Written for the dance novice, this book is a concise, thorough, and accurate history of all forms of dance. It gives a brief biography of many of the notable dancers and choreographers who have contributed to each form of dance, and also details the history of dance from its earliest beginnings and covers the intersection of dance and religion, social dance, ballet, modern dance, tap, jazz, film dance, and contemporary dance.
All aspects of organizing a dance performance and managing a company are covered in this book--written by dancers, for dancers. Photos, drawings, and diagrams show beginners how to hang lights, make costumes, design posters, and attract an audience. Readers will discover tips on the business side of a dance production including marketing, fundraising, box office and house management, and much more.
This text helps dancers learn anatomical and biomechanical principles as they apply to dance performance. It focuses on optimal dance movement and the related principles for understanding the function of body joints. And by applying those principles, dancers can help reduce their risk of injury and enhance their performance longevity.
Literally designed as a tour of the body from head to toe, this encyclopedic manual includes advice on issues specific to dancers' well-being, such as body awareness and self-image, eating disorders, spotting and whiplash, overhead lifts, stress fractures, turnout, potential harm from pointe shoes, and damaged feet and toes.
In this groundbreaking and fun-to-read book, two neuroscientists (who are also competitive dancers) draw on their cutting-edge research to reveal why humans are hardwired for dance and show how to achieve optimal health through dancing. Taking readers on an in-depth exploration of movement and music, from early humans up until today, the authors show the proven benefits of dance for our heart, lungs, bones, nervous system, and brain.
Since its development in the United States in the 1970s, hip-hop has grown to become a global dance phenomenon. Students gain a strong foundation and learn the fundamentals of hip-hop techniques as they venture into the exciting world of this dance genre.
The contributors to this volume address such topics as the role of the 1960s Asian American Movement in creating Japanese American taiko groups, and the experience of internment during World War II influencing butoh dance in Canada. Essays about artists such as Jay Hirabayashi, Alvin Tolentino, Shen Wei, Kun-Yang Lin, Yasuko Yokoshi, Eiko & Koma, Sam Kim, Roko Kawai, and Denise Uyehara look closely at the politics of how Asian aesthetics are set into motion and marketed.
This groundbreaking collection combines ethnographic and historic strategies to reveal how dance plays crucial cultural roles in various regions of the world, including Tonga, Java, Bosnia-Herzegovina, New Mexico, India, Korea, Macedonia, and England. The essays find a balance between past and present and examine how dance and bodily practices are core identity and cultural creators. Reaching beyond the typically Eurocentric view of dance, Dancing from Past to Present opens a world of debate over the role dance plays in forming and expressing cultural identities around the world.
The first scholarly anthology on African American dance, Dancing Many Drums reevaluates "black" & "African American" as both racial & dance categories. Abundantly illustrated, the volume includes images of a wide variety of dance forms & performers, from ring shouts, vaudeville, & social dances to professional dance companies & Hollywood movie dancing.
This volume reveals women's roles as performers of dance, choreographers, shapers of aesthetic trends, and patrons of dance in Italy, France, England, and Germany before 1800. Through dance, women asserted power in spheres largely dominated by men: the court, the theater, and the church. From a women's religious order in the thirteenth-century Low Countries that used dance as a spiritual rite of passage to the salon culture of eighteenth-century France where dance became an integral part of women's cultural influence, the writers in this volume explore the meaning of these women's stories, performances, and dancing bodies.
