Download or read book Why We Dance written by Kimerer L. LaMothe and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2015-04-07 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Within intellectual paradigms that privilege mind over matter, dance has long appeared as a marginal, derivative, or primitive art. Drawing support from theorists and artists who embrace matter as dynamic and agential, this book offers a visionary definition of dance that illuminates its constitutive work in the ongoing evolution of human persons. Why We Dance introduces a philosophy of bodily becoming that posits bodily movement as the source and telos of human life. Within this philosophy, dance appears as an activity that humans evolved to do as the enabling condition of their best bodily becoming. Weaving theoretical reflection with accounts of lived experience, this book positions dance as a catalyst in the development of human consciousness, compassion, ritual proclivity, and ecological adaptability. Aligning with trends in new materialism, affect theory, and feminist philosophy, as well as advances in dance and religious studies, this work reveals the vital role dance can play in reversing the trajectory of ecological self-destruction along which human civilization is racing.

Download or read book Queer Dance written by Clare Croft and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Queer Dance' challenges social norms and enacts queer coalition across the LGBTQ community. The text joins forces with feminist, anti-racist, and anti-colonial work to consider how bodies are forces of social change.

Download or read book Moving History Dancing Cultures written by Ann Dils and published by Wesleyan University Press. This book was released on 2013-06-01 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new collection of essays surveys the history of dance in an innovative and wide-ranging fashion. Editors Dils and Albright address the current dearth of comprehensive teaching material in the dance history field through the creation of a multifaceted, non-linear, yet well-structured and comprehensive survey of select moments in the development of both American and World dance. This book is illustrated with over 50 photographs, and would make an ideal text for undergraduate classes in dance ethnography, criticism or appreciation, as well as dance history—particularly those with a cross-cultural, contemporary, or an American focus. The reader is organized into four thematic sections which allow for varied and individualized course use: Thinking about Dance History: Theories and Practices, World Dance Traditions, America Dancing, and Contemporary Dance: Global Contexts. The editors have structured the readings with the understanding that contemporary theory has thoroughly questioned the discursive construction of history and the resultant canonization of certain dances, texts and points of view. The historical readings are presented in a way that encourages thoughtful analysis and allows the opportunity for critical engagement with the text. Ebook Edition Note: Ebook edition note: Five essays have been redacted, including “The Belly Dance: Ancient Ritual to Cabaret Performance,” by Shawna Helland; “Epitome of Korean Folk Dance”, by Lee Kyong-Hee; “Juba and American Minstrelsy,” by Marian Hannah Winter; “The Natural Body,” by Ann Daly; and “Butoh: ‘Twenty Years Ago We Were Crazy, Dirty, and Mad’,”by Bonnie Sue Stein. Eleven of the 41 illustrations in the book have also been redacted.

Download or read book Unworking Choreography written by Frédéric Pouillaude and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is no archive or museum of human movement, no place where choreographies can be collected and conserved in pristine form. The central consequence of this is the incapacity of philosophy and aesthetics to think of dance as a positive and empirical art. In the eyes of philosophers, dance refers to a space other than art, considered both more frivolous and more fundamental than the artwork without ever quite attaining the status of a work. Unworking Choreography develops this idea and postulates an unworking as evidenced by a conspicuous absence of references to actual choreographic works within philosophical accounts of dance; the late development and partial dominance of the notion of the work in dance in contrast to other art forms such as painting, music, and theatre; the difficulties in identifying dance works given a lack of scores and an apparent resistance within the art form to the possibility of notation; and the questioning of ends of dance in contemporary practice and the relativisation of the very idea that dance artistic or choreographic processes aim at work production.

