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The Igor Moiseyev Dance Company

The Igor Moiseyev Dance Company

Anthony Shay

(2019)

Abstract

In this book Anthony Shay examines the life and works of renowned choreographer Igor Moiseyev and his dance company. Formed in 1937 the Moiseyev Dance Company have performed across the globe and are the first major Soviet dance group to perform in the United States. Through the Moiseyev Dance Company, dance became a vital diplomatic tool, ballerinas replaced atom bombs, and helped usher in a new era of cultural exchange, formalized by an agreement signed by the United States and the Soviet Union. Through this book Shay explores the multiple lenses of spectacle, Russian nationalism, and the Cultural Cold War, to describe and analyse the history of Moiseyev’s company, and the shock that ‘innocent’ folk dance gave the American government. Blending academic study and personal anecdote Shay provides a nuanced analysis of Moiseyev’s importance and his place in the world of dance. This is the first English language study of Igor Moiseyev and his dance company.

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
Cover Cover
Half Title i
Title iii
Copyright vi
Contents vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: Spectacle 21
Chapter 2: Russian Nationalism: The Nation Dances – Russian Identity and The Igor Moiseyev Dance Company 45
Chapter 3: The Cultural Cold War: Dance and The Igor Moiseyev Dance Company 77
Chapter 4: Igor Aleksandrovich Moiseyev and His Dance Company: A Life in Dance 101
Chapter 5: The Igor Moiseyev Dance Company, The Igor Moiseyev Ballet, The State Academic Ensemble of Folk Dances of the Peoples of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: Three Titles, One Company 131
Chapter 6: Moiseyev’s Movement Vocabulary and Choreographic Strategies 157
Notes 189
References 199
Index 211
Back Cover Back Cover