Performing the Greek Crisis explores the impact of the Greek financial crisis (2009–19) on the performing arts sector in Greece, and especially on contemporary concert dance. When Greece became the first European Union member to be threatened with default, the resulting budget cuts pushed dance to develop in unprecedented directions. The book examines the repercussions that the crisis had on artists’ daily lives and experiences, weaving the personal with the political to humanize a phenomenon that, to date, had been examined chiefly through economic and statistical lenses. Informed by the author’s experience of growing up in Greece and including interviews and rich descriptions of performances,  the book offers a glimpse into a pivotal moment in Greek history. 

In Greece, dance (and, by extension, the body) has historically held a central role in the process of national identity construction. When the crisis broke out, artists had to navigate through a precariously fluctuating landscape, with their bodies as their only stable referent. In Greece, dance has held a historical role in national identity construction of Greece as the cradle of Western civilization. As the financial crisis coincided with the European Refugee Crisis, dancing bodies became agents to advocate for human rights. By centering the analysis of the Greek crisis on the dancing bodies, Performing the Greek Crisis is able to examine the various ways that artists reconceptualized their history and reframed ideas of national belonging, race, citizenship, and immigration.

Natalie Zervou is Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

— Ann Cooper Albright

“In this eloquent and carefully researched study, Zervou delves into the power of somatic expression to highlight communication and activism beyond performance. Like Greek dance itself, the author pushes the boundaries of an entrenched nationalism under fire. This book fills a gap and invites us to look at the ‘age of austerity’ with different eyes and emotions.”
—Gonda Van Steen, Koraes Chair of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature, King’s College London
 — Gonda Van Steen

— Einav Katan-Schmid