When Ballet Became French: Modern Ballet and the Cultural Politics of France, 1909-1939

Karthas, a professor at the University of Missouri who specializes in 19th and 20th century French culture and focuses on identity, gender, and modern aesthetics, examines French ballet and how it has informed national identity, the reconciliation of tradition to modernity, and body politics primarily through contemporary criticism in journals and newspapers. She argues that ballet was in a sterile, degenerate form by the fin de si%C3%A8cle, primarily maintaining its allure through the exploitation of women. It took the Russian reinvention of ballet for the French to seriously reconsider it as an art form, inspired by new aesthetics, innovation, and the possibility of resolving the traditional with the modern. Men returned to the stage and new configuration of sexuality, identity, and aesthetics evolved. Karthas unearths the history and lineages of the balletic tradition and how it moved from its monarchical roots to the flowering possibilities in republicanism. On the whole, it is an interesting study and a rewarding read in an under represented area. (Sept.)