Professor Alkis Raftis, the current President of the International Dance Council CID UNESCO, has recently completed his 14th book, “Dances of the whole world on postage stamps”, published 1998 in Plaka, Athens. This is a fascinating book, filled with life, colour, joy and celebration, literally worldwide, mainly because the dancers and musicians are exhibited on postage stamps. Not only does this collection of stamps literally encompass the world of dance, it also demonstrates the vast range of creativity in dance and music.

Professor Raftis, with expert assistance, has compiled a brilliant and meticulous catalogue of world dance, ranging from Aden, Afghanistan and Albania, to Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Moreover, the postage stamps are listed according to the year, providing a historical and global perspective. His selections of stamps have been rigorously catalogued according to categories: Dance Music, Costumes, Folklore, Ballet, Women Dancers, Men Dancers, Christmas, Souvenir Sheets, Couples, Children, Personalities, Ballerinas, Painting, Masks, Edgar Degas, Arts.

As an anthropologist who loves dance and music, I find these postage stamps literally delightful. I have chosen to concentrate on a limited number of these exhilirating stamps, beginning with the front cover. Edgar Degas’ famous ‘La classe de danse’ (Monaco) marked an elegant centenary, 1874-1974. Dame Margot Fonteyn is as beautiful as ever, hanging up her ballet shoes. ‘Heartbeat of Africa’ came from Lagos, Nigeria, 1977 Festival of Arts and Culture, while in India, the wonderful Uday Shankar died at the age of 77 (1900-1977).

The frontispiece, ‘Dance music’, includes Australian Aboriginal culture, singing and dancing to the Mimi Spirits, engraved on caves in the Northern Territory. Les Indiens du Nord (Indians of Subarctic Canada), denoting both instruments and ritual dance. The dramatic State Theatre in Pretoria combines dance, music and theatre (1981). Hungary, Spain, Yugoslavia, Algeria, Turkey, Denmark and more join ‘La musique de danse’.

Costumes and dance follow from Poland, Yugoslavia, Greece (Pontian dancers), Malaysia, Ireland, Vietnam, United Nations – a range of possibilities. A single dancer from Algeria, Norwegians leaping, Koreans celebrating, German medieval stamps and a solo danseuse in Papua New Guinea.

The ‘Folklore’ page is intriguing, well populated, filled with dance, music, colour, food and a sense of the familial. Most of these stamps derive from Finland, Poland, Yugoslavia and the Ukraine (particularly lively). In Poland, children join the festivities, admiring the dancer’s poise and dress (a kind of headwear with a bird on top?). Stamps of the USSR (1978) include houses, farmland, musicians and elderly women. A large Ukrainian stamp (1992) encompasses a range of instruments, with violin, xylophone and drum, while a dancing couple watch their small child and loving grandma. Quite differently, a stamp from Cuba (1970) denotes both folklore and the winding Conga dance, with coloured masks held high.

Turning the page, we find ‘Ballet’, classic dance of the Cuban National Ballet, airborne leaps, pas-de-deux from Poland, Sweden and Russia, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic. Four Russian stamps convey both martial and toy-like statues in the Nutcracker Suite (1992). ‘Women Dancers’ once again demonstrate the range of dance and music – in a line dancing in Kenya, solo dances in Peru, Algeria, Cambodia, Angola and Vietnam. Two stamps from Monaco denote the death of the great Anna Pavlova (1882-1931) and the seduction of ‘Salome’ by Richard Strauss.

‘Men Dancers’ – Republique Gabonaise danseur Ndoumou, with wonderful feather headress; Rene Blum and Serge Diaghilev celebrating a centenary in Monte Carlo (1866-1966). Morris dancers in the U.K. waving handkerchiefs and clapping sticks; Turkish dancers click wooden spoons; Nigerian dancers walked on stilts, enjoying the fourth anniversary of the Fedeal Republic of Nigeria. In Cyprus, an elegant dancer celebrates 1981.

‘Christmas/Noel’ is particularly lively in specific regions/islands – for example, in Anguilla’s Christmas Carnival, 1976; bright and colourful, with men walking on stilts. Belize (Christmas 1993), dancing for Cortez, wearing brilliant colours. UK stamp recalls 19th century dances around the familial decorated pine tree. Christmas customs in the Solomon Islands (1983) include 9 stamps, dance events of Christmas – ‘Weto Dancers’, ‘Girl dancers at Ysabel’, ‘Devil Dancers’ and ‘Bao Dance’ around the central cross lies a wreath of flowers, a homage to Queen Elizabeth II. In the Marshall Islands (1990), stamps recall native sailboats, British sailors dancing, American preachers, and a duo dance and guitar for the islands’ independence in Guyana (1971). In South America, a dancer wears masquerade, while in Suomi, Finland (1986) four blonde nymphs prepare for Christmas.

‘Masks/Masques”: Colourful and intimidating masks from Mongolia, similar masks from Thailand, masked dancers in Barbados accompanied by musicians, medieval mummers with animalistic heads dance in the U.K.

Almost finally – a splendid page for the 150th anniversary of Edgar Degas: a large and sensuous stamp, including the horse dance, and seven more stamps from the Republique du Congo, Korea, Yugoslavia, Gabon, France, Rwanda, and Monaco (La classe de danse).

Finally, ‘Arts’ includes a statue of dancer Nijinsky, 1914; Czechoslovakian families rejoicing the end of the Russian invasion (1945-1975) and, once again, Renoir’s ‘Dance at Bougival’. Furthermore, this book, “Dances of the Whole World’ can literally illuminate the globe, encourage dance, music, understanding, searching out for the rest of the world and expanding both beauty and knowledge. My thanks to Professor Raftis and his brilliant dance company!!

Dr. Gill Bottomley, Emeritus Professor

Anthropology Department, Macquarie University

New South Wales, Australia