The Complete Ballet Libretti
During his lifetime the great Danish choreographer August Bournonville (1805 - 1879) created more than fifty ballets. As the rehearsal period for each ballet ended and the ballet reached its final form Bournonville published a short pamphlet giving the plot of the ballet in detail. All those which survice are gathered here, translated into English by Patricia N. McAndrew. The libretti help us to piece together a comprehensive picture of the Danish ballet master as an artist of national and international calibre and enable us to assess more fully his place in the world of nineteenth-century European ballet. As his characters and ideas unfold before us, we can begin to compare them with those of other choreographers of his day and finally discover, in part, something sorely missed by many critics today: the setting in which August Bournonville's choreographic "gems" were once displayed. Today, more than a century after his death, Bournonville's name is more widely known than it was during his lifetime: eight ballets and a number of assorted dances still grace the stage of Copenhagen's Royal Theatre, and those "skeletal" libretti-what Bournonville called his "ballet poems"-still exist to impress upon us what a treasure we possess in the Bournonville ballets, to remind us of what has been lost over the years, and-perhaps most important of all- -to reveal to us the workings of an ingenious, practical choreographer's mind.
Storytelling in Motion
How do filmmakers guide viewer attention through the frame using the movement of bodies on screen? What do they seek to communicate with their cinematic choreography, and how were those choices shaped by the industrial conditions available to them? Storytelling in motion: Cinematic Choreography and the Film Musical demonstrates how figure movement can serve as a versatile strategy of meaning-making, particularly when filmmakers attend to the relationship between choreographed movement and film style. Using Franco-American film musicals as case studies, this book analyses the narrative and stylistic impact of figure movement in cinema and the subtle power of cinematic choreography, those moments when filmmakers deliberately combine the strengths of film style and organized figure movement to convey narrative meaning through motion. Cinematic choreography emphasizes musical conventions in Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952), prejudiced conflict in West Side Story (Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, 1961), aesthetic play in Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (Jacques Demy, 1967), generic discomfort in Trois places pour le 26 (Jacques Demy, 1988), the politics of illness in Jeanne et le gar癟on formidable (Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, 1998), and decision-making in La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016). Integrating vocabularies and analytical systems from Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies, film studies, and related fields to parse cinematic figure movement on multiple formal levels, this book uses performative research methods from videographic criticism to show the poetic and oblique connections between films through videographic as well as written chapters. Storytelling in Motion centers the crucial material conditions needed to make figure movement a significant component of narrative filmmaking: time, money, rehearsal space, industrial support, and performers and crew with the necessary embodied and institutional knowledge. The films discussed tell a clear story of how cinematic choreography was used by French and American filmmakers to innovate storytelling through figure movement, inspired by their predecessors' aesthetics while working within differing industrial conditions.
The Nordic Minuet
This major new anthology of the minuet in the Nordic countries comprehensively explores the dance as a historical, social and cultural phenomenon. One of the most significant dances in Europe, with a strong symbolic significance in western dance culture and dance scholarship, the minuet has evolved a distinctive pathway in this region, which these rigorous and pioneering essays explore.As well as situating the minaret in different national and cultural contexts, this collection marshals a vast number of sources, including images and films, to analyze the changes in the dance across time and among different classes. Following the development of the minuet into dance revival and historical dance movements of the twentieth century, this rich compendium draws together a distinguished group of scholars to stimulate fresh evaluations and new perspectives on the minuet in history and practice.The Nordic Minuet: Royal Fashion and Peasant Tradition is essential reading for researchers, students and practitioners of dance; musicologists; and historical and folk dancers; it will be of interest to anybody who wants to learn more about this vibrant dance tradition.
Rhythms of Resilience
The quotes woven throughout this art and dance coloring book vividly capture the ebbs and flows of life's struggles and triumphs. It illustrates the profound power of dance as a metaphor for navigating through challenging times with grace and strength. Each dance style presents a unique message of resilience, transforming movement into emotion and footsteps into pathways leading out of adversity. Accompanied by uplifting Bible verses, this book strengthens your faith and inspires you to rebuild your life, even during the hardest times.
The Nordic Minuet
This major new anthology of the minuet in the Nordic countries comprehensively explores the dance as a historical, social and cultural phenomenon. One of the most significant dances in Europe, with a strong symbolic significance in western dance culture and dance scholarship, the minuet has evolved a distinctive pathway in this region, which these rigorous and pioneering essays explore.As well as situating the minaret in different national and cultural contexts, this collection marshals a vast number of sources, including images and films, to analyze the changes in the dance across time and among different classes. Following the development of the minuet into dance revival and historical dance movements of the twentieth century, this rich compendium draws together a distinguished group of scholars to stimulate fresh evaluations and new perspectives on the minuet in history and practice.The Nordic Minuet: Royal Fashion and Peasant Tradition is essential reading for researchers, students and practitioners of dance; musicologists; and historical and folk dancers; it will be of interest to anybody who wants to learn more about this vibrant dance tradition.
