Anyone who writes about performance is indebted to the people
who make performances. It is a pleasure to be able to name a few
of the many thousands who participated in dance marathons and
who have shared with me how they danced, sang, entertained,
watched, and promoted them: Rajah Bergman, Norma Jasper, Edna
Smith, Betty Freund, Everett Perlman, Betty Herndon Meyer, George
Cook, and John Meehan. In addition, Richard Elliott, Stan West, and
most of all George Eells have been especially helpful. Eells has been
most generous with his knowledge, insights, and photographs.

Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Cynthia Novak, Michael Kirby, and
Cynthia Ward all read and commented on an early draft of this manu-
script. Brooks McNamara has been a formidable mentor who has read
and commented on both early and later drafts. McNamara's knowledge
of popular culture and belief in my work have been a sustaining in-
fluence. Thomas Kessner, who led the 1991 National Endowment for
the Humanities Summer Seminar for College Teachers, The Making of
Modern America, offered many useful suggestions, as did the partici-
pants in that seminar. My participation in the seminar, in which I con-
tinued my research for this book, was funded by an NEH Summer
Seminar Fellowship.

A number of people have aided me in the preparation of the manu-
script: they include Bill Doyle, Radz Subramanium, Lauren Sherman,
and Lys Ann Shore. I am also indebted to Sharon Mazer, Ann Daly,
and Susan Ware for commenting on different chapters. Richard
Schechner has made invaluable suggestions and has remained enthusi-
astic and supportive throughout this project. My sister Claudia Teich
has shared the pleasure of the completion of this book.

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