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The Dancer's World 1920-1945 focuses on modern dancers as they saw themselves. Over thirty practitioners' - both artists and educators - writings are considered. They include both the very well known such as Isadora Duncan, Hanya Holm and Mary Wigman and those who are now less well known, such as Diana Jordan and Elizabeth Selden. This presents an original reading of a transatlantic phenomenon. The book has a broad sweeping narrative account whilst providing substantial analysis of dancers' own writings. It begins with the idea of the dancer, relating it to the present day. An introduction takes the reader back to the period and considers how the voice of the dancer has been lost at the expense of the choreographer. Five chapters describe a narrative arc that encompasses Europe and the USA with a focus between 1920 and 1945. A final chapter considers contemporary relevance for dancers, dance artists, choreographers, dance students and scholars alike.
