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Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Dance

Sound and Sense - Music and Musical Metaphor in the Thought and Writing of Goethe and his Age (Paperback, New edition):... Sound and Sense - Music and Musical Metaphor in the Thought and Writing of Goethe and his Age (Paperback, New edition)
Josephine Tudor
R1,976 R1,705 Discovery Miles 17 050 Save R271 (14%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This study focuses on beliefs about music current in eighteenth-century Germany. Of particular interest are the conceptual metaphors through which major writers (Goethe, Schiller, Herder and Klopstock) used music as analogy and medium for perceptions of the world in their writing. The book surveys traditional metaphors (music as harmony/disharmony, music as like/unlike language, music as structured by mathematical proportion or by rhythm) inherited from Greek and French thought and looks at ways in which these writers also assimilated and developed contemporary ideas (especially from Leibniz, the French Rationalists, Rameau and Rousseau). German writers of this epoch had a remarkably rich and varied range of ideas of music at their disposal, some of which could also be realised in multi-media genres. With the help of modern theory from several fields, the study aims to show how they deployed these resources in ways both like and unlike the practice of Romantic writers with whom they overlapped at the end of the century.

Choreographing Empathy - Kinesthesia in Performance (Hardcover): Susan Foster Choreographing Empathy - Kinesthesia in Performance (Hardcover)
Susan Foster
R4,224 Discovery Miles 42 240 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

"This is an urgently needed book - as the question of choreographing behavior enters into realms outside of the aesthetic domains of theatrical dance, Susan Foster writes a thoroughly compelling argument." - Andre Lepecki, New York University "May well prove to be one of Susan Foster's most important works." - Ramsay Burt, De Montford University, UK What do we feel when we watch dancing? Do we "dance along" inwardly? Do we sense what the dancer's body is feeling? Do we imagine what it might feel like to perform those same moves? If we do, how do these responses influence how we experience dancing and how we derive significance from it? Choreographing Empathy challenges the idea of a direct psychophysical connection between the body of a dancer and that of their observer. In this groundbreaking investigation, Susan Foster argues that the connection is in fact highly mediated and influenced by ever-changing sociocultural mores. Foster examines the relationships between three central components in the experience of watching a dance - the choreography, the kinesthetic sensations it puts forward, and the empathetic connection that it proposes to viewers. Tracing the changing definitions of choreography, kinesthesia, and empathy from the 1700s to the present day, she shows how the observation, study, and discussion of dance have changed over time. Understanding this development is key to understanding corporeality and its involvement in the body politic.

Ballroom - Culture and Costume in Competitive Dance (Hardcover, First): Jonathan S. Marion Ballroom - Culture and Costume in Competitive Dance (Hardcover, First)
Jonathan S. Marion
R3,985 Discovery Miles 39 850 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Competitive ballroom is much more than a style of dance. Rather, it is a continually evolving and increasingly global social and cultural arena of fashion, performance, art, sport, gender, and more. "Ballroom" explores the intersection of dance cultures, dress, and the body. the book presents the author's experiences at a range of international dance events in Europe, the US and UK, as well as featuring the views of individual dancers. "Ballroom" shows how dancing influences mind and body alike. For students of anthropology, dance, cultural, and performance studies, this book provides an ethnographic picture of how dancers and others live their lives both on and off the dance floor.

Dancing from Past to Present - Nation, Culture, Identities (Hardcover): Theresa Buckland Dancing from Past to Present - Nation, Culture, Identities (Hardcover)
Theresa Buckland
R1,194 R1,053 Discovery Miles 10 530 Save R141 (12%) Ships in 18 - 22 working days

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.

Dance, Spectacle, and the Body Politick, 1250-1750 (Paperback): Jennifer Nevile Dance, Spectacle, and the Body Politick, 1250-1750 (Paperback)
Jennifer Nevile
R650 Discovery Miles 6 500 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

From the mid-13th to the mid-18th century the ability to dance was an important social skill for both men and women. Dance performances were an integral part of court ceremonies and festivals and, in the 17th and 18th centuries, of commercial theatrical productions. Whether at court or in the public theater danced spectacles were multimedia events that required close collaboration among artists, musicians, designers, engineers, and architects as well as choreographers. In order to fully understand these practices, it is necessary to move beyond a consideration of dance alone, and to examine it in its social context. This original collection brings together the work of 12 scholars from the disciplines of dance and music history. Their work presents a picture of dance in society from the late medieval period to the middle of the 18th century and demonstrates how dance practices during this period participated in the intellectual, artistic, and political cultures of their day.

