Camelia Lenart is a Lecturer at the University at Albany. Her work is at the interface of dance, diplomatic and women studies. She received numerous fellowships and awards, including an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship from University College London and a Dance Chronicle Founding Editors Award. Her work was published in edited volumes, and in Dance Chronicle, Dance Research Journal, H-Diplo, and The European Journal of American Studies. She is working on a book focusing on the European Tours of Martha Graham and Her Company (1950-1967.) Camelia also works on a manuscript about Alvin Ailey’s Cold War tours to Eastern Europe.

Modern Women, Modern Dance and the Re-bordering of the Cold War Diplomacy in 1957 Berlin

Abstract: On September 19, 1957, the American modern dancer and cultural diplomat Martha Graham performed at its opening ceremonies of Kongresshalle, the building which was presented as a gift to the City of Berlin by the US government. Graham’s invitation came from Eleanor Lansing Dulles, who was the brain and the heart behind the Kongreshalle’s building and opening ceremony.

Looking at the logistics, politics and emotions involved in this international event, my paper reconstructs and analyzes from multilayered perspectives this little explored, yet intricate and complex moment of American diplomacy during the Cold War in Europe. Built during a time marked by the Cold War growing tensions, Kongreshalle conveyed to Germany, Europe and the world the Pax Americana message of freedom and democracy, opposing dictatorship and Communism.

Erected in very close proximity of the West and East Berlin’s frontier, Kongreshalle also innovatively and boldly challenged the mental and physical construction of time’s borders, “making and shaking” them. On one hand, while existing in the Western space, it visually and emotionally blended into the Eastern one too. On the other hand, in a decade marked by an intense race between the two superpowers and their allies, the Western knowledge, technology, science and arts used in building the Kongreshalle, openly challenged the Soviets’ ones: the architecture of the building was incredibly modern, as it was the technology of construction and its equipment, while the abstract modern sculpture by Henry Moore paired Graham modern dance performance. Last but not least, Eleanor Lansing Dulles deliberately chose to work with, promote, and empower other women artists and politicians, thus crossing the gendered boundaries of the domestic fifties. The analysis of their collaboration not only brings into the light and writes a new page of diplomatic and women history, but it also reflects the struggles and successes of women who were challenging the rhetoric of the Cold War society and discourse.