Stumbling from New York to West Berlin: American Dance Diplomacy in West Germany in the Late 1950s
Loading...
Date
2022-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
American artists were sent abroad with funding from the US Department of State and other government programs for goodwill tours throughout the Cold War. In consultation with the State Department, panels of experts selected artists based on their perceived suitability for geographic target areas. Amongst the instability of the Berlin Crisis and heightening Cold War tensions, the US government-sponsored twenty goodwill tours of American dancers to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). This thesis evaluates the role dance played in US public diplomacy efforts in the FRG between 1957 and 1960 by examining the tours of the José Limón Dance Company and Jerome Robbins's Ballets: USA. In addition, this thesis explores the political and geographic considerations driving American dance diplomacy in the FRG and the press reception of these dance tours. Drawing on archival materials from the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, the Ohio State University Special Collections, and the University of Arkansas Special Collections, this project utilizes the personal papers and records of dance artists and companies, digital recordings of dance performances, and government correspondences. My methodology also employs a dance studies perspective to examine embedded choreographic symbolisms within American dance performances. It situates the projection of these symbols within the larger framework of US Cold War diplomatic aims. I argue that the success of these tours relied upon the West German press perceiving performances as authentically American rather than repackaged European concert dance. I also consider the role of race and multicultural representation, the broader Cold War political context, and US-FRG diplomatic relations in shaping the Department of State's diplomatic purpose for these tours and post-tour evaluations. Finally, my analysis provides a geographic-specific case study that suggests American dance tours functioned as one method of a broader US political strategy to reinforce Western integration efforts and bolster US solidarity with the Federal Republic.
Description
Keywords
Cold War, Cultural Diplomacy, Dance and Politics, Jerome Robbins - Ballets: USA, José Limón Dance Company, US Relations with the Federal Republic of Germany