Done into Dance


Book Description

This cultural study of modern dance icon Isadora Duncan is the first to place her within the thought, politics and art of her time. Duncan's dancing earned her international fame and influenced generations of American girls and women, yet the romantic myth that surrounds her has left some questions unanswered: What did her audiences see on stage, and how did they respond? What dreams and fears of theirs did she play out? Why, in short, was Duncan's dancing so compelling? First published in 1995 and now back in print, Done into Dance reveals Duncan enmeshed in social and cultural currents of her time — the moralism of the Progressive Era, the artistic radicalism of prewar Greenwich Village, the xenophobia of the 1920s, her association with feminism and her racial notion of "Americanness."




Done Into Dance


Book Description




Done Into Dance


Book Description




Turning Pointe


Book Description

A reckoning with one of our most beloved art forms, whose past and present are shaped by gender, racial, and class inequities—and a look inside the fight for its future Every day, in dance studios all across America, legions of little children line up at the barre to take ballet class. This time in the studio shapes their lives, instilling lessons about gender, power, bodies, and their place in the world both in and outside of dance. In Turning Pointe, journalist Chloe Angyal captures the intense love for ballet that so many dancers feel, while also grappling with its devastating shortcomings: the power imbalance of an art form performed mostly by women, but dominated by men; the impossible standards of beauty and thinness; and the racism that keeps so many people of color out of ballet. As the rigid traditions of ballet grow increasingly out of step with the modern world, a new generation of dancers is confronting these issues head on, in the studio and on stage. For ballet to survive the twenty-first century and forge a path into a more socially just future, this reckoning is essential.




My Dance Recital


Book Description

My Dance Recital captures the preparation, rehearsals, fun, excitement, and nervousness that go into dance recitals by young girls and boys. This book is chock-a-block with novelty elements—pull-tabs, fabrics, wheels, flaps, and pop-ups (including one grand finale)—and features Maryann Cocca-Leffler’s gorgeous signature artwork. From getting hair and make-up done to pirouettes to the final bow, this book has it all. Young dancers—and aspiring dancers—will love every minute of it.




Critical Gestures


Book Description

Part II, Making history, includes reviews and essays on Isadora Duncan.




Why We Dance


Book Description

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.




Life Is Short, Don't Wait to Dance


Book Description

Highly acclaimed UCLA Women's gymnastics coach of 7 NCAA championships Valorie Kondos Field shares insights on how to use uniqueness and authenticity to achieve success. Former professional ballerina Valorie Kondos Field--or Miss Val, as she's affectionately known--has never tumbled, flipped, or even played any type of organized sports, and yet she has been able to craft a legendary coaching career through curiosity, creativity, attention to detail, and unwavering care for the overall well-being of her athletes. For Miss Val, it's not about winning and losing, it's about choreographing your life and owning the choices you make. Miss Val has shaped her UCLA Gymnastics program as a life skills class and now she's sharing those lessons with you, whether you're an athlete, business leader, or simply someone who wants to own their destiny. Miss Val's philosophies are timeless. Her coaching style is unorthodox. Life Is Short, Don't Wait to Dance is a thought-provoking, fun journey through the anecdotes of the 35-year career of a dancer/choreographer turned athletic coach. The book includes unforgettable stories of the Olympians and athletes with whom she's worked-including the inspirational journey of Katelyn Ohashi, whose joyful transformation under the tutelage of Miss Val was evident to the world when her perfect 10 floor routine went viral -- reaching over 100 million viewers. Other triumphs include Olympian Jamie Dantzscher, who found her confidence at UCLA and learned the tools to combat her previous abuse; and sensation Christine Peng Peng Lee, who helped the Bruins clinch the 2018 NCAA championship with back-to-back 10's. Miss Val also shares her favorite memories of her mentor, legendary basketball coach John Wooden, as well as her thoughts on Larry Nassar and the gymnastics sexual abuse scandal. Miss Val reveals how her coaching journey had a rocky start before she found her own best approach. In time she realized that her dance background wasn't a detriment, it was a gift. When she embraced this, Miss Val led the Bruins to victory. Life Is Short, Don't Wait to Dance is packed with great advice for anyone on a quest for success, delivered in Miss Val's reassuring and inspirational tone. She took the same approach to her breast cancer diagnosis, explaining how she made that struggle into one of the best years of her life. For Miss Val, it's all about attitude. Life Is Short, Don't Wait to Dance is a powerful book that shows you how to make the leap of faith in choosing your own path to greatness.




Judson Dance Theater: the Work Is Never Done


Book Description

An exploration of Judson Dance Theater's radical influence on postwar American art history and its lasting impact on contemporary artistic discourse. Taking its name from the Judson Memorial Church, a socially engaged Protestant congregation in New York's Greenwich Village, Judson Dance Theater was organized as a series of open workshops from which its participants developed performances. Redefining the kinds of movement that could count as dance, the Judson participants - Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, Philip Corner, Bill Dixon, Judith Dunn, David Gordon, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Fred Herko, Robert Morris, Steve Paxton, Rudy Perez, Yvonne Rainer, Robert Rauschenberg, Carolee Schneemann and Elaine Summers, among others - would go on to profoundly shape all fields of art in the second half of the 20th century. Judson Dance Theater: The Work Is Never Done highlights the ongoing significance of the history of Judson Dance Theater. Published in conjunction with an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, it charts the development of Judson, beginning with the workshops and classes led by Anna Halprin, Robert Ellis Dunn and James Waring, and exploring the influence of other figures working downtown such as Simone Forti and Andy Warhol, as well as venues for collective action like Judson Gallery and the Living Theatre. Lushly illustrated with film stills, photographic documentation, reproductions of sculptural objects, scores, music, poetry, architectural drawings and archival material, the publication celebrates the group's multidisciplinary and collaborative ethos as well as the range of its participants.




The Road Dance


Book Description

This edition is releasing to celebrate the release of the award winning film adaptation, starring Hermione Corfield, Will Fletcher and Mark Gatiss and directed by Richie Adams. Cinematic release set for May 2022 in UK and Irish cinemas. Winner of the Edinburgh International Film Festival Audience Award 2021. Kirsty MacLeod is a beautiful young woman, coveted by all the young men of her island village. She dreams of America, of following the setting sun west to a better life. She meets the man who dreams her dreams and promises to make them come true. But then the Great War breaks out and the men must leave for battle. In their honour, the islanders organise a grand Road Dance. That night she is raped. She is left with a secret that will bring shame upon her and her family and ultimately on the child she is carrying. On a night of storms and sorrow, she has to make her choice and it is no choice at all.