"Ms. Banes is widely respected as the leading scholar/historian writing about this seminal and neglected period of contemporary dance history. . . Her books are indispensable for any serious dance historian or student of this era. . . Democracy's Body is the type of inaugural survey of a period of art that will undoubtedly inspire other books."—Janice Ross, Stanford University

"Sally Banes is one of the most influential dance historians in America right now. The Judson Era, which Democracy's Body examines in meticulous detail, is a key moment in American dancing."—Mindy Aloff, Dance Critic, The New Yorker

"Anyone interested in choreography or methods of teaching composition must have this book on the shelf. . . Th[is] book is crucial in understanding our history and in appreciating the shape of dance today. Dancers and choreographers need to read it to learn about their heritage, historians to discover clarity about a rambunctious and exciting period of dance history that has been fuzzy with myth and misunderstanding. . . It must be read."—Sally Sommer, Dance Research Journal (from a review of the 1983 edition)