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From Street Parties to Hardbass: Dance and Protest in Czech Postsocialist Urban Space

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2023

Abstract

In this article, I trace the trajectory of protest dancing in post-socialist urban spaces,beginning with the diverse strategies of the anti-globalization movement in the late 1990s and extending to the practice's appropriation by far-right groups, who sought to update their image, in the early 2010s. More generally,I attempt to illuminate the genealogy of dance as a form of protest in this post-socialist context.I first provide historical context for the subcultural transfer of electronic dance music (EDM) and formation of protest street parties in the Czech post-socialist urban spaces, beforehighlightingsome of the controversies surrounding this development.

Finally, I focus on the far-right's appropriation of protest dance in the early 2010s through the hardbass genre.