Giersdorf looks closely at uniquely East German dance forms—including mass exercise events, national folk dances, Marxist-Leninist visions staged by the dance ensemble of the armed forces, the vast amateur dance culture, East Germany's version of Tanztheater, and socialist alternatives to rock 'n roll—to demonstrate how dance was used both as a form of corporeal utopia and of embodied socia…
My journey toward completing this book, was far from solitary. I had the company of student, colleagues, friends and family. I could not have arrived at this point without them. I would like to thank the Sosial Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for two generous grants: a SSHRC doctoral fellowship (1998-2000) at the University of Alberta and a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship (2004…