American-Soviet cultural diplomacy : the Bolshoi Ballet's American premiere / Cadra Peterson McDaniel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McDaniel, Cadra Peterson, 1984- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bolʹshoĭ teatr SSSR. Balet--History--20th century.

Bolʹshoĭ teatr SSSR.

Bolʹshoĭ teatr SSSR. Balet.

Dance--Political aspects--Soviet Union--History.

Dance.

Cultural diplomacy--Soviet Union--History.

Cultural diplomacy.

History.

Dance--Political aspects.

Soviet Union--Relations--United States.

Soviet Union.

Relations.

United States.

United States--Relations--Soviet Union.

Physical Description:

xxxv, 257 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham ; Boulder ; New York ; London : Lexington Books, [2015]

Summary:

American Soviet Cultural Diplomacy The Bolshoi Bullet's American Premiere is the first full-length examination of a Soviet cultural diplomatic effort Following the signing of an American-Soviet cultural exchange agreement in the late 1950s, Soviet officials resolved to utilize the Bolshoi Ballet's planned 1959 American tour to awe audiences with Soviet choreographers' great accomplishments and Soviet performers' superb abilities. Relying on extensive research, Cadra Peterson McDaniel examines whether the objectives behind Soviet cultural exchange and the specific aims of the Bolshoi Ballet's 1059 American tour provided evidence of a thaw in American-Soviet relations. Interwoven throughout this study is an examination of the Soviets' competing efforts to create ballets encapsulating Communist ideas while simultaneously reinterpreting pre-revolutionary ballets so that these works were ideologically acceptable. McDaniel investigates the rationale behind the creation of the Bolshi's repertoire and the Soviet leadership's objectives and interpretation of the tours success as well as American responses to the lour. The repertoire included the four ballets. Romeo and Juliet, Swan take, Giselle, and The Scone Flower, and two Highlights Programs, which included excerpts from various pre- and post-revolutionary ballets, operas, and dance suites. I low the Americans and the Soviets understood the Bolshoi's success provides insight into how each side conceptualized the role of the arts in society and in political transformation. This book demonstrates the ballet's role in Soviet foreign policy, a shift to "artful warfare," and thus emphasizes the significance of studying cultural exchange as a key aspect or. Soviet foreign policy and analyze?, the continued importance of the arts in twenty-first-century Russian politics. Book jacket.

Contents:

Ideological goodwill : American and Soviet cultural exchange plans

Restricted repertoire : planning for the Bolshoi's 1959 tour

The class struggle and Shakespeare : the Soviets' interpretation of Romeo and Juliet

Imperial communism : the Soviets' reinterpretation of P.I. Tchaikovsky' Swan lake

Preserving and elevating the classics : Giselle

State approved innovations : the stone flower

Soviet highlights : the very eclectic Soviet artistic scene

Tempered success : ballet's role in the cold war.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780739199305

0739199307

OCLC:

890068154