Download or read book Dance Composition Basics written by Pamela Anderson Sofras and published by Human Kinetics. This book was released on 2019-02-06 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If the saying “To be the best, you must learn from the best” holds true, then this book is gold for all aspiring dancers. Dance Composition Basics, Second Edition, doesn’t just feature the works and brilliance of dance and choreographic legends Alonzo King and Dwight Rhoden—it is completely based on the choreographic operations and forms in three of their original works: Chants and Dreamer by King and Verge by Rhoden. All compositional exercises in the book are based on those three works, and the book itself is expertly crafted by Pamela Anderson Sofras, who has 34 years of experience teaching dance at the university level. Dance Composition Basics, designed for beginning dance composition courses, introduces dancers to choreography through a series of problem-solving activities. The activities are starting points for novice dancers to embark on their own attempts at choreography. Useful Tools The book offers several useful tools for instructors: 27 lesson plans that draw from and highlight selected portions of original compositions by King and Rhoden 33 reproducible assessment and self-evaluation forms An instructor guide that includes a sample course syllabus plus written exams for each chapter PowerPoint presentations to guide students through each lesson A web resource featuring online videos that are closely tied to the lesson plans and provide a richer learning experience for students; students can access this resource inside or outside of class Highly Valuable Video Resource The videos give students access to Alonzo King and Dwight Rhoden, highly successful and respected choreographers, who share their processes and techniques. Many video clips show the choreographers working on the same movement concepts featured in the corresponding lesson. Students will see the choreographers in action with professional dancers as they develop the movement material for each dance. Because students get to see the choreographers and dancers struggling with the same creative concepts they have been assigned, these clips add tremendous value to Dance Composition. Book and Web Resource Organization The text is split into five chapters, each of which features several lessons based on that chapter’s choreographic concept. Each lesson contains the following: An introductory statement and a vocabulary list A warm-up to prepare the body and focus the mind Structured improvisations that help dancers understand the movement concepts of the lesson Problem-solving activities that allow dancers to apply the concepts presented in the improvisations Discussion questions to engage dancers and promote understanding Assessment rubrics to guide evaluation of each dancer’s learning At the end of the book, a glossary provides definitions for the vocabulary terms introduced in the chapters. The main menu of the web resource corresponds with the five chapters in the book. To guide students’ use of the videos, icons have been placed throughout the book, referring readers to additional information in the web resource. Reviewing the videos will provide further insight into the choreographic assignment. The web resource also contains all the discussion questions, assessments, and evaluations found in the book. Instructors can distribute these to students electronically or print them out. Instructors can also adapt the forms to meet their specific needs. The web resource is included with all new print books and some ebooks. For ebook formats that don’t provide access, the web resource is available separately. The Learning Process Dance Composition takes students through a systematic learning process: reading about a concept, discussing the concept, seeing the concept played out on video with professional choreographers and dancers, and exploring the concept through their own movement ideas. Through this process, which includes structured improvisations, students discover a movement vocabulary and original dance phrases. They then more fully develop their movement ideas, with specific movement assignments, and are given feedback by their peers and the instructor. Invaluable Resource Dance Composition Basics, Second Edition, is an invaluable resource for dancers of all styles, from ballet to modern jazz, as it introduces them to some of the compositional structures used by professional choreographers. Through the carefully designed lessons in the book and the expert examples on the video clips, students can use this resource to take their first confident and exhilarating steps into the craft of choreography.

