I Put a Spell on You: Dancing Women from Salome to Madonna

a great romp through a history of dance from a feminist perspective. Easy to read, and full of information. Gave me a great perspective on the history of popular dance styles, and made me realise just how popular dance has been through the last few centuries. My only problem with this book is that a lot of her facts and figures are unsubstantiated, and some of the more mind-boggling ones just don't stand up to even the most basic research. Some of the more flamboyant claims (in Buenos Aries in 1914 there were 10,000 men to every 1 woman?) and even some which are a matter of opinion (Josephine Baker had 'heavy thighs'?) make me wonder about some of the other claims which she uses to support her arguments.This said, its still a good book, and has given me a better view of this part of history.

This book did more for me than I had first imagined. I was intrigued by accounts of dancers' lives and takes on dance as I leafed through, but it turned out the book did more. It spoke of long-ago events that shape the culture of today, it spoke of the roots of the concerns I had seen on the faces and in the actions of fellow dancers. Its account help me start to feel clearer on what my obstacles were.I would recommend it to anyone brave enough to look inside! I will recommend it to my son, so that he can understand more of the things that shape the world he is living in. So that he may be better able to lay to rest some of the fears and compulsions that he witnesses and that baffle him. It's a book worth reading from cover to cover!

This book was recommended to me for some research I was doing. Being a man, and not a dancer, it wasn't the sort of book I'd normally pick up. But it was absolutely un-put-downable. I especially liked the accounts of how working class women - ordinary women in different cultures - have empowered themselves socially through performing. Well worth buying and guaranteed to keep you awake into the early hours.