The book is a collection of 17 theoretical texts on dance and the performing arts. With an earlier text from 1913 and a newer one reissued in 2022, it traces the connection between dance and life and issues that have concerned people throughout time and in modern times. In addition to the wealth of information, the reader will discover tools of thought and analysis that allow for an in-depth exploration of the art of dance.

It is the first book of its kind to be published in Greek and attempts to contribute to filling the relevant bibliographical gap. In its pages appear prominent names from the history of dance (such as Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Pina Bausch and Yvonne Rainer), but also from today (such as Boris Charmatz, Vera Mantero, Jérôme Bel and Ivana Müller). The themes range from the mass dance and gymnastic spectacles of the Third Reich to the “postmodern” choreographic experimentation of the 1960s and 1970s in America, and from the close link between the history of ballet and the institution of marriage to the phenomenon of the danseuse en travesti in French romantic ballet; from prehistoric rituals for the death of winter to the practices of self-harm in Marina Abramovich’s performances, and from Aristotle’s classical definition of dance to the radical position that dance should henceforth be defined by the notion of “presence” rather than “movement”, paving the way for the possibility of a still dance.

In the introductions of the sections, Menti Mega takes on the role of choreographer. With the aim of bridging theory and practice, she selects and describes a contemporary dance performance that illustrates in a vivid way the main stakes of the following thematic section. Instead, in the introductions of the chapters she steps into the role of the reader, allowing the text in question to guide her as to the introductory information that will be useful to the reader.