Dance and the Arts in Mexico, 1920-1950 tells the story of the arts
explosion that launched at the end of the Mexican revolution, when
composers, choreographers, and muralists had produced state-sponsored
works in wide public spaces. The book assesses how the "cosmic
generation" in Mexico connected the nation-body and the dancer's body in
artistic movements between 1920 and 1950. It first discusses the role of
dance in particular, the convergences of composers and visual artists in
dance productions, and the allegorical relationship between the dancer's
body and the nation-body in state-sponsored performances. The arts were
of critical import in times of political and social transition, and the
dynamic between the dancer's body and the national body shifted as the
government stance had also shifted. Second, this book examines more
deeply the involvement of US artists and patrons in this Mexican arts
movement during the period. Given the power imbalance between north and
south, these exchanges were vexed. Still, the results for both parties
were invaluable. Ultimately, this book argues in favor of the benefits
that artists on both sides of the border received from these exchanges.