Clara & Olivia (Hardcover): Lucy Ashe Clara & Olivia (Hardcover)
Lucy Ashe
R493 R450 Discovery Miles 4 500 Save R43 (9%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

"Surely you would like to be immortalised in art, fixed forever in perfection?" Sadler's Wells, 1933. I would kill to dance like her. Disciplined and dedicated, Olivia is the perfect ballerina. But no matter how hard she works, she can never match identical twin Clara's charm. I would kill to be with her. As rehearsals intensify for the ballet Coppelia, the girls feel increasingly like they are being watched. And, as infatuation turns to obsession, everything begins to unravel.

Dance Matters - Performing India on Local and Global Stages (Hardcover): Pallabi Chakravorty, Nilanjana Gupta Dance Matters - Performing India on Local and Global Stages (Hardcover)
Pallabi Chakravorty, Nilanjana Gupta
R4,229 Discovery Miles 42 290 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This volume presents a multidisciplinary perspective on dance scholarship and practice as they have evolved in India and its diaspora, outlining how dance histories have been written and re-written, how aesthetic and pedagogical conventions have changed and are changing, and how politico-economic shifts have shaped Indian dance and its negotiation with modernity.. Written by eminent and emergent scholars and practitioners of Indian dance, the articles make dance a foundational socio-cultural and aesthetic phenomena that reflects and impacts upon various cultural intercourses -- from art and architecture to popular culture, and social justice issues. They also highlight the interplay of various frameworks: global, national, and local/indigenous for studying these diverse performance contexts, using dance as a critical lens to analyse current debates on nationalism, transnationalism, gender and sexuality, and postcolonial politics. At the performace level, some articles question the accepted divisions of Indian dance (?classical?, ?folk?, and ?popular?) and critique the dominant values associated with classical dance forms. Finally, the book brings together both experiential and objective dimensions of bodily knowledge through dance.

Beyond the Apsara - Celebrating Dance in Cambodia (Hardcover): Stephanie Burridge, Fred Frumberg Beyond the Apsara - Celebrating Dance in Cambodia (Hardcover)
Stephanie Burridge, Fred Frumberg
R4,217 Discovery Miles 42 170 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This book celebrates and documents the resurgence of dance in Cambodia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge and the infamous Pol Pot regime. It honours the remarkable commitment of the few remaining masters of the art of dance who are reviving and preserving the famous classical dances, as well as the courage and resolution of young artists who are imaginatively pursuing their passion to forge new paths in contemporary dance. n 2003, Cambodian classical dance was awarded world heritage status by UNESCO this confirmed the importance, and perhaps the burden, of the task of preservation. This volume includes contributions from the royal family, eminent writers and commentators and the dancers themselves.

Monuments and reminders of the Killing Fields abound in the city of Phnom Penh. Nearly 2 million Cambodians, including many artists, perished during the killings or died of starvation and disease during the Khmer Rouge years. Today, the dancers, both young and old, move towards the future while respecting and honouring the past. This volume documents their journey.

Movements of Interweaving - Dance and Corporeality in Times of Travel and Migration (Paperback): Gabriele Brandstetter, Gerko... Movements of Interweaving - Dance and Corporeality in Times of Travel and Migration (Paperback)
Gabriele Brandstetter, Gerko Egert, Holger Hartung
R1,305 Discovery Miles 13 050 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Movements of Interweaving is a rich collection of essays exploring the concept of interweaving performance cultures in the realms of movement, dance, and corporeality. Focusing on dance performances as well as on scenarios of cultural movements on a global scale, it not only challenges the concept of intercultural dance performances, but through its innovative approach also calls attention to the specific qualities of "interweaving" as a form of movement itself. Divided into four sections, this volume features an international team of scholars together developing a new critical perspective on the cultural practices of movement, travel and migration in and beyond dance.

Chassidic Ecstasy in Music (Paperback, New edition): Shmuel Barzilai Chassidic Ecstasy in Music (Paperback, New edition)
Shmuel Barzilai
R1,032 R900 Discovery Miles 9 000 Save R132 (13%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Music is of paramount importance in Judaism. On the verse, «Hearken unto the song and the prayer which Your servant prays before You this day (1 Kings 8:28), the Gemarrah states that wherever there is song, there shall be prayer; and indeed, in the Temple, song was an inseparable element of the sacrificial services, thereafter finding its position in the prayers and the Torah reading, with its special melody, in the synagogue. Chassidism employed music as one of its main avenues for serving G-d. Music served to bring the individual to a state of awakening and joy, nullifying sadness which was seen as an element that could only lead to negativity. Joy allowed one to reach ever higher levels in the service of G-d, leaving one's sorrows behind, as explained by the founder of the Modzits Chassidic court, Rabbi Yehezkel of Kozmir, when interpreting the verse, «with joy you shall go forth (Isaiah 55) to mean that through joy, we shall go forth from all our difficulties. In this book, Shmuel Barzilai takes the reader on a brief and concise tour of the Chassidic courts and their world of music. It explains the wordless melody (Niggun), which is perhaps even more important than songs having words; the importance of dance; the place of honor given to Shabbat songs; and the role of music in Kabbalah. The book provides an overview of the activities of Rabbis who composed and sang at every opportunity, whether in the synagogue or while conducting the traditional Tisch where Chassidic adherents gathered each Shabbat and Festival to hear their Rebbe explain sections of Torah, sing and interpret sayings on music. Barzilai also discusses melodies - niggunim - that became particularly famous, or derived from non-Jewish sources but underwent a process that allowed them to be adopted by the Admoric leaders and integrated into the Chassidic court's repertoire.

Dancing to Transform - How Concert Dance Becomes Religious in American Christianity (Hardcover, New edition): Emily Wright Dancing to Transform - How Concert Dance Becomes Religious in American Christianity (Hardcover, New edition)
Emily Wright
R2,213 Discovery Miles 22 130 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

In response to a scarcity of writings on the intersections between dance and Christianity, Dancing to Transform examines the religious lives of American Christians who, despite the historically tenuous place of dance within Christianity, are also professional dancers. Emily Wright details how these dancing Christians transform what they perceive as secular professional by transforming concert dance into different kinds of religious practices in order to express individual and communal religious identities. Through a multi-site, qualitative study of four professional dance companies, Wright explores how religious and artistic commitments, everyday lived experience and varied performance contexts influence and shape the approaches of Christian professional dancers to creating, transforming and performing dance. Subsequently, this book provides readers with a greater awareness and appreciation for the complex interactions between American Christianity and dance. This study, in turn, delivers audiences a richer, more nuanced picture of the complex histories of these Christian, dancing communities and offers more fruitful readings of their choreographic productions.

The People Have Never Stopped Dancing - Native American Modern Dance Histories (Paperback): Jacqueline Shea Murphy The People Have Never Stopped Dancing - Native American Modern Dance Histories (Paperback)
Jacqueline Shea Murphy
R655 Discovery Miles 6 550 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

During the past thirty years, Native American dance has emerged as a visible force on concert stages throughout North America. In this first major study of contemporary Native American dance, Jacqueline Shea Murphy shows how these performances are at once diverse and connected by common influences.
Demonstrating the complex relationship between Native and modern dance choreography, Shea Murphy delves first into U.S. and Canadian federal policies toward Native performance from the late nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries, revealing the ways in which government sought to curtail authentic ceremonial dancing while actually encouraging staged spectacles, such as those in Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows. She then engages the innovative work of Ted Shawn, Lester Horton, and Martha Graham, highlighting the influence of Native American dance on modern dance in the twentieth century. Shea Murphy moves on to discuss contemporary concert dance initiatives, including Canada's Aboriginal Dance Program and the American Indian Dance Theatre.
Illustrating how Native dance enacts, rather than represents, cultural connections to land, ancestors, and animals, as well as spiritual and political concerns, Shea Murphy challenges stereotypes about American Indian dance and offers new ways of recognizing the agency of bodies on stage.
Jacqueline Shea Murphy is associate professor of dance studies at the University of California, Riverside, and coeditor of Bodies of the Text: Dance as Theory, Literature as Dance,"

Costume in Motion - A Guide to Collaboration for Costume Design and Choreography (Hardcover): E. Shura Pollatsek Costume in Motion - A Guide to Collaboration for Costume Design and Choreography (Hardcover)
E. Shura Pollatsek
R4,213 Discovery Miles 42 130 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Costume in Motion is a guide to all stages of the collaboration process between costume designers and choreographers, documenting a wide range of approaches to the creation of a dance piece. Featuring interviews with a diverse selection of over 40 choreographers and designers, in-depth case studies of works by leading dance companies, and stunning original photography, the book explores the particular challenges and creative opportunities of designing for the body in motion. Filled with examples of successful collaborations in contemporary and modern dance, as well as a wide range of other styles, Costume in Motion provides costume designers and choreographers with a greater understanding of the field from the other's perspective. The book is designed to be part of the curriculum for an undergraduate or graduate level course in costume design or choreography, and it can also be an enriching read for artists at any stage of their careers wishing to hone their collaboration skills in dance.

(Re:) Claiming Ballet (Paperback, New edition): Adesola Akinleye (Re:) Claiming Ballet (Paperback, New edition)
Adesola Akinleye
R1,049 Discovery Miles 10 490 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The collection of essays demonstrates that ballet is not a single White Western dance form but has been shaped by a range of other cultures. In so doing, the authors open a conversation and contribute to the discourse beyond the vantage point of mainstream to look at such issues as homosexuality and race. And to demonstrate that ballet's denial of the first and exclusion of the second needs rethinking. This is an important contribution to dance scholarship. The contributors include professional ballet dancers and teachers, choreographers, and dance scholars in the UK, Europe and the USA to give a three dimensional overview of the field of ballet beyond the traditional mainstream. It sets out to acknowledge the alternative and parallel influences that have shaped the culture of ballet and demonstrates they are alive, kicking and have a rich history. Ballet is complex and encompasses individuals and communities, often invisiblized, but who have contributed to the diaspora of ballet in the twenty-first century. It will initiate conversations and contribute to discourses about the panorama of ballet beyond the narrow vantage point of the mainstream - White, patriarchal, Eurocentric, heterosexual constructs of gender, race and class. This book is certain to be a much-valued resource within the field of ballet studies, as well as an important contribution to dance scholarship more broadly. It has an original focus and brings together issues more commonly addressed only in journals, where issues of race are frequently discussed. The primary market will be academic. It will appeal to academics, researchers, scholars and students working and studying in dance, theatre and performance arts and cultural studies. It will also be of interest to dance professionals and practitioners. Academics and students interested in the intersection of gender, race and dance may also find it interesting.

Dance Appreciation (Hardcover): Amanda Clark, Sara Pecina Dance Appreciation (Hardcover)
Amanda Clark, Sara Pecina
R4,234 Discovery Miles 42 340 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Dance Appreciation is an exciting exploration of how to understand and think about dance in all of its various contexts. This book unfolds a brief history of dance with engaging insight into the social, cultural, aesthetic, and kinetic aspects of various forms of dance. Dedicated chapters cover ballet, modern, tap, jazz, and hip-hop dance, complete with summaries, charts, timelines, discussion questions, movement prompts, and an online companion website all designed to foster awareness of and appreciation for dance in a variety of contexts. This wealth of resources helps to uncover the fascinating history that makes this art form so diverse and entertaining, and to answer the questions of why we dance and how we dance. Written for the novice dancer as well as the more experienced dance student, Dance Appreciation enables readers to learn and think critically about dance as a form of entertainment and art.

The Incomparable Hester Santlow - A Dancer-Actress on the Georgian Stage (Hardcover, New Ed): Moira Goff The Incomparable Hester Santlow - A Dancer-Actress on the Georgian Stage (Hardcover, New Ed)
Moira Goff
R4,347 Discovery Miles 43 470 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

In the first full-length study of the English dancer-actress Hester Santlow, Moira Goff focuses on her unusual career at Drury Lane between 1706 and 1733. Goff charts Santlow's repertoire and makes extensive use of archival resources to investigate both her dancing and acting skills. Santlow made a unique contribution to the development of dance on the London stage, through her dancing roles in dance dramas by John Weaver and pantomimes by John Thurmond and Roger, as well as the virtuoso dances created for her by Mr. Isaac and Anthony L'Abbe. Goff examines Santlow's fascinating personal life, including her relationships with the politician James Craggs the Younger and the Drury Lane actor-manager Barton Booth. Santlow was unusual in making the transition from successful dancer-actress to independent and respectable widow. Goff also traces her life after retirement as her daughter's family rose from the gentry towards the aristocracy. This book will be of interest to dance and theatre historians, to women's studies scholars, and to all who are engaged with ongoing debates on the lives and careers of women on the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century stage.

Dance Discourses - Keywords in Dance Research (Hardcover): Susanne Franco, Marina Nordera Dance Discourses - Keywords in Dance Research (Hardcover)
Susanne Franco, Marina Nordera
R4,648 Discovery Miles 46 480 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Focusing on Politics, Gender, and Identities, a group of international dance scholars provide a broad overview of new methodological approaches - with specific case studies - and how they can be applied to the study of ballet and modern dance.

