Dance saved my life. It helped me survive and escape after sixteen years under the Regime of a Psychopathic Dictator - my father." Within the South African Apartheid Regime, Denise was locked into domestic slavery - a box within a box. She was only allowed to go to school, ballet and her parent's places of work when it suited him: to create an impression of normality. Like the Austrian Fritzl girl, she had to play his sick game and fight him off every day. The boxer needed a sparring partner. If he had the money to build a soundproof cellar she may well have found herself in one...but the invisible walls and chains were there. He was obsessed with Hitler and ran their home like a Brown Shirt concentration camp. Every day was hell, a constant threat of death. But she found coping strategies...She wore the mask, educated herself and danced using humour to still the pain. Denise created a miraculous and inspiring self-transformation to become a ballerina, community worker and reformer. But all the while she had her dark, obsessed 'Phantom of the Ballet' waiting in the wings...She shares her timeous story of survival and dancing into success - out of extreme abuse and poverty within a Depression and harsh Patriarchy. She also offers funny African Theatre anecdotes, travel notes on Scotland, early film scripts - and the thought provoking ponderings of outrageous friend, Jasmine Rose. Throughout her 40-year career, first as amateur then professional, Denise has worked as a dance performer, director, choreographer, producer, entertainment consultant, community artist and educator. She created Butterfly Haven Castle - a centre for Youth and Survivors and was the mentor and initiator of the first Chapters of the International Network, Free the Children in South Africa. For years, Ms. Stephani has worked as the director of the BYCIA Dance and Mixed Media Company. She creates educational programmess and workshops to teach others to use dance and the arts as tools for citizenship and to overcome personal issues.

From Chaucer to Fitzgerald, writers have used dancing as a vital, if subtle, element in plot and character development. The ballroom, an important element of society in real life, was a backdrop to grand passions or pivotal encounters--ideal ground for commentary on the social milieu. This work presents 88 literary selections that together form a survey of social dance in England and America over a span of 500 years. Seven sections (historical time periods) provide an editorial introduction with descriptions of relevant dances, and then eight to twenty or so illuminating passages from etiquette manuals, diaries, poems, plays, essays or novels. The selections illustrate specific dances, social dance behavior or the intimate reactions of participants. One finds, for example, the ultimate downfalls of Flaubert's Emma Bovary, Hardy's Eustacia Viue, and Tolstoy's Anna Karenina are all foretold in pivotal dance scenes. The passages are selected to graphically illustrate contemporary dance or because of the impact the scene has on the plot or characters. Full indexing aids those readers interested in specific authors or works.

Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula (1909) is a collection of hulas and essays by Nathaniel B. Emerson. Translating previously unwritten songs, interviewing native Hawaiians, and consulting the works of indigenous historians, Emerson provides an entertaining and authoritative look at one of Hawaii's most cherished traditions. "For an account of the first hula we may look to the story of Pele. On one occasion that goddess begged her sisters to dance and sing before her, but they all excused themselves, saying they did not know the art. At that moment in came little Hiiaka, the youngest and the favorite. [...] When banteringly invited to dance, to the surprise of all, Hiiaka modestly complied. The wave-beaten sand-beach was her floor, the open air her hall; Feet and hands and swaying form kept time to her improvisation." As an American born in Hawaii who played a major role in the annexation of the islands as an author of the 1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Emerson likely saw himself as a unifying figure capable of interpreting for an English-speaking audience the ancient and sacred tradition of the hula, a Polynesian dance often accompanied with instruments and chanting or singing. Combining critical analysis with samples of popular hulas in both Hawaiian and English, Emerson works to preserve part of the rich cultural heritage of the Hawaiian Islands. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Nathaniel B. Emerson's Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula is a classic of Hawaiian literature reimagined for modern readers.

Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula (1909) is a collection of hulas and essays by Nathaniel B. Emerson. Translating previously unwritten songs, interviewing native Hawaiians, and consulting the works of indigenous historians, Emerson provides an entertaining and authoritative look at one of Hawaii's most cherished traditions. "For an account of the first hula we may look to the story of Pele. On one occasion that goddess begged her sisters to dance and sing before her, but they all excused themselves, saying they did not know the art. At that moment in came little Hiiaka, the youngest and the favorite. [...] When banteringly invited to dance, to the surprise of all, Hiiaka modestly complied. The wave-beaten sand-beach was her floor, the open air her hall; Feet and hands and swaying form kept time to her improvisation." As an American born in Hawaii who played a major role in the annexation of the islands as an author of the 1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Emerson likely saw himself as a unifying figure capable of interpreting for an English-speaking audience the ancient and sacred tradition of the hula, a Polynesian dance often accompanied with instruments and chanting or singing. Combining critical analysis with samples of popular hulas in both Hawaiian and English, Emerson works to preserve part of the rich cultural heritage of the Hawaiian Islands. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Nathaniel B. Emerson's Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula is a classic of Hawaiian literature reimagined for modern readers.

Throughout history, humans have used dance as a benefit for mind, body, and soul. In some cases, governments or churches have banned certain dances for a variety of reasons. This work provides an exploration of dances banned around the world, then revived by a handful of brave proponents. The sixteen case studies--ranging from Argentina's Tango and Cambodia's Royal Classical Ballet to Brazil's Samba and Ireland's Step Dance--reveal the meaning of the dance to each culture and the importance of the art form to the creation of healthy sociological and political climates. Chapters detail each dance's origins, technical steps and movements, costumes, music, and political history, providing an informative overview of the oppression of dance culture through history.

The first English-language monograph on the French dancer and model, Cleo de Merode and the Rise of Modern Celebrity Culture explores the haunting legacy of this intriguing and glamorous figure, an international celebrity at the dawn of modern celebrity culture. Situating Merode at a pivotal moment in the history of fame and visual culture, this study analyzes how technological and societal changes led to our star-struck modernity. Merode was one of the earliest examples of fame born from mass visual culture, as newly available postcards circulated her image around the globe. Through Merode, Michael D. Garval illuminates broader trends of the Belle A0/00poque: persistent statue fetishism within a vibrant monumental culture, rampant exoticism amid unprecedented colonial expansion, the rapid growth of the illustrated press, the rise of female show business personalities, the advent of cinema and x-rays, and a burgeoning sense of new visual possibilities. The volume examines how Merode heralded modern celebrity icons; problematizes the status of women and women's bodies under intense public scrutiny; and exposes the paradoxes of a society captivated by a mass media-driven dream of intimacy from afar.Cleo de Merode and the Rise of Modern Celebrity Culture probes the neglected prehistory of a visual culture obsessed with celebrities and their images.

In this provocative study of dancing, Sam Gill examines the interpretive styles of a variety of cultural dance traditions in discourse with the philosophic traditions of Schiller, Merleau-Ponty, Barbaras, Derrida, Leroi-Gourhan, and Baudrillard. As a scholar of religion, Gill provides special consideration to the importance of this emerging appreciation of dancing as a perspective inclusive of body and experience. Each chapter delves into the many factions of dancing: moving, gesturing, self-othering, playing, seducing, and masking. Gill also draws on the analysis of contemporary dance films and musicals, his experience as a dancer and dance teacher, his extensive research on dance traditions, and his interest in neurobiology and phenomenology to develop the core of this rich exploration of dancing, the structurality of all dances.

In this provocative study of dancing, Sam Gill examines the interpretive styles of a variety of cultural dance traditions in discourse with the philosophic traditions of Schiller, Merleau-Ponty, Barbaras, Derrida, Leroi-Gourhan, and Baudrillard. As a scholar of religion, Gill provides special consideration to the importance of this emerging appreciation of dancing as a perspective inclusive of body and experience. Each chapter delