You are cordially invited to the wedding of the year! London, 1938. As the festive season approaches at the luxurious Buckingham Hotel, romance is in the air. The hotel staff are preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime event - the marriage of chambermaid Nancy Nettleton to debonair demonstration dancer Raymond de Guise. As wreaths are hung and carols are sung, life at the hotel is busier than ever. Guests arrive from around the world, seeking comfort, relaxation and refuge as tensions build across Europe and whispered rumours of war grow louder. Behind the scenes, the staff work tirelessly, ensuring the smooth operation of the hotel, not only keeping the confidences of their guests, but also protecting their own secrets . . . As Raymond takes Nancy in his arms for their first dance, one thing is certain - this will be a Christmas to remember. Be swept away by the new breath-taking romantic novel from Sunday Times bestselling author and Strictly Come Dancing star Anton Du Beke. "A novel that's like a hug!" Phillip Schofield

This book examines modern dance as a form of embodied resistance to political and cultural nationalism in India through the works of five selected modern dance makers: Rabindranath Tagore, Uday Shankar, Shanti Bardhan, Manjusri Chaki Sircar and Ranjabati Sircar.

This revised third edition of The Male Dancer updates and enlarges a seminal book that has established itself as the definitive study of the performance of masculinities in twentieth century modernist and contemporary choreography. In this authoritative and lively study, Ramsay Burt presents close readings of dance works from key moments of social and political change in the norms around gender and sexuality. The book's argument that prejudices against male dancers are rooted in our ideas about the male body and behaviour has been extended to take into account recent interdisciplinary discussions about whiteness, intersectionality, disability studies, and female masculinities. As well as analysing works by canonical figures like Nijinsky, Graham, Cunningham, and Bausch, it also examines the work of lesser-known figures like Michio Ito and Eleo Pomare, as well as choreographers who have recently emerged internationally like Germaine Acogny and Trajal Harrell. The Male Dancer has proven to be essential reading for anyone interested in dance and the cultural representation of gender. By reflecting on the latest studies in theory, performance, and practice, Burt has thoroughly updated this important book to include dance works from the last ten years and has renewed its timeliness for the 2020s.

This guide provides an overview of the history of hip hop culture and an exploration of its dance style, appropriate both for student research projects and general interest reading. Rapping. Breakdancing. MCing. DJing. Beatboxing. Graffiti art. These are just some of the most well-known artistic expressions spawned from hip hop culture, which has grown from being an isolated inner-city subculture in the 1970s to being a truly international and mainstream culture that has taken root in countries as diverse as Japan, France, Israel, Poland, Brazil, South Korea, and England. This insightful book provides not only an overview of hip hop's distinctive dance style and steps, but also a historic overview of hip hop's roots as an urban expression of being left out of the mainstream pop culture, clarifying the social context of hip hop culture before it became a widespread suburban phenomenon. Hip Hop Dance documents all the forms of street music that led to one of the most groundbreaking, expressive, and influential dance styles ever created. A chronology of the development of hip hop from the 1970s to the present Black and white photographs of the various dance movements Bibliography of significant materials for further reading Detailed explanations of dance terms Helpful indexes with convenient access to various topics of interest throughout the book

A comprehensive 'how to' book on the Laban system of movement - from the author of Laban for Actors and Dancers. Laban for All offers a simplified version of Rudolf Laban's system for analysing - and annotating - the way the human being moves. It can be used by relative beginners upwards. The reader is introduced to the language and terms of Laban, with each new concept accompanied by very specific, clearly illustrated exercises - each designed to strengthen and deepen our understanding. When the basic vocabulary has been explained and demonstrated, its expressive possibilities in drama and dance are further explored. The result is a thorough - and thoroughly practical - grounding in the most significant movement system of modern times.

This book uses ethnographic research to examine the role of dance in the construction of identity in the distinctly British electronic dance music club culture of drum 'n' bass. Dancing is revealed as the central way in which drum 'n' bass clubbers construct and perform their identities, which are informed, although not defined, by the club culture's histories. The intertextual and intercultural development of drum 'n' bass musical and clubbing culture is shown to be represented in the dancing body, prompting a challenge to the discourse of cultural appropriation. Popular representations of identities are embodied by drum 'n' bass clubbers through affective transmission via the popular screen, and in this process are re-valued in their embodiment. Using a socially orientated understanding of intertextuality, the popular dancing body is shown to be heterocorporeal: containing traces of prior meaning and logic yet replete with new meaning and significance.

When the American modern dancers Isadora Duncan (1877-1928) and Martha Graham (1894-1991) read Nietzsche, they were inspired by the way in which he uses images of dance to figure an alternative to Christian values. They each came to describe their visions for dance in Nietzschean terms. This book investigates the role Nietzsche's dance images play in his project of 'revaluing all values' and does so alongside the religious rhetoric and subject matter evident in the dancing, teaching, and writing of Duncan and Graham. It concludes that these modern dancers found justification and guidance in Nietzsche's texts for developing dance as a medium of religious experience and expression.

Paris at the turn of the century - Art Nouveau, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and the Folies Bergere. This was the atmosphere which nurtured the artistic development of the remarkable dancer and choreographer Ida Rubinstein.
This long-awaited biography gives us a unique insight into the life of a remarkable woman, responsible for a fascinating chapter of our artistic heritage. She was a chameleon, a diva, who lived many lives, overcoming the anti-Semitism of her times to enchant and captivate the highest of societies.
Untrained as a dancer, Ida Rubinstein's charisma attracted collaborators such as Debussy, Stravinsky, Ravel, Cocteau, Bakst, and Benois. She scandalized high society from Paris to St. Petersburg and attracted the attention of everyone from Marc Chagall to Sarah Bernhardt.
Vicki Woolf has appeared in several films and countless plays. Her training as a dancer led to the development of her own method of exercises and related publications, prior to undertaking the research for Danc

* Interdisciplinary book that weaves together ideas from psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, and dance. * Considers how movement is central to our sense of reality, our sense of self, and our relationships with others and the surrounding world. * Accessibly written book that foregrounds the author's voice and experiences

Kathakali Dance-Drama provides a comprehensive introduction to the distinctive and colourful dance-drama of Kerala in South-West India for the first time. This landmark volume:
* explores Kathakali's reception as it reaches new audiences both in India and the west
* includes two cases of controversial of Kathakali experiments
* explores the implications for Kathakali of Keralan politics
During these performances heroes, heroines, gods and demons tell their stories of traditional Indian epics. The four Kathakali plays included in this anthology, translated from actual performances into English are:
* The Flower of Good Fortune
* The Killing of Kirmmira
* The Progeny of Krishna
* King Rugmamgada's Law
Each play has an introduction and detailed commentary and is illustrated by stunning photographs taken during performances. An introduction to Kathakali stage conventions, make-up, music, acting, and training is also provided, making this an ideal volume for both the specialist and non-specialist reader.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203197666

Kathakali Dance-Drama provides a comprehensive introduction to the distinctive and colourful dance-drama of Kerala in South-West India for the first time. This landmark volume:
* explores Kathakali's reception as it reaches new audiences both in India and the west
* includes two cases of controversial of Kathakali experiments
* explores the implications for Kathakali of Keralan politics.
During these performances heroes, heroines, gods and demons tell their stories of traditional Indian epics. The four Kathakali plays included in this anthology, translated from actual performances into English are:
* The Flower of Good Fortune
* The Killing of Kirmmira
* The Progeny of Krishna
* King Rugmamgada's Law.
Each play has an introduction and detailed commentary and is illustrated by stunning photographs taken during performances. An introduction to Kathakali stage conventions, make-up, music, acting, and training is also provided, making this an ideal volume for both the specialist and non-specialist reader.

This book addresses the mind-body dichotomy in movement and dance. This book includes a description of the often-forgotten kinesthetic sense, body awareness, somatic practices, body-based way of thinking, mental imagery, nonverbal communication, human empathy, and symbol systems, what occurs in the brain during learning, and why and how movement and dance should be part of school curricula. This exploration arguers that becoming more aware of bodily sensations serves as a basis for knowing, communicating, learning, and teaching through movement and dance. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students interested in teaching methodology and for courses in physical education, dance, and education.

The writings of six choreographers are assembled in this book and the leap they have taken to go from the medium of choreography into written text constitutes a form of translation. Some of the texts investigate the possibilities of written language as invention, others use it as a means to illustrate specific tenets or describe choreographic projects. All yield insight into the process of coaxing language from the body.

It was indeed an adventure for those pioneers in France who struggled for the recognition of the new-born dance of the twentieth century - from the free dance of Isadora Duncan, through the absolute dance of Mary Wigman, to the modern dance of Martha Graham.
Jacqueline Robinson has lived at the heart of this adventure, sharing the aspirations of a whole generation who often suffered from the lack of understanding of an establishment more inclined towards classical ballet.
From the breaking of the soil in the twenties, to the flowering in the sixties, here is a chronicle of the changing landscape of French dance. Here is the story of those men and women, ploughmen and poets, rebels and visionaries - the recollection of those events that made it possible for dance as an art form in Western countries to rise again as a fundamental expression of the human spirit.

The Routledge Companion to Dance Studies maps out the key features of dance studies as the field stands today, while pointing to potential future developments. It locates these features both historically-within dance in particular social and cultural contexts-and in relation to other academic influences that have impinged on dance studies as a discipline. The editors use a thematically based approach that emphasizes that dance scholarship does not stand alone as a single entity, but is inevitably linked to other related fields, debates, and concerns. Authors from across continents have contributed chapters based on theoretical, methodological, ethnographic, and practice-based case studies, bringing together a wealth of expertise and insight to offer a study that is in-depth and wide-ranging. Ideal for scholars and upper-level students of dance and performance studies, The Routledge Companion to Dance Studies challenges the reader to expand their knowledge of this vibrant, exciting interdisciplinary field.

A pioneer choreographer in modern American dance, Anna Sokolow has led a bewildering, active international life. Her meticulous biographer Larry Warren once looked up Anna Sokolow in a few reference books and found that she was born in three different years and that her parents were from Poland except when they were in Russia, and found many other inaccuracies.
Drawing on material from nearly 100 interviews, Larry Warren has created a fascinating account and assessment of the life and work of Anna Sokolow, whose nomadic career was divided between New York, Mexico, and Israel.
Setting her work on more than 70 dance companies, Anna Sokolow not only pioneered the development of a personal approach to movement, which has become part of the language of contemporary dance, but also created such masterpieces as "Rooms," dealing with loneliness and alienation, and "Dreams," which concerns the inner torment of victims of the Nazi Holocaust. Her unflinching look at the darker sides of experien

Why do women choreographers chose to create the dances they do in the manner they do? How do women in dance work independently and organizationally? How do women set up institutions? How has higher education helped or hindered women in the world of dance? These are the questions this work seeks to address.;In dealing with some of the tensions, joys, frustrations and fears women experience at various points of their creative lives, the contributors strike a balance between a theoretical sense of feminism and its practice in reality. This book aims to present answers to questions about women, power and action.

"East Meets West in Dance" chronicles this development in the words of many of its best known and most active exponents. This collection of articles provides a theoretical discussion of the promises and pitfalls inherent in transplanting art forms from one culture to another; it offers practical guidance for those who might want to participate in this enterprise and explains the general history of the dance exchange to date. It also identifies the differences that are unique to specific cultures, such as the development of theatrical forms, arts education, and the status of artists. This is a first examination of a phenomenon that has already touched most people in the arts community worldwide, and that none can afford to ignore.
A lively dialogue has evolved over the last few decades between dance professionals -- performers, teachers and administrators -- in the United States and Europe and their counterparts in Asia and the Pacific rim.

"East Meets West in Dance" chronicles this development in the words of many of its best known and most active exponents. This collection of articles provides a theoretical discussion of the promises and pitfalls inherent in transplanting art forms from one culture to another; it offers practical guidance for those who might want to participate in this enterprise and explains the general history of the dance exchange to date. It also identifies the differences that are unique to specific cultures, such as the development of theatrical forms, arts education, and the status of artists. This is a first examination of a phenomenon that has already touched most people in the arts community worldwide, and that none can afford to ignore.
A lively dialogue has evolved over the last few decades between dance professionals -- performers, teachers and administrators -- in the United States and Europe and their counterparts in Asia and the Pacific rim.

This essential pocket guide to this enduringly popular art, is a perfect introduction to over eighty of the most performed ballets today. Spanning nearly two centuries of classical dancing, this indispensable book begins in the Romantic era of the 1830s, moves through the great Tchaikovskly ballets of Tsarist St Petersburg, to the inspirational work of Diaghilev at the beginning of the twentieth century and the luminous neo-classicism of Balanchine. Ashton and Macmillan are covered in depth, and the most recent ground-breaking work brings us up to the present day.