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DADA:
This is an excerpt from my documentary-in-progress on the dada movement, titled, "Random Acts of Beauty: The Story
of Dada."
The assassination of Austria's Archduke Francis Ferdinand in 1914, plunges Europe into war.
The United States and Switzerland remained neutral, but because of it's proximity, Switzerland became the destination
of choice for those wishing to escape the conflict.
In early 1916, just a few weeks before the battle of Verdun, the Cabaret Voltaire opens, just a block and a half away
from where V.I. Lenin is spending his exile. It is founded by Hugo Ball and Emmy Hennings; entertainers who attract a small
cadre of like-minded exiles.
They embark on a campaign of ever more outrageous acts, which gain traction amongst the public. Soon, they chose a name
for themselves, and the rest is history.
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