Toward a Theory of Cultural Translation in Dance

Abstract

Looking at the history of dance in the modern West, and especially in Europe, where aesthetic modernism began around 1900, there are two characteristics of dance. Whether it is so-called popular dance or a more artistic form, from a sociological perspective, the history of dance is the history of globalization and transnationalism. It is also the record of how urban experiences have been expressed physically. This chapter addresses tango as a specific example of urban transnationalism in dance. In particular, it explores the relevance of a theory of cultural translation for the analysis and historiography of dance and shows how such a theory can arise from the embodied practice of tango.