Dance, Technology and Social Justice
This book theorizes dance technique as the Greek techne translated as art, and shows how movement can inspire epistemic, philosophical, and cultural conversations in technology studies. Combining dance studies, religious studies, and technology studies, it argues that dance can be a technology of social justice bringing equanimity, liberation and resistance. It focuses on the eastern Indian art form Odissi and applied experimentations with motion capture technology, virtual reality (VR) gaming, and Arduino. It specifically examines tthe work of Ananya Dance Theatre (ADT), a Minnesota based contemporary Indian dance company that deconstructs Odissi towards social justice activism.
Noa Eshkol and Abraham Wachmann: Movement Notation
A new expanded edition documenting the seminal notation theory instrumental to dance, behavioral science and more fieldsDeveloped by Noa Eshkol and Abraham Wachmann in the 1950s, Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation (EWMN) is a polyphonic notation system treating different parts of the body as separate instruments. This new edition of the original 1958 publication embeds EWMN in contemporary discourses on dance and movement.
Women's Dance Traditions of Uzbekistan
The first comprehensive work in English on the three major regional styles of Uzbek women's dance - Ferghana, Khiva and Bukhara - and their broader Silk Road cultural connections, from folklore rootsto contemporary stage dance. The book surveys the remarkable development from the earliest manifestations in ancient civilizationsto a sequestered existence under Islam; from patronage under Soviet power to a place of pride for Uzbek nationhood. It considers the role that immigration had to play on the development of the dances; how women boldly challenged societal gender roles to perform in public; how both material culture and the natural world manifest in the dance; and it illuminates the innovations of pioneering choreographers who drew from Central Asian folk traditions, gestures and aesthetics - not Russian ballet - to first shape modern Uzbek stage dance. Written by the first American dancer invited to study in Uzbekistan, this book offers insight into the once-hidden world of Uzbek women's dance.
The Thinking Body
2024 Hardcover Reprint of the 1937 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. Complete with all Illustrations from the 1937 edition. Mabel Elsworth Todd is considered the founder of what has come to be known as 'Ideokinesis', a form of somatic education that became popular in the 1930s amongst dancers and health professionals. Todd's ideas involved using anatomically based, creative visual imagery and consciously relaxed volition to create and refine neuromuscular coordination. Lulu Sweigard, who coined the term Ideokinesis, and Barbara Clark furthered Todd's work. Todd's work was published in her book The Thinking Body (1937), which is now considered by modern dance schools to be a classic study of physiology and the psychology of movement. Her work influenced many somatic awareness professionals of her day, and is often cited along with The Feldenkrais method for its focus on the subtle influence of unconscious intention and attention.
Balletomane
Balletomane means an ardent admirer of ballet. This book, by a true ballet historian and revered critic, covers the history and development of ballet and many ballet dancers worldwide over five decades. It relates authentic and unabridged stories about famous ballerinas and world-class ballet companies from many countries. Yet it also chronicles many unheralded but incredible dancers, choreographers, artistic directors, students, teachers and mentors.This is not a story for everyone. It is, however, a story for everyone who is impassioned by the beauty, history, mystique, allure and artistry of ballet.
Simplified Lindy Hop for Men
For the price of just one group class, this book is a practical guide for learning the leader's part of the swing dance known as Lindy Hop. Includes information on swing music and swing dancing, description of basic and intermediate 8-count and 6-count steps, Charleston steps, break steps and footwork variations, dancing to fast and slow music, tips on learning to dance, group classes, practicing and social dancing. It will greatly add to your understanding of Lindy Hop and help you move along the learning curve. Read it before your first Lindy class.
