Between November 29, 1937 and January 2, 1938 there existed a dance festival in New York City that had never been seen before or since. It was called “Dance International” and it consisted of films, lectures, art books, and a plethora of foreign dancers representing as many as forty-two different nations. Recognized as a sort of “World’s Fair of Dance”, it was the brain child of the photographer Louise Branch (1901 – 1959) and artist Malvina Hoffman.
“More than a mere spectacle, ‘Dance International’ was proof that the dance is still one of the most significant and prevalent of art forms. Originating as a religious rite in which men expressed their identity with the rhythms they felt in nature – in wind, tides and heavenly bodies – it has been part of every culture and every civilization.”
