In the last 30 years the popularity of Balkan “Gypsy” music and dance has exploded,  becoming staples at world music festivals, dance clubs, and folk dance events in Western Europe and North and South America. At the same time, thousands of Balkan Roma have emigrated westward due to deteriorating living conditions, and entrenched stereotypes of criminality have arisen amidst deportations and harassment. In this heightened atmosphere of xenophobia, Roma, as Europe’s largest minority and its quintessential “other,” face the paradox that they are revered for their music and dance yet reviled as people.

Focusing on communities, clubs, and festivals in Europe as well as the US, this illustrated ethnographic presentation investigates the ramifications of these phenomena for Romani performers and non-Romani musicians and dancers, producers, audiences, and marketers.