Prodigy Performance Habits
'Prodigy Performance' provides guidance for aspiring dancers, emphasizing the importance of mindset, goal-setting, positive self-talk, and surrounding oneself with supportive individuals. It stresses the significance of dedication, persistence, efficient training, healthy habits, and maintaining focus on long-term goals. Through the sections in this book, it explores the principles of safe training, the value of competition, the impact of social circles, and the role of mentors. It encourages dancers to cultivate a proactive approach to their careers, fostering self-belief, gratitude, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Prodigy Performance Habits
'Prodigy Performance' provides guidance for aspiring dancers, emphasizing the importance of mindset, goal-setting, positive self-talk, and surrounding oneself with supportive individuals. It stresses the significance of dedication, persistence, efficient training, healthy habits, and maintaining focus on long-term goals. Through the sections in this book, it explores the principles of safe training, the value of competition, the impact of social circles, and the role of mentors. It encourages dancers to cultivate a proactive approach to their careers, fostering self-belief, gratitude, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Pilobolus
The dynamic history of theinnovative, beloved, and critically acclaimed dance theater company, withrevelatory behind-the-scenes details of its creators and significant works The ingeniously innovative and enduringly popularAmerican dance theatre company Pilobolus has helped redefine, remix, andrejuvenate the essence of dance with its eclectic sensibility and daringathleticism. Now, for the first time, the story of Pilobolus, from itscounterculture origins through its pop-culture triumphs and contemporary globalacclaim, is revealed in a book that will entrance longtime admirers andnewcomers alike. Written with unprecedented accessto the company--with insights from unpublished archival materials and interviewswith its founders, dancers, and current artistic directors--and featuring bothclassic and never-before-seen photos, Pilobolus offers previously untolddetails about the group's history and the creation of its most significantworks. Robert Pranzatelli describes the company's genesis in a Dartmouth danceclass in 1971 and how Pilobolus revolutionized dance with its blend ofsensuality, physical achievement, and visual wit. In these pages, the troupe performson Broadway, travels the world, and by the late 1980s secures a place in dancehistory, while its growth is marked by periods of internal conflict, challenges, and change. As Pilobolus continues to morph, invent, and thrive withthe arrival of new artists and collaborators, its story encompasses love, loss, grief, and rebirth, as well as insights into the secrets of the creativeprocess--how performers and choreographers think and work. More than ahistory, Pilobolus is a narrative of life and art, and the vitality thatinfuses and inspires both when they align and inhabit each other.
Social Foxtrot
Social Foxtrot is a ballroom dance to be embraced and enjoyed by all, irrespective of age, ability, or experience. This comprehensive reference is suitable for all levels of dancer, from novices to professional. It introduces new figures, as well as adapting ones from other dances. Easy to understand, it explains principles, techniques and terminology which are also applicable to other ballroom dances. Dozens of step by step charted figures include timing of each step, foot position, alignment, footwork, and amounts of turn. Preceding and following figures are also suggested. This 72 page ballroom handbook is an essential guide for beginners, an inspiration for more experienced dancers, a diversion for competitors, and a valued resource for dance teachers.
The Church’s Position on Dancing
The moral dangers of the too common and too fashionable amusements of dancing are pointed out, with as much force as clearness and learning, in this small but valuable book. The author extracts proofs from the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Fathers, Holy Councils, and from the theologians most renowned for their piety and learning.Familiarity removes, often, a due appreciation of the dangers of the dance. There are Catholics who seem to have become skeptical as to the very existence of the danger attendant on their supposed innocent recreations.We hope that these collected proofs will enlighten the mind and change the heart of those who have been the advocates of dancing, solely because they have never sufficiently considered the evils of which it is the cause and the occasion."But, you will say, the Commandments of God do not forbid dancing, nor does Holy Scripture, either. Perhaps you have not examined them very closely. Follow me for a moment and you will see that there is not a Commandment of God which dancing does not cause to be transgressed, nor a Sacrament which it does not cause to be profaned."- St. John Vianney
Dancehall In/Securities
This book focuses on how in/security works in and through Jamaican dancehall, and on the insights that Jamaican dancehall offers for the global study of in/security.This collection draws together a multi-disciplinary range of key scholars in in/security and dancehall. Scholars from the University of the West Indies' Institute of Caribbean Studies and Reggae Studies Unit, as well as independent dancehall and dance practitioners from Kingston, and writers from the UK, US and continental Europe offer their differently situated perspectives on dancehall, its histories, spatial patterning, professional status and aesthetics.The study brings together critical security studies with dancehall studies and will be of great interest to students, scholars and practitioners in theatre, dance and performance studies, sociology, cultural geography, anthropology, postcolonial studies, diaspora studies, musicology and gender studies.
The Celestial Dancers
The Celestial Dancers: Manipuri Dance on Australian Stage charts the momentous journey of the popularization of Manipur's Hindu dances in Australia. Tradition has it that the people of Manipur, a northeastern state of India, are descended from the celestial gandharvas, dance and music blessed among them as a God's gift. The intricately symbolic Hindu dances of Manipur in their original religious forms were virtually unseen and unknown outside India until an Australian impresario, Louise Lightfoot, brought them to the stage in the 1950s. Her experimental changes through a pioneering collaboration with dancers Rajkumar Priyagopal Singh and Ibetombi Devi modernized Manipuri dance for presentation on a global stage. This partnership moved Manipur's Hindu dances from the sphere of ritualistic temple practice to a formalized stage art abroad. Amit Sarwal chronicles how this movement, as in the case of other prominent Indian classical dances and dancers, enabled both Manipuri dance and dancers to gain recognition worldwide. This book is ideal for anyone with an interest in Hindu temple dance, Manipur dance, cross-cultural collaborations and the globalizing of Indian Classical Dance. The Celestial Dancers is a comprehensive study of how an exceptional Hindu dance form developed on the global stage.
