Dance in Popular Theatre
A brief history of dance in popular theatre from the 17th century, through music hall, the development of ballet, skirt dancing and the Tiller Girls.
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20th-Century Dance
From the early 20th century dancers, especially in Germany and America, experimented with freer, more personal ways of moving. They rejected the rigidity of classical balle…
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London Contemporary Dance Theatre
London Contemporary Dance Theatre was established in 1966, becoming the flagship of modern dance in Britain.
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History of Black Dance: The Origins of Black Dance
The term black dance describes a range of styles whose origins include the tribal dances of Africa, the slave dances of the West Indies and the American Deep South
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History of Black Dance: 20th-Century Black American Dance
Black culture had a real influence on dance and other art forms in the 20th century. After the American civil war a surge of people from the Caribbean and Deep South migrat…
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History of Black Dance: Black British Dance
The first British black dance company was Ballets Nègres. Its founder, Berto Pasuka was born in Jamaica and learned dancing from the Maroon Negroes, descendants of runaway …
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South Asian Dance in the UK
Dance in India was for thousands of years associated with Hindu temples and the temple arts. Dancers were known as Devadasis (temple dancers) or Bayadères. Dance was a sign…
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Dance Costume Design
Dance costume is a highly specialised field and as well as having to reflect the overall concept of the work, body movement, the demands of the choreography of a particular…
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Fred and Adele Astaire
Fred Astaire (1899–1987) was one of the greatest dancers of the 20th century. He and his sister Adele (1896–1981) were child stars in American Vaudeville before moving into…
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Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker, international star of sensational, exotic cabarets including La Revue Nègre, and the infamous Folies Bergère in Paris and Berlin, was born on 3 June 1906 i…
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A gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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Bronze Khmer Style Apsara Statue
Inspired by sculptures and devotional objects found in the V&A's Asia Collections, this bronze sculpture has been reproduced with applied patina a…
Buy nowEvent - Indian Arrival Day
Fri 24 May 2013 18:30
SPECIAL EVENT: Explore the aftermath of the transatlantic slave trade, the growth of material prosperity as a result of the Industrial Revolution, and mass migration of an indentured labour force from the Indian subcontinent to east and south Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
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