How to Make Dances in an Epidemic: Tracking Choreography in the Age of AIDS (review)

David Gere breaks new ground by endorsing an AIDS cultural research emphasis on social and political investigations of choreography. The writer's background in dance criticism and gay activism provides a strong position from which to study the interplay of AIDS and corporeality, particularly in relation to gay men in the United States in the late twentieth century. Through multiple themes and points of entry, the five chapters of the book shed light on the complex topic. Two dozen performances that include not only concert dancing but also funeral services and political protests are located in relevant social and political contexts.

The theme of bodily fluids is introduced with references to Keith Hennessay's site specific work: a ritual where the performer smears saliva from the audience on his naked body. Tracy Rhoades' Requiem, Bill T. Jones' Untitled and the New Age memorial service of Joah Lowe are presented as examples of melancholia in gay mourning practices. Additionally, meanings in relation to fetishes in these performances are discussed. The new gay aesthetic of death that embodies irony in the form of camp humour is examined in relation to Rodney Price's performance only two weeks before his death. Gay eroticism in Jim Self's Sanctuary: Ramona and the Wolfgang Work for a Cure, which was performed at St. Mark's Church in Manhattan, is also reviewed.

Gere sees the interdependency of activism and mourning as one of the core components in many AIDS choreographies. He draws from the theories of Bertolt Brecht, Douglas Crimp, David Román and Michel de Certeau to explore embodiments of insurgency in, for example, Rick Darnell's work performed by the High Risk Group. He also discusses the political meanings that emerge from AIDS demonstrations such as ACT UP members' protests against the Food and Drug Administration in 1988 and the unfurling of the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt on the National Mall, Washington, D.C. in 1996.

The book also looks into two AIDS benefit performances to explicate how gayness and AIDS activism were confronted in different social and economic contexts by two dance communities in New York City in the mid-1980s. The analysis produced underscores the complex relationships between the economy and integrity of arts organisations.

Gere's relativist view of choreography can be questioned. Yet, his endeavour to study a broad range of cultural practices that relate to the life-threatening disease yields a rich intertextual analysis that informs the reader about meanings that are attached to the gay AIDS body and also to the male dancer. Due to the rigour of Gere's analysis and his fluent style of writing, I found the text quite engrossing. It can be recommended to anyone who is interested in embodiments of gay activism and cultural manifestations of AIDS in dance and other performance practices. For dance scholars and students in dance studies, the book stands as an impressive example of how to write about choreography and corporeality in relation to wider social and political issues.