ABSTRACT
In dance, the need of past historians and writers to create not only tidy packages of history, but also ones with social, artistic and moral credibility, has resulted in some periods of dance activity being rendered invisible. The claim that English ballet started in the 1930s can be seen with hindsight to be part of the social and political thrust to stabilize and celebrate a national identity which culminated in the Festival of Britain in 1951. Of particular significance are the links between the ballet of the Alhambra and Empire palaces of varieties. The components might, arguably, be summarized as activity and people who are ethnically indigenous repertoire production and technical style audiences and the performance context of the work. Much research remains to be done on the 'moral history' of the dancer but the links between women, dance and sexuality continue to fascinate the public.
