Configuring the Dance Review in the North-American Daily, 1890–1920

Abstract

Prior to the 1890s, dance coverage in North-American newspapers was infrequent and haphazard—a sub-species of music criticism or a titbit in the gossip column. Yet beginning in the early 1890s, with the emergence of modern dance on theatrical stages, dance reviewing became a regular feature within American dailies. Modern dance reviews from 1890 to 1920 show heterogeneous stylistic variances that provide retellings and evaluations of dances. Drawing on archival materials, this essay analyses the dance review as it was developing during the fin de siècle, outlining two major developments: first, the evolution of its stylistic expression from the feuilleton style, and second, the rise of its editorial significance within the overall newspaper during this period. Investigating the journalism responding to the work of Loïe Fuller, Isadora Duncan, and Maud Allan, this essay argues that these descriptive and critical writings on dance present nascent reviews, signalling also the development of what we now recognize as the dance review standard, which would become formally established in North-American presses by the 1930s.