The Dancing Goddesses: Folklore, Archaeology, and the Origins of European Dance

The dancing goddesses of the title are the swan maidens, mermaids, and tree-spirits that would eventually morph into the "wilis" of the ballet Giselle, the Rusalka of Dvorák's eponymous Czech opera, and the black and white swans of the ballet Swan Lake. Barber (archaeology & linguistics, emerita, Occidental Coll.; The Mummies of Ürümchi), a lifelong folk dancer, explores the origins of dance in this analysis of the folk customs and cultures of Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, and more. She also investigates the sources of a number of folk customs, such as rituals connected with celebrations of the solstice, weddings, childbirth, and initiations to adulthood. Her research material includes an array of books and articles in various Slavic languages, and her website (elizabethwaylandbarber.com) provides full translations of many of these texts that could only be quoted or summarized in the book.