| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 88.2

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to JAH online. About 164 words from this article are provided below; about 366 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the Organization of American Historians, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a member of the Organization of American Historians, you can:: • Join the OAH and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the Journal of American History.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two-hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Journal of American History (86.1-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Journal of American History.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 88.2 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Dancing Class: Gender, Ethnicity, and Social Divides in American Dance, 1890–1920. By Linda J. Tomko. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999. xx, 283 pp. Cloth, $39.95, ISBN 0-253-33571-X. Paper, $18.95, ISBN 0-253-21327-4.)

Linda J. Tomko tells two interweaving stories in her history of American dance at the turn of the century. First, she describes how women, who already dominated the field as "ballet girls," became important dance choreographers, assertively claiming dance as a site for innovation and autonomy. New female soloists such as Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, and Ruth St. Denis gained an audience through the sponsorship of members of elite women's clubs, who invited them to dance in their drawing rooms and charity balls at a time when no male agents could get them bookings in respectable traditional theaters. Society women's sponsorship gave women dancers and creators crucial respectability and financial support while, Tomko argues, "elite women assertively claimed the position of . . . arbiters of cultural production and taste." . . .

There are about 366 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.