ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the critical reception of contemporary dance exports to the United States (US) in the twenty-first century, asking how the ideas, corporealities and aesthetics resonate in the North American press. In juxtaposition to the reception of contemporary performances, it also looks at how Nordic aesthetics were approached a hundred years ago with a major exhibition of Nordic line arts that toured various cities in North America. The chapter does not discuss Nordic dance works as consumption; rather, it uses the concept of an economy of experiences to open a window onto the global marketplace, where competition, diversity and differentiation have a strong presence. Economy of experiences offers a model to read how the marketing and branding of cultural products, events and performances have replaced goods or cultural objects. Each performance company and artist discussed carries its own specificity and does not stand for any coherent idea or label for Nordic.
