Interview with Leda Martins.

Interview with Leda Martins, conducted by Diana Taylor, founding director of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. This interview is a part of a series curated by the Hemispheric Institute, articulated around the question 'What is Performance Studies?' The series aims to provide a multifaceted approach to the often difficult task of defining the coordinates of both a field of academic study as well as a lens through which to assess and document cultural practice and embodied behavior. The contingent definitions documented in this series are based on the groundbreaking experiences and the scholarly endeavors of renowned figures in contemporary performance studies and practice. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics

Leda Martins is a poet and a Professor of Dramatic Arts and Literature at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and in the Graduate Arts program at FALE/UFMG. She completed a Post-Doctorate in Performance Theories at New York University in 2000. Leda Martins also holds a doctorate in Comparative Literature from UFMG, and a Master of Arts from Indiana University. She has authored several books, published numerous essays and poems, and written many papers and articles. Selected publications include O moderno teatro de Corpo santo, UFMG Publishers/1991; A cena em sombras, Perspectiva Publishers/1995; Afrografias da memória, (1997); and Dias Anônimos, Sette Letras (1999). Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics