This book, the fourth volume in The Nordic Experience series, is a collection of nine essays examining, from various perspectives, the role of dance in the Nordic region, the “space” occupied by dance, the geographical “space” referred to as Nordic, and the cultural geography of the region itself. The first chapter lays out the groundwork for the rest, which point out how dance in the Nordic area represents both regional and national cultures, and also incorporates and adapts outside influences, with emphasis on the increasing Americanization of world culture in general and its effect on the Nordic region in particular. This may be why the second chapter, Inger Damsholt’s “Rock Around the North,” deals with the arrival in Scandinavia, in the late 1950s, of the film Rock Around the Clock. This chapter explores the juxtaposition of wild foreign music and dance styles with the stereotypical Nordic view of itself as quiet and unassuming. It also deals with the subsequent incorporation of American-style youth culture and the introduction of rock ‘n’ roll and swing dancing into Nordic culture. In a book dealing with Nordic dance, it seems slightly odd to devote an entire chapter to the introduction of rock ‘n’ roll to the region, but the theme of this chapter does correspond to that of chapter 5, Lena Hammergren’s “Dancing African-American Jazz in the Nordic Region.” Hammergren’s essay explores the impact of African-American dances and dancers on the dance communities within the region.
This book includes discussions of folk dance, theatre dance, and so-called popular dance. Dance, which can be a spectator or participatory activity, can theoretically be practiced anywhere, and thus creates “variable geographies” (Hammergren, 102), which, like the Nordic region itself, are not fixed by borders. As indicated by the title of the book, the concept of space is a central theme of the volume as a whole. The theories of Henri Lefebvre are mentioned numerous times in different chapters, and various notions about the interaction between professional, cultural, societal, and geographical space are explored. The movement of dancers (the actual movement of the body as well as the migration of dancers from place to place when seeking work), the physical activity of dance, and subsequent creation of dance spaces are examined. Chapter 3 deals with the travels of dancers primarily seeking work within the Nordic region. Class defines yet another dimension of space and, not surprisingly, the history of various styles of dance has been divided along class lines, as described by Egil Bakke in chapter 6 and by Anne Margrete Fiskvik in chapter 8.
Norden, itself a flexible and fluctuating space, is described as a transnational ethnoscape centered on Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, while encompassing Finland, Iceland, Greenland, and areas beyond. The region is, to a certain extent, imagined, as all communities have been referred to as imagined. In the same way, dancers also belong to imagined communities which are shaped by the practice and performance of dance. Such flexible dimensions are bound to have an impact on the idea of what constitutes a particular community. Furthermore, it would seem that an imagined community must be imagined by those on the outside as well as within the group. Just as external influences impact culture within the Nordic region, ideas about what is entailed by the term Nordic have an impact on outside reactions to Nordic cultural exports. Therefore it makes sense to pay attention to how the Nordic region is perceived by outsiders. Preconceived notions of Nordic coolness and moodiness are examples of how impressions of Nordic culture may color the views of others. This is discussed in chapter 7, Inka Juslin’s “Nordic Dance Performances in the North American Marketplace.”
Folk dancing is an example of so-called traditional dance, but, in a manner analogous to the way communities are said to be imagined, traditions have been called the products of invention. As Mats Nilsson points out in chapter 4, “Folk Dance Competitions in the Twenty-first Century,” folk dances as they are currently performed are not authentic representations of historic dance. Rather, they are organized and nationalized revivals. So-called traditional dances have been associated with the creation of nationhood and are usually performed in national costumes that are themselves examples of invented traditions. “Participating in the all-Nordic folk dance events has been and still is a historically specific way of constituting the Nordic region” (Hoppu, 228). All-Nordic folk dance activities are performed by groups representing their specific nations, but together they represent Norden.
This collection of essays does not attempt to provide a precise definition of the Nordic region. Much seems dependent on an understanding of the fluidity of a borderless space and on an underlying concept of imagined communities. It may have been more difficult than anticipated to convey the idea of dance space and practice in an imagined region. There are certain redundancies in the collection. For example, the second and fifth chapters deal with American and African-American influences on Nordic dance and culture. Chapters 6 and 8 both deal with issues of class. Chapter 4 deals with twenty-first century folk dance, and chapter 9 discusses Nordic folk dance events prior to 1975. Perhaps some of these topics could have been combined. Nevertheless, this book deals with such important issues as class, mobility, and the interaction between the Nordic region and the rest of the world. It should be of value to Scandinavian scholars and to anyone interested in the social and historical aspects of dance.
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[Review length: 911 words • Review posted on February 4, 2015]