Fantasies of Ito Michio
Born in Japan and trained in Germany, dancer and choreographer Ito Michio (1893-1961) achieved prominence in London before moving to the U.S. in 1916 and building a career as an internationally acclaimed artist. During World War II, Ito was interned for two years, and then repatriated to Japan, where he contributed to imperial war efforts by creating propaganda performances and performing revues for the occupying Allied Forces in Tokyo. Throughout, Ito continually invented stories of voyages made, artists befriended, performances seen, and political activities carried out--stories later dismissed as false. Fantasies of Ito Michio argues that these invented stories, unrealized projects, and questionable political affiliations are as fundamental to Ito's career as his 'real' activities, helping us understand how he sustained himself across experiences of racialization, imperialism, war, and internment. Tara Rodman reveals a narrative of Ito's life that foregrounds the fabricated and overlooked to highlight his involvement with Japanese artists, such as Yamada Kosaku and Ishii Baku, and global modernist movements. Rodman offers "fantasy" as a rubric for understanding how individuals such as Ito sustain themselves in periods of violent disruption and as a scholarly methodology for engaging the past.
The Church’s Position on Dancing
The moral dangers of the too common and too fashionable amusements of dancing are pointed out, with as much force as clearness and learning, in this small but valuable book. The author extracts proofs from the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Fathers, Holy Councils, and from the theologians most renowned for their piety and learning.Familiarity removes, often, a due appreciation of the dangers of the dance. There are Catholics who seem to have become skeptical as to the very existence of the danger attendant on their supposed innocent recreations.We hope that these collected proofs will enlighten the mind and change the heart of those who have been the advocates of dancing, solely because they have never sufficiently considered the evils of which it is the cause and the occasion."But, you will say, the Commandments of God do not forbid dancing, nor does Holy Scripture, either. Perhaps you have not examined them very closely. Follow me for a moment and you will see that there is not a Commandment of God which dancing does not cause to be transgressed, nor a Sacrament which it does not cause to be profaned."- St. John Vianney
The Boy from Kyiv
Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR and The New Yorker The Boy from Kyiv is the life story of Alexei Ratmansky, the most celebrated ballet choreographer of our time."A revelatory book about how [Ratmansky] evolved into the internationally sought-after choreographer of the moment . . . A must-read." -- Martha Anne Toll, NPR Alexei Ratmansky is transforming ballet for the twenty-first century. An artist of daring imagination, the choreographer has created breathtakingly original works for the world's most revered companies. He has fashioned a singular approach to balletic storytelling that bridges the space between narrative and abstraction and heightens ambiguity and surprise on the stage. He has boldly restored great centuries-old ballets to their former glory, combining archival research with his own choreographic genius to retrieve detail and color once lost to the ages. And above all, he is renowned for fusing the Western and Eastern ballet traditions, and for drawing on the visual arts, literature, music, film, and beyond with inspired vim, to forge a style that is vibrant, eclectic, and utterly new: one that promises to leave an indelible mark on this venerable art form. But before Ratmansky was the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, the resident choreographer at American Ballet Theatre, the artist in residence at New York City Ballet, and generally, as The New Yorker has it, "the most sought-after man in ballet," he was just a boy from Kyiv, sneaking into the ballet at night, concocting his own juvenile adaptations of novels and stories, and dreaming up new possibilities for bodies in motion. In The Boy from Kyiv, the first biography of this groundbreaking artist, the celebrated dance writer Marina Harss takes us behind the curtain to reveal Ratmansky's fascinating life, from his Soviet boyhood through his globe-spanning career. Over a decade in the making, this biography arrives at a pivotal moment in Ratmansky's journey, one that has seen him painfully and publicly break ties with Russia, the country in which he made his name, in solidarity with his native Ukraine, and take on a new challenge at the storied New York City Ballet. Told with the lyricism, drama, and verve that befit its subject, The Boy from Kyiv is a riveting account of this major artist's ascent to the peaks of his field, a mesmerizing study of creativity in action, and a triumphant testament to ballet's enduring vitality.
Contemporary Dance Choreography and Spectatorship
This book offers an approach which unites choreographic and spectatorial perspectives, and argues for dance itself--its materials, its structures--as a medium of emotional communication. Contemporary dance often seems to contend with issues of understanding, regularly being "read" in "languages" which alienate it. Even if emotion seems a significant part of people's engagement with dance, its workings are often surrounded by an air of mysticism. Engaging with these issues, this study investigates the experience of emotion in Euro-American contemporary dance theatre. It questions its dependence on the artist's personal emotions, and the assumption that it is mediated by representational meaning. Instead, this book proposes that the emotional import of dance emerges from an interplay between perceptual properties and symbolic elements in an embodied affective cognitive experience. This experience includes the background of the spectator as well as the context of work, choreographer, performer(s) and other creative agents.