With an introduction exploring the history of dance studies and the development of central themes and areas of concerns in the field, the book is then divided into three parts:

  • politics explores 'Ausdruckstanz' - an expressive dance tradition first formulated in the 1920s by dancer Mary Wigman and carried forward in the work of Pina Bausch and others
  • gender examines eighteenth century theatrical dance - a time when elaborate sets, costumes, and plots examined racial and sexual stereotypes
  • identity is concerned with modern dance.

Exploring contemporary analytical approaches to understanding performance traditions, Dance Discourses' pedagogical structure makes it ideal for courses in performing arts and humanities.

The Choreography of Modernism in France - La Danseuse 1830-1930 (Paperback): Julie Townsend The Choreography of Modernism in France - La Danseuse 1830-1930 (Paperback)
Julie Townsend
R1,315 Discovery Miles 13 150 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This study considers the figure of the female dancer in French literary, visual, and performing art from 1830 to 1930. It explores how manifestations of the la danseuse shape notions of Modernism and asks why dance occupies a privileged position in a variety of Modernist media.

Dance Matters Too - Markets, Memories, Identities (Paperback): Pallabi Chakravorty, Nilanjana Gupta Dance Matters Too - Markets, Memories, Identities (Paperback)
Pallabi Chakravorty, Nilanjana Gupta
R1,312 Discovery Miles 13 120 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Dance Matters Too: Markets, Memories, Identities is a rich intellectual contribution to the growing field of dance studies in India. It forges new avenues of scholarly inquiry and critical engagement and opens the field in innovative ways. This volume builds on Dance Matters (2009), which mapped the interdisciplinary breadth of the field. The chapters presented here continue to underline the uniqueness of a field that is a blend of critical scholarship on aesthetics and performance with the humanities and social sciences. Including diverse material, analytical approaches and perspectives from scholars and practitioners, this multidimensional volume explores debates on dance preservation and tradition in globalizing India, multimedia choreographies and the circulation of dance via electronic media, embodiment and memory, power, democracy and bourgeoning markets, classification and censorship, and corporatization and Bollywood. This tour de force will appeal to those in dance and performance studies, cultural studies, sociology as well as to readers interested in tradition, modernity, gender and globalization.

Choreographies of 21st Century Wars (Hardcover): Gay Morris, Jens Richard Giersdorf Choreographies of 21st Century Wars (Hardcover)
Gay Morris, Jens Richard Giersdorf
R3,757 Discovery Miles 37 570 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Wars in this century are radically different from the major conflicts of the 20th century-more amorphous, asymmetrical, globally connected, and unending. Choreographies of 21st Century Wars is the first book to analyze the interface between choreography and wars in this century, a pertinent inquiry since choreography has long been linked to war and military training. The book draws on recent political theory that posits shifts in the kinds of wars occurring since the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War, all of which were wars between major world powers. Given the dominance of today's more indeterminate, asymmetrical, less decisive wars, we ask if choreography, as an organizing structure and knowledge system, might not also need revision in order to reflect on, and intercede in, a globalized world of continuous warfare. In an introduction and sixteen chapters, authors from a number of disciplines investigate how choreography and war in this century impinge on each other. Choreographers write of how they have related to contemporary war in specific works, while other contributors investigate the interconnections between war and choreography through theatrical works, dances, military rituals and drills, the choreography of video war games and television shows. Issues investigated include torture and terror, the status of war refugees, concerns surrounding fighting and peacekeeping soldiers, national identity tied to military training, and more. The anthology is of interest to scholars in dance, performance, theater, and cultural studies, as well as the social sciences.

Dance Discourses - Keywords in Dance Research (Paperback, New): Susanne Franco, Marina Nordera Dance Discourses - Keywords in Dance Research (Paperback, New)
Susanne Franco, Marina Nordera
R1,321 Discovery Miles 13 210 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Focusing on politics, gender, and identities, a group of international dance scholars provide a broad overview of new methodological approaches - with specific case studies - and how they can be applied to the study of ballet and modern dance. With an introduction exploring the history of dance studies and the development of central themes and areas of concerns in the field, the book is then divided into three parts: politics explores 'Ausdruckstanz' - an expressive dance tradition first formulated in the 1920s by dancer Mary Wigman and carried forward in the work of Pina Bausch and others gender examines eighteenth century theatrical dance - a time when elaborate sets, costumes, and plots examined racial and sexual stereotypes identity is concerned with modern dance. Exploring contemporary analytical approaches to understanding performance traditions, Dance Discourses' pedagogical structure makes it ideal for courses in performing arts and humanities.