Download or read book Attention and Focus in Dance written by Clare Guss-West and published by Human Kinetics. This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Western approach to dance is largely focused on control and mastery of technique, both of which are certainly necessary skills for improving performance. But mindful attention, despite its critical role in high performance, has gotten short shrift—until now. Attention and Focus in Dance, a how-to book rooted in the 20 years of attentional focus findings of researcher Gabriele Wulf, will help dancers unlock their power and stamina reserves, enabling efficient movement, heightening their sensory perception and releasing their dance potential. Author Clare Guss-West—a professional dancer, choreographer, teacher and holistic practitioner—presents a systematic, science-based approach to the mental work of dance. Her approach helps dancers hone the skills of attention, focus and self-cueing to replenish energy and enhance their physical and artistic performance. A Unique, Research-Based Approach Here is what Attention and Focus in Dance offers readers: A unique approach, connecting the foundations of Eastern movement with Western movement forms Research-based teaching practices in diverse contexts, including professional dance companies, private studios, and programmes for dancers with special needs or movement challenges Testimonies and tips from international professional dancers and dance educators who use the book’s approach in their training and teaching A dance-centric focus that can be easily integrated into existing training and teaching practice, in rehearsal, or in rehabilitation contexts to provide immediate and long-term benefits Guss-West explores attentional focus techniques for dancers, teachers and dance health care practitioners, making practical connections between research, movement theory and day-to-day dance practice. “Many dancers are using excessive energy deployment and significant counterproductive effort, and that can lead to a global movement dysfunction, lack of stamina and an increased risk of injury,” says Guss-West. “Attentional focus training is the most relevant study that sport science and Eastern-movement practice can bring to dance.” Book Organisation The text is organised into two parts. Part I guides dancers in looking at the attentional challenges and information overload that many professional dancers suffer from. It outlines the need for a systematic attention and focus strategy, and it explains how scientific research on attentional focus relates to dance practice. This part also examines the ways in which Eastern-movement principles intersect with and complement scientific findings, and it examines how the Eastern and scientific concepts can breathe new life into basic dance elements such as posture, turnout and port de bras. Attention and focus techniques are included for replenishing energy and protecting against energy depletion and exhaustion. Part II presents attention and focus strategies for teaching, self-coaching and cueing. It addresses attentional focus cues for beginners and for more advanced dancers and professionals, and it places attentional focus in the broader context of holistic teaching strategies. Maximising Dance Potential “Whether cueing others or yourself, cueing for high performance is an art,” Guss-West says. “Readers will discover how to format cues and feedback to facilitate effective neuromuscular response and enhance dancer recall of information and accessibility while dancing.” Attention and Focus in Dance offers an abundance of research-backed concepts and inspirational ideas that can help dancers in their learning and performance. This book aids readers in filtering information and directing their focus for optimal physical effect. Ultimately, it guides dancers and teachers in being the best version of themselves and maximising their potential in dance.

Download or read book A Life in Dance written by Rebecca Stenn and published by . This book was released on 2017-05-12 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rebecca Stenn and Fran Kirmser have spent decades supporting and encouraging young dancers. They know that in addition to the immense passion and commitment that a dancer needs, a working knowledge of the financial and practical aspects of a life in dance are equally important. With A Life in Dance,Stenn and Kirmser give you resources to help you book a rehearsal space; obtain a legal representative and a tax preparer; find auditions; apply for grants; acquire health insurance; meet photographers, agents, publicists, and consultants; pay off student loan assistance; and begin financial planning. Stenn and Kirmser have also compiled narratives from some of the industry's most critically acclaimed performers to give you a glimpse into the life of a professional dancer. Brittany Schmid shows you what life is like for a dancer one year out of college. Wendy Osserman shows you what life is like fifty years out. Hamilton dancer Kamille Upshaw gives you tips on auditioning while choreographers from So You Think You Can Dance debate the benefits of live stage performance and television shows. Other stories include nuanced discussions about race in dance, mindful dancing, and the role of social media in the performing arts.

Download or read book Speaking of Dance written by Joyce Morgenroth and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-07-08 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Speaking of Dance: Twelve Contemporary Choreographers on Their Craft delves into the choreographic processes of some of America's most engaging and revolutionary dancemakers. Based on personal interviews, the book's narratives reveal the methods and quests of, among others, Merce Cunningham, Meredith Monk, Bill T. Jones, Trisha Brown, and Mark Morris. Morgenroth shows how the ideas, craft, and passion that go into their work have led these choreographers to disrupt known forms and expectations. The history of dance in the making is revealed through the stories of these intelligent, articulate, and witty dance masters.