Diaghilev’s Empire
A Best Book of the Year at The New Yorker and The Telegraph "Amusing and assertive . . . [Christiansen's] delight is infectious." --Alexandra Jacobs, The New York Times Book Review Rupert Christiansen, a renowned dance critic and arts correspondent, presents a sweeping history of the Ballets Russes and of Serge Diaghilev's dream of bringing Russian art and culture to the West. Serge Diaghilev, the Russian impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, is often said to have invented modern ballet. An art critic and connoisseur, Diaghilev had no training in dance or choreography, but he had a dream of bringing Russian art, music, design, and expression to the West and a mission to drive a cultural and artistic revolution. Bringing together such legendary talents as Vaslav Nijinsky, Anna Pavlova, Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse, this complex and visionary genius created a new form of ballet defined by artistic integrity, creative freedom, and an all-encompassing experience of art, movement, and music. The explosive color combinations, sensual and androgynous choreography, and experimental sounds of the Ballets Russes were called "barbaric" by the Parisian press, but its radical style usurped the entrenched mores of traditional ballet and transformed the European cultural sphere at large. Diaghilev's Empire, the publication of which marks the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of Diaghilev's birth, is a daring, impeccably researched reassessment of the phenomenon of the Ballets Russes and the Russian Revolution in twentieth-century art and culture. Rupert Christiansen, a leading dance critic, explores the fiery conflicts, outsize personalities, and extraordinary artistic innovations that make up this enduring story of triumph and disaster.
Social Justice in Dance/Movement Therapy
This book demonstrates the use of dance/movement therapy to directly counteract social injustices and promote healing in international settings. It also demonstrates the potential for dance/movement therapy in prevention and wellness in clinical and community settings. The use of improvisational and creative dance is presented throughout the book as a tremendously clear, strong and powerful inroad to healing in every setting. The chapters in this book do not directly address social justice in dance/movement therapy, but rather provide provoking social justice related positions. This call for a provoking re-examination of the definition of dance/movement therapy is fitting as we--as a community--challenge our identity as dance/movement therapists, educators, supervisors and as human beings who have internalized oppression in various forms through our many identifiers and the unique intersections of those identifiers. The editors and authors posit that social justice cannot be fully addressed by focusing solely on the social issues. Rather, we must be aware of where and how the social issues come into the individual(s), the setting, and the therapy process itself.Chapter "'Breaking Free': One Adolescent Woman's Recovery from Dating Violence Through Creative Dance" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license via link.springer.com.
Antiracism in Ballet Teaching
This new collection of essays and interviews assembles research on teaching methods, choreographic processes, and archival material that challenges systemic exclusions and provides practitioners with accessible steps to creating more equitable teaching environments, curricula, classes, and artistic settings.Antiracism in Ballet Teaching gives readers a wealth of options for addressing and dismantling racialized biases in ballet teaching, as well as in approaches to leadership and choreography. Chapters are organized into three sections - Identities, Pedagogies, and Futurities - that illuminate evolving approaches to choreographing and teaching ballet, shine light on artists, teachers, and dancers who are lesser known/less visible in a racialized canon, and amplify the importance of holistic practices that integrate ballet history with technique and choreography. Chapter authors include award-winning studio owners, as well as acclaimed choreographers, educators, and scholars. The collection ends with interviews featuring ballet company directors (Robert Garland and Alonzo King), world-renowned scholars (Clare Croft, Thomas F. DeFrantz, Brenda Dixon Gottschild), sought-after choreographers (Jennifer Archibald and Claudia Schreier), and beloved educators (Keesha Beckford, Tai Jimenez, and Endalyn Taylor).This is an essential resource for anyone teaching or learning to teach ballet in the Twenty First Century.
Materialities in Dance and Performance
What is 罈materiality竄 in dance and performance? What role does 罈the material竄 play in the formation for the cultural memory of ephemeral arts? The contributors to this volume examine concepts of materiality in dance and performance, the use of materials in artistic practices and the role of social media in changing the perception of time-based artefacts. The volume shows how the focus on materiality transforms contemporary artistic work and challenges established concepts of dance and performance research.
Still Got It, Never Lost It!
Still Got It, Never Lost It! tells the story of Louie Spence, star of Pineapple Dance Studios and ruthless judge on Dancing on Ice. 'I did everything my sisters did, that's how my dancing days started - they went dancing, I went dancing and I just kept on dancing.' - Louie Spence From a very early age Louie was a little boy who loved to dance and had high ambitions. He attended every disco dance class he could and excelled each time, with the constant support of his Mum and Dad. Before long Louie's blue leotard had become a mainstay of the family home, and soon enough he was accepted into the Italia Conti School of Theatre Arts. And he never looked back. From dancing on the Spice Girls World Tour to becoming BFFs with Emma Bunton and hanging out with Take That (not to mention his performances in Cats and Miss Saigon), Louie lived out his dreams. Now a TV personality in his own right, a judge on Dancing on Ice, the star of Pineapple Dance Studios and his own series Showbusiness, he has become a much-loved household name. This hilarious, warm and compellingly-written autobiography takes us back to Louie's early days in Essex, with a cast of characters that includes Nanny Lock (who lived down the Enfield lock), Nanny Twinkle and Nanny Downer (with whom Louie, as a kid, would swipe cans of Special Brew). Still Got It, Never Lost It! is the story of the real-life Billy Elliot - a tale that proves nothing can stop you when you think big and hold on to your dreams.
