ABSTRACT
The concept of the role of dance in the lives of people was changing also. For dance in eastern Europe, goals were dictated by the government, which meant that Swan Lake was acceptable because it was harmless, but new works had to exhibit proper, political content. In the west, a variety of aesthetic, ethical, social and political causes had been available, but entertainment took precedence. After World War II, artistic possibilities burgeoned. Though less welcome in the east, the well of the tide could not be stopped. By the beginning of the 1990s nearly all of Europe was seething with new dance ideas that were bringing larger, more diversified audiences into the theatres. And choreographers were ready to serve diversified tastes.