Download or read book Embodied Philosophy in Dance written by Einav Katan-Schmid and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-09-18 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Representing the first comprehensive analysis of Gaga and Ohad Naharin's aesthetic approach, this book follows the sensual and mental emphases of the movement research practiced by dancers of the Batsheva Dance Company. Considering the body as a means of expression, Embodied Philosophy in Dance deciphers forms of meaning in dance as a medium for perception and realization within the body. In doing so, the book addresses embodied philosophies of mind, hermeneutics, pragmatism, and social theories in order to illuminate the perceptual experience of dancing. It also reveals the interconnections between physical and mental processes of reasoning and explores the nature of physical intelligence.

Download or read book The Dance Cure written by Peter Lovatt and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-01-26 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Peter Lovatt, author of The Dance Cure,… the ease with which his dancing can cheer me up is frightening.” — The Guardian “Peter Lovatt, author of The Dance Cure… the ease with which his dancing can cheer me up is frightening.” — The Guardian

Download or read book The Idea of Dance written by Guru Pandit Shyamal Maharaj and published by Notion Press. This book was released on 2021-12-30 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Idea of Dance is a culmination of Kathak Guru Pandit Shyamal Maharaj’s five-decade-long career as star performer and then beloved Guru to thousands of students. An alumnus of Visva-Bharati, Shantiniketan, and Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, Pandit Shyamal Maharaj has developed a unique style of Kathak, based on the Lucknow Gharana. This book exemplifies the Guru–Shishya parampara as the renowned Guru shares his in-depth knowledge of dance through it with students of Indian classical dance based in India and abroad. The Idea of Dance is based on the syllabus provided by Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh, and various universities and is meant for students from Prarambhik Part I to those in their Seventh Year of Indian classical dance as well as for all others who have a deep interest in Indian classical dance and wish to acquire knowledge about it.

Download or read book Dance Theory written by Tilden Russell and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-02 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of dance theory has never been told. Writers in every age have theorized prescriptively, according to their own needs and ideals, and theorists themselves having continually asserted the lack of any pre-existing dance theory. Dance Theory: Source Readings from Two Millenia of Western Dance revives and reintegrates dance theory as a field of historical dance studies, presenting a coherent reading of the interaction of theory and practice during two millennia of dance history. In fifty-five selected readings with explanatory text, this book follows the various constructions of dance theories as they have morphed and evolved in time, from ancient Greece to the twenty-first century. Dance Theory is a collection of source readings that, commensurate with current teaching practice, foregrounds dance and performance theory in its presentation of western dance forms. Divided into nine chapters organized chronologically by historical era and predominant intellectual and artistic currents, the book presents a history of an idea from one generation to another. Each chapter contains introductions that not only provide context and significance for the individual source readings, but also create narrative threads that link different chapters and time periods. Based entirely on primary sources, the book makes no claim to cite every source, but rather, in connecting the dots between significant high points, it attempts to trace a coherent and fair narrative of the evolution of dance theory as a concept in Western culture.

Download or read book Dance Improvisations written by Justine Reeve and published by Human Kinetics. This book was released on 2011-04-25 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dance Improvisations: Warm-Ups, Games and Choreographic Tasks will provide assistance with any doubts that dancers and teachers might have with improvisation. This practical book promotes creativity that can lead to innovative breakthroughs among students from middle school age through college. With Dance Improvisations: Warm-Ups, Games and Choreographic Tasks, you receive • expert instruction in planning, teaching, and assessing students’ improvisations; • 73 activities in creating movement and material for choreographing dances; • a glossary of dance and choreographic terms; and • extensions of each improv to aid further exploration and development of the improvisation skills. The activities support all portions of your class—including improvisation lessons that you can use as warm-ups, games that stimulate creativity, and choreographic tasks for creating movement material. Each activity has been tested and refined by the author, a veteran dance instructor and choreographer. You can use the improvs individually in a lesson or use them in developing entire lesson plans. The step-by-step instruction and teaching tips that you receive save you valuable preparation time—and the instructions are clear enough that more experienced students can use the book to practice on their own. With Dance Improvisations: Warm-Ups, Games and Choreographic Tasks, you will find new ways to help your dancers create original movements through both individual and group activities. Your students will hone their creative responses, and the innovation and energy in your dance classes will fill your studio or classroom. Students will blossom and gain inspiration using these improvisations as they learn how to develop movement and choreograph studies.