May-pole Possibilities
Originally published in 1912, this book offers a charming and nostalgic celebration of the May Day festivities of a bygone era. With detailed instructions, illustrations, and music for a variety of dances and drills, this book provides a comprehensive guide to creating your own May Day celebration. Whether you're a teacher, a parent, or just a lover of traditions and festivities, this book will inspire you to bring May Day back to life.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Holbein's Dance of Death
This beautiful facsimile edition of Hans Holbein's famous Dance of Death woodcuts provides a stunning visual journey through the medieval allegory of mortality. Originally published in 1538, the series of engravings depicts a range of characters, from pope to plowman, all facing death and depicted as skeletons. The facsimile includes also Holbein's Bible cuts, which showcase the artist's exceptional skill and creativity in woodcut design. The edition is introduced by renowned bibliophile Thomas Frognall Dibdin and includes insights into the history and significance of the works.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Dances Of To-day
Dances of To-day is a classic guide to the most popular dances of the early 20th century. Written by dance expert Albert W. Newman, this book provides detailed instructions, illustrations, and diagrams for learning or teaching a variety of modern dances, including the Tango, Hesitation, One-Step, Boston, Maxixe, and more. The book also includes historical and cultural context for each dance, making it a valuable resource for dance enthusiasts, historians, and researchers. Dances of To-day is a must-read for anyone interested in the history and practice of modern dance.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Kemps Nine Daies Wonder
First published in 1600, this account of William Kemp's famous dance from London to Norwich is a fascinating glimpse into the world of Tudor England. Written by Kemp himself, and edited by Alexander Dyce, this book offers a first-hand account of a journey that captured the imagination of the nation. With its lively prose and entertaining anecdotes, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of dance and performance.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Serge Diaghilev
A biography of the visionary Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev, founder of the Ballets Russes. Lifar's first-hand account provides insights into Diaghilev's creative genius, his personal life, and the influence he had on the world of art and culture. This book also includes rare photographs and documents from the Ballets Russes archives.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Lo: Tech: Pop: Cult
This edited collection assembles international perspectives from artists, academics, and curators in the field to bring the insights of screendance theory and practice back into conversations with critical methods, at the intersections of popular culture, low-tech media practices, dance, and movement studies, and the minoritarian perspectives of feminism, queer theory, critical race studies and more.This book represents new vectors in screendance studies, featuring contributions by both artists and theoreticians, some of the most established voices in the field as well as the next generation of emerging scholars, artists, and curators. It builds on the foundational cartographies of screendance studies that attempted to sketch out what was particular to this practice. Sampling and reworking established forms of inquiry, artistic practice and spectatorial habits, and suspending and reorienting gestures into minoritarian forms, these conversations consider the affordances of screendance for reimaging the relations of bodies, technologies, and media today.This collection will be of great interest to students and scholars in dance studies, performance studies, cinema and media studies, feminist studies, and cultural studies.
Body Impossible
Body Impossible theorizes the concept of virtuosity in contemporary dance and performance through a study of the career of dancer Desmond Richardson. A virtuoso for the ages, Richardson is renowned for delivering commanding performances over decades in contexts ranging from the stages of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ballett Frankfurt to featured appearances with Michael Jackson and Prince, along with his work as co-founder of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, inaugurating a virtuosic queer black aesthetic with choreographer Dwight Rhoden. Focusing on Richardson's creative insistence on improvisatory fun and excellence throughout the decades approaching the millennium (shaped by Reaganism, the Culture Wars, the AIDS epidemic, the New Jim Crow, and MTV), this book brings dance into conversation with paradigms of blackness, queerness, masculinity, and class in order to generate a socioculturally attentive understanding of virtuosity. Virtuosity obscures the border between popular and concert performance, and Richardson's versatility epitomizes the demands on the contemporary virtuosic dance artist. Author Ariel Osterweis suggests that discourses of virtuosity are linked to connotations of excess, and that an examination of the formal and socio-cultural aspects of virtuosic performance reveals under-recognized heterogeneity in which we detect "vernacular" influences on "high art." In doing so, Body Impossible accounts for the constitutive relationship between disciplined perceptions of virtuosity's excess and the disciplining of the racialized body in national and transnational contexts.
Experimental Dance and the Somatics of Language
This book is about dance's relationship to language. It investigates how dance bodies work with the micromovements elicited by language's affective forces, and the micropolitics of the thought-sensations that arise when movement and words accompany one another within choreographic contexts. Situating itself where theory meets practice--the zone where ideas arise to be tested, the book draws on embodied research in practices within the lineages of American postmodern dance and Japanese butoh, set in dialog with affect-based philosophies and somatics. Understanding that language is felt, both when uttered and when unspoken, this book speaks to the choreographic thinking that takes place when language is considered a primary element in creating the sensorium.
Facial Choreographies
The face contributes a vital, yet often overlooked, component of dance performance. Facial Choreographies: Performing the Face in Popular Dance examines what the face does in dance and what it may mean. Author Sherril Dodds focuses on popular presentational dance, which permits the face to be one of excess and spectacle, as well as disclosure or deception. The concept of facial choreography resists the idea that the expressive countenance in dance is simply by chance, and instead conceives its movement as purposeful, creative, and communicative. The book centers on three facial case studies: global celebrity Michael Jackson, whose face has occupied a site of fervent controversy; Maddie Ziegler, child star of the reality television series Dance Moms and de facto face of pop star Sia; and a community of hip hop dancers who engage in fiercely contested dance battles. Chapters are organized according to action-expressions, actively working even in times of stillness: SMILE, LOOK, FROWN, CRY, SCREAM, and LAUGH. Across each case study, the book explores pedagogies of facial composition, the purpose of codified expressions, and how dancers re-choreograph their faces as a critical unworking of what a dancing visage might represent. Facial choreographies engender opportunity for startling creativity, the articulation of identity, a cathartic expression of emotions and attitudes, and the capacity to dismantle previously held assumptions. As the dancing face tauntingly slips between visual, sensory, and kinetic registers it ensures that nothing can be taken at face value.
The Bodies We Are (Not)
In Western neo-liberal society, the human body is increasingly used as an 罈identity project竄 and 罈designable object竄. Antje Velsinger investigates these specific roles of the body and develops choreographic strategies for becoming unfamiliar to the own self and play as two means for emancipating the body from the neo-liberal imperative of optimization and control. Theoretical and practical artistic perspectives are in constant dialogue throughout this study. It uses the choreographic field as a gray area between theory and practice to imagine, propose, and rehearse an alternative approach to the body.
More-Than-Human Choreography
In the global context of the Great Acceleration, things and people have been on the move more than ever before. Moritz Frischkorn takes a fresh look at recent performing arts practices that deal with everyday objects on and beyond the stage. Contrasting these practices with the business field of logistics, he examines the aesthetic and ethical concerns of moving things. Drawing on concepts from performance as well as Black studies and philosophy, and based on an artistic-research methodology, the book formulates a notion of more-than-human choreography as an ecologically informed, infinitely indebted practice of living within the material world.
Staging Decadence
Winner of the 2024 TaPRA David Bradby Monograph Prize How is decadence being staged today - as a practice, issue, pejorative, and as a site of pleasure? Where might we find it, why might we look for it, and who is decadence for? This book is the first monographic study of decadence in theatre and performance. Adam Alston makes a passionate case for the contemporary relevance of decadence in the thick of a resurgent culture war by focusing on its antithetical relationship to capitalist-led growth, progress, and intensified productivity. He argues that the qualities used to disparage the study and practice of theatre and performance are the very things we should embrace in celebrating their value - namely, their spectacular uselessness, wastefulness, outmodedness, and abundant potential for producing forms of creativity that flow away from the ends and excesses of capitalism. Alston covers an eclectic range of examples by Julia Bardsley (UK), Hasard Le Sin (Finland), jaamil olawale kosoko (USA), Toco Nikaido (Japan), Martin O'Brien (UK), Toshiki Okada (Japan), Marcel-l穩 Ant繳nez Roca (Spain), Normandy Sherwood (USA), The Uhuruverse (USA), Nia O. Witherspoon (USA), and Wunderbaum (Netherlands). Expect ruminations on monstrous scenographies, catatonic choreographies, turbo-charged freneticism, visions of the apocalypse - and what might lie in its wake.
The Art of Dance Composition
The Art of Dance Composition: Writing the Body is an introduction to modern dance composition, providing clear and structured approaches to designing and defining movement that demystify the creative process. The book introduces the concepts of creating authentic movement, processes for gathering and ordering compositional elements, and the ways in which theme, story, and design relate to bodies moving through space. It approaches the practice of composition from many avenues, including the use of digital tools such as video and video editing software, digital mapping, and motion capture, and through improvisation, sourced gestures, and inspiration from visual art, found objects, and chance methodology. Flowcharts that organize and provide a framework for making dance are included, equipping readers with a clear roadmap for creating their own work. Filled with practical advice, this book is suitable for all aspiring choreographers. The Art of Dance Composition: Writing the Body includes access to performance videos that demonstrate the concepts illustrated in the book. To access the videos, visit www.routledge.com/9780367424435.
