¿Retorno al espectáculo? Anotaciones sobre el proceso de cambio en la “danza mexicana”: el caso de la Escuela Nacional de Danza, 1932-1947

Much of the historiography of dance in Mexico has pointed out that the dance production of the Escuela de Danza (ED), attached to the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP), lost relevance in the face of the onslaught of new cultural projects privileged by the Mexican state since the late 1930s, all aimed at building «Mexican dance» in artistic terms. The aim of this article is to propose an initial approach to the dynamics of the scenic creation of the DE -the Escuela Nacional de Danza (END) since 1938- in terms of the dance of the spectacle. This perspective can open new questions to deepen the study of this institution and contribute to the analysis of the field of dance in Mexico. First, I offer some important notes on «Mexican dance» and the dance of the spectacle in Mexico. Next, I address the case of the ED, from its foundation in 1932 until 1947, the year in which the Academia de la Danza Mexicana (ADM) was created, replacing it as the leading institution in the creation of the national dance language. At this point, I point out elements that allow me to propose the process of returning to the logic of the spectacle, from the incorporation of its production into the tourism promotion plan of the government of Manuel Avila Camacho.