Download or read book Poetics of Dance written by Gabriele Brandstetter and published by Oxford Studies in Dance Theory. This book was released on 2015 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Poetics of Dance' looks at dance at the beginnings of the 20th century, the time during which modern dance first began to make its radical departure from the aesthetics of classical ballet. Author Gabriele Brandstetter traces modern dance's connection to new innovations and trends in visual and literary arts to argue that modern dance is in fact the preeminent symbol of modernity.

Download or read book Brain compatible Dance Education written by Anne Green Gilbert and published by Human Kinetics Publishers. This book was released on 2006 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This classic "must have" is NDA's most popular publication. Includes locomotor/nonlocomotor movement, assessment, and interdisciplinary topics.

Download or read book Dance and Gender written by Wendy Oliver and published by University Press of Florida. This book was released on 2018-06-11 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Driven by exacting methods and hard data, this volume reveals gender dynamics within the dance world in the twenty-first century. It provides concrete evidence about how gender impacts the daily lives of dancers, choreographers, directors, educators, and students through surveys, interviews, analyses of data from institutional sources, and action research studies. Dancers, dance artists, and dance scholars from the United States, Australia, and Canada discuss equity in three areas: concert dance, the studio, and higher education. The chapters provide evidence of bias, stereotyping, and other behaviors that are often invisible to those involved, as well as to audiences. The contributors answer incisive questions about the role of gender in various aspects of the field, including physical expression and body image, classroom experiences and pedagogy, and performance and funding opportunities. The findings reveal how inequitable practices combined with societal pressures can create environments that hinder health, happiness, and success. At the same time, they highlight the individuals working to eliminate discrimination and open up new possibilities for expression and achievement in studios, choreography, performance venues, and institutions of higher education. The dance community can strive to eliminate discrimination, but first it must understand the status quo for gender in the dance world. Wendy Oliver, professor of dance at Providence College, is coeditor of Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches. Doug Risner, professor of dance at Wayne State University, is coeditor of Hybrid Lives of Teaching Artists in Dance and Theatre Arts: A Critical Reader. Contributors: Gareth Belling | Karen Bond | Carolyn Hebert | Eliza Larson | Pamela S. Musil | Wendy Oliver | Katherine Polasek | Doug Risner | Emily Roper | Karen Schupp | Jan Van Dyke

Download or read book Merce Cunningham written by Carrie Noland and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-01-23 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most influential choreographers of the twentieth century, Merce Cunningham is known for introducing chance to dance. Far too often, however, accounts of Cunningham’s work have neglected its full scope, focusing on his collaborations with the visionary composer John Cage or insisting that randomness was the singular goal of his choreography. In this book, the first dedicated to the complete arc of Cunningham’s career, Carrie Noland brings new insight to this transformative artist’s philosophy and work, providing a fresh perspective on his artistic process while exploring aspects of his choreographic practice never studied before. Examining a rich and previously unseen archive that includes photographs, film footage, and unpublished writing by Cunningham, Noland counters prior understandings of Cunningham’s influential embrace of the unintended, demonstrating that Cunningham in fact set limits on the role chance played in his dances. Drawing on Cunningham’s written and performed work, Noland reveals that Cunningham introduced variables before the chance procedure was applied and later shaped and modified the chance results. Chapters explore his relation not only to Cage, but also Marcel Duchamp, Robert Rauschenberg, James Joyce, and Bill T. Jones. Ultimately, Noland shows that Cunningham approached movement as more than “movement in itself,” and that his work enacted archetypal human dramas. This remarkable book will forever change our appreciation of the choreographer’s work and legacy.