Have Tutu, Will Travel
Rochelle Zide-Booth joined the fabled Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo on her 16th birthday and quickly rose to the rank of Soloist. A New York season with Jerome Robbins' Ballets: USA and four years as Principal Dancer of The Joffrey Ballet followed, where she danced ballerina roles in most of the repertoire, including Balanchine ballets and roles created on her. A new company was being formed for her as Ballerina when an accident cut short her performing career at age 27. The next phase began immediately: Ballet Mistress of the Joffrey and Boston Ballets, Artistic Director of Netherlands Dance Theatre, Professor at Adelphi and Butler Universities, Director of the New Zealand School of Dance, Artist-in-Residence to the City of Dayton OH, and faculty of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. As a Fulbright lecturer, Zide-Booth was the first American ballet teacher invited to be Artist in Residence in the Czech Republic. She is listed in 2000 Notable American Women, Who's Who of American Women, The International Who's Who of Professional and Business Women, Personalities of America. In 2014 she was honored to receive the CORPS de Ballet International Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in teaching Ballet in higher education and she is Professor Emerita of both Adelphi and Butler Universities.
Mapping Critical Dance Studies in India
This book provides a critical understanding of dance studies in India, bringing together various embodied practices identified loosely as dance. It suggests an alternative reading of the history of patronage, policies, and institutionalized understanding of categories such as classical, folk, modern, popular, and Bollywood that hierarchizes some dances as 'more' dance than others. It is of great interest to scholars looking at performing arts such as dance as a tool for identity assertions. It offers diverse possibilities of understanding dance through its inherent sociopolitical possibilities as a participatory or presentational tool for communication. The multidisciplinary approach brings together perspectives from critical dance studies, anthropology, history, and gender studies to connect embodied archives of different communities to create an intersectional methodology of studying dance in India as a powerful but marginal expressive art practice. Accessible at multiple levels, thecontent is relevant for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as researchers across dance, dance education, theatre, and performance studies.
The Boy from Kyiv
Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR and The New Yorker The Boy from Kyiv is the life story of Alexei Ratmansky, the most celebrated ballet choreographer of our time."A revelatory book about how [Ratmansky] evolved into the internationally sought-after choreographer of the moment . . . A must-read." -- Martha Anne Toll, NPR Alexei Ratmansky is transforming ballet for the twenty-first century. An artist of daring imagination, the choreographer has created breathtakingly original works for the world's most revered companies. He has fashioned a singular approach to balletic storytelling that bridges the space between narrative and abstraction and heightens ambiguity and surprise on the stage. He has boldly restored great centuries-old ballets to their former glory, combining archival research with his own choreographic genius to retrieve detail and color once lost to the ages. And above all, he is renowned for fusing the Western and Eastern ballet traditions, and for drawing on the visual arts, literature, music, film, and beyond with inspired vim, to forge a style that is vibrant, eclectic, and utterly new: one that promises to leave an indelible mark on this venerable art form. But before Ratmansky was the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, the resident choreographer at American Ballet Theatre, the artist in residence at New York City Ballet, and generally, as The New Yorker has it, "the most sought-after man in ballet," he was just a boy from Kyiv, sneaking into the ballet at night, concocting his own juvenile adaptations of novels and stories, and dreaming up new possibilities for bodies in motion. In The Boy from Kyiv, the first biography of this groundbreaking artist, the celebrated dance writer Marina Harss takes us behind the curtain to reveal Ratmansky's fascinating life, from his Soviet boyhood through his globe-spanning career. Over a decade in the making, this biography arrives at a pivotal moment in Ratmansky's journey, one that has seen him painfully and publicly break ties with Russia, the country in which he made his name, in solidarity with his native Ukraine, and take on a new challenge at the storied New York City Ballet. Told with the lyricism, drama, and verve that befit its subject, The Boy from Kyiv is a riveting account of this major artist's ascent to the peaks of his field, a mesmerizing study of creativity in action, and a triumphant testament to ballet's enduring vitality.
CEOE 178 Dance
This book features over 200 real CEOE 178 Dance Practice Exam questions. These practice questions are designed to prepare you for the CEOE 178 Dance exam and are aligned with the most current content and format of the actual CEOE 178 Dance exam. Each CEOE 178 Dance question comes with a detailed explanation, helping you gain comprehensive content knowledge while using these new CEOE 178 Dance exam questions.
MTEL 46 Dance
This book features over 200 real MTEL 46 Dance Practice Exam questions. These practice questions are designed to prepare you for the MTEL 46 Dance exam and are aligned with the most current content and format of the actual MTEL 46 Dance exam. Each MTEL 46 Dance question comes with a detailed explanation, helping you gain comprehensive content knowledge while using these new MTEL 46 Dance exam questions.
CSET Dance
This book provides over 200 authentic CSET Dance Practice Exam questions, designed to prepare you thoroughly for the CSET Dance exam by closely matching the current content and format of the official CSET Dance examination. Furthermore, it furnishes a detailed explanation for each CSET Dance question, enabling you to cultivate a comprehensive understanding of the subject as you work through these newly introduced CSET Dance exam questions.