The School of Narrative Dance, Roma (Paperback): Marinella Senatore The School of Narrative Dance, Roma (Paperback)
Marinella Senatore
R569 Discovery Miles 5 690 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
A Queer History of the Ballet (Hardcover): Peter Stoneley A Queer History of the Ballet (Hardcover)
Peter Stoneley
R4,214 Discovery Miles 42 140 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

"A Queer History of the Ballet "is the first book-length study of ballet's queerness. It theorizes the queer potential of the ballet look, and provides historical analyses of queer artists and spectatorships. It demonstrates that ballet was a crucial means of coming to visibility, of evolving and articulating a queer consciousness in periods when it was dangerous and illegal to be homosexual. It also shows that ballet continues to be a key element of the dance cultures through which queerness is explored. The book moves from the 19th century through the post-modern era, bringing together an important array of creative figures and movements, including Romantic ballet; Tchaikovsky; Diaghilev; Genet; Fonteyn; New York City Ballet; Neumeier; Bourne; Bausch; and Morris. It discusses the making and performance history of key works, including "La Sylphide, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty," and "Swan Lake."
"
A Queer History of the Ballet "will be especially useful to students and scholars involved in the growing number of courses on queer culture, theatre studies, dance history, gender studies, and cross-disciplinary approaches to literature. It is written in a lively, clear style that will make it accessible to the non-academic reader who has an interest in queer and/or dance history.

The Rite of Spring (Paperback): Gillian Moore The Rite of Spring (Paperback)
Gillian Moore
R377 R344 Discovery Miles 3 440 Save R33 (9%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

The story behind the scandalous first performance of one of the most influential works in the history of music, as part of the stunning Landmark Library series. On 29 May 1913, at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris, a new ballet by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, received its premiere. Many of the cultural big names of Paris were there, or were rumoured to have been there: Debussy, Ravel, Proust, Gertrude Stein, Picasso. When the curtain rose on a cast of frenziedly stamping dancers, a near-riot ensued, ensuring the evening would enter the folklore of modernism. While it was the dancing that triggered the mayhem, Stravinsky's score contained shocks enough, with its innovations in form, rhythm, dissonance and its sheer sonic power. The Rite of Spring would achieve recognition in its own right as a concert piece, and is now seen as one of the most influential works of the 20th century. Gillian Moore explores the cultural climate that created The Rite, tells the story of the creation of the music and the ballet and provides a guide to the music itself, showing how a scandalous novelty of 1913 became a 21st-century concert staple. As well as considering its influence on 20th-century classical composers, she probes The Rite's impact on film music (including scores for Star Wars and Jaws); its extensive influence on jazz musicians (including Charlie Parker) and by artists as diverse as Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa and The Pet Shop Boys.

The Ballets of Maurice Ravel - Creation and Interpretation (Hardcover, New edition): Deborah Mawer The Ballets of Maurice Ravel - Creation and Interpretation (Hardcover, New edition)
Deborah Mawer
R4,360 Discovery Miles 43 600 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Maurice Ravel, as composer and scenario writer, collaborated with some of the greatest ballet directors, choreographers, designers and dancers of his time, including Diaghilev, Ida Rubinstein, Benois and Nijinsky. In this book, the first study dedicated to Ravel's ballets, Deborah Mawer explores these relationships and argues that ballet music should not be regarded in isolation from its associated arts. Indeed, Ravel's views on ballet and other stage works privilege a synthesized aesthetic. The first chapter establishes a historical and critical context for Ravel's scores, engaging en route with multimedia theory. Six main ballets from Daphnis et Chloe through to Bolero are considered holistically alongside themes such as childhood fantasy, waltzing and neoclassicism. Each work is examined in terms of its evolution, premiere, critical reception and reinterpretation through to the present; new findings result from primary-source research, undertaken especially in Paris. The final chapter discusses the reasons for Ravel's collaborations and the strengths and weaknesses of his interpersonal relations. Mawer emphasizes the importance of the performative dimension in realizing Ravel's achievement, and proposes that the composer's large-scale oeuvre can, in a sense, be viewed as a balletic undertaking. In so doing, this book adds significantly to current research interest in artistic production and interplay in early twentieth-century Paris.

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