Dancing in Utopia by Larraine Nicholas

Dancing in Utopia by Larraine Nicholas

Bought in 1925 by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst, the Devon estate

of Dartington Hall earned itself a place in the annals of utopian

schemes through the Elmhirsts' conviction that arts, education and

work could be integrated into an abundant life for the participation

of all. A strand that runs throughout Dartington's history is

the consistent belief in dance as an art form worthy of its place

alongside the other arts so that this rural paradise became a point

of intersection for a complex interweaving of dancers and dance

styles, American, European and South Asian.

For the first time, Larraine Nicholas traces Dartington's dance

history in depth, revealing its fascinating array of dancing

characters and setting it within British dance history during a major

part of the twentieth century. It will become an essential text, not

only for dance scholars and students but also for a wider readership

intrigued by the complex phenomenon of Dartington itself.

Larraine Nicholas lectures in Dance Studies at Roehampton University.