feminists that is always going ahead. I have been humbled by sharing an intellectual space with one of the most powerful voices of our time on social justice, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC. Helena’s uncompromising ethics have galvanised and pro- foundly inspired me. I will not attempt to add to the high praise that Helena receives in every possible medium of communication, but those who are blessed to know her in person will testify that she is far better than any superlatives and honours bestowed upon her. Helena is my role model in everything that is good and just in the world, and through her example always pushes me to be a better person. I thank and love Helena for being a never-ending source of inspiration for me in her extraordinary mentorship and friendship. This book was written during my time teaching political theory at Hertford College, Oxford. I thank my colleagues for thought-provoking x x Acknowledgements conversations and for support and encouragement. A special tribute goes to the very singular Principal of Hertford, Will Hutton, who makes the college a truly egalitarian, vibrant and energetic space for radical discus- sion about politics and justice. Will’s leadership makes the college a really wonderful place to think and write in. I thank Will for his example, generosity and inspiration, for being a role model for us all in how good we can be. A big thank you goes to my most constant interlocutors in political theory, my students, who always push me to think harder and keep my mind alive; and a special tribute goes to the women’s studies MSt cohort of 2014– 15 for asking me the best questions about the manuscript in the course of writing it and inspiring me in our joint effort to smash the patriarchy. The manuscript has benefited hugely from Clare Joyce’s and Kiley Hunkler’s very careful reading. I cannot thank both of these brilliant women enough for their incredibly helpful comments and for being such wonderful interlocutors with me in the process of tying up this project. I have been blessed by a fantastic posse of extraordinary friends around the world who I wish to thank: Yonatan Bar On, for cooking for me, supporting and inspiring me for so long; my gorgeous Lee Peled, whose willpower and good judgement have sustained me since our days dancing together through both personal and professional changes, and whose presence in my life is a constant mainstay of inspiration; Adi Shoham, who has shared the ride with me in so many ways and always has been there for me; my dearest Tamara Sharon-Ross, who, despite being on the other side of the Atlantic, makes my life much more worth living through her friendship; the one and only Hodaya Jane Slutsky Kashtan, for strength and inspiration over such a long time; Nancy Eisenhower and Jan Calamita, who have given me a home away from home, many fabulous conversations and the best company I could ask for in Oxford; Jane Buswell, woman of great compassion and fierce personality, for everything; Clio Kennedy- Hutchison for feminist fabulousness; and last but definitely not least, the wonderful Dawn Berry, who has made Oxford worthwhile. My family has tolerated and supported me in the long period of working on this project. I would like to thank my sister Susan Lucas for love and support and my cousins all around the world. I would especially like to thank Julian and Margaret Haines, Louise and Matt Dunstan and Samantha and David Haines, for giving me a home in Wales. xi Acknowledgements xi My beloved aunt Tirza Posner has been a pillar of strength throughout my life and a ceaseless source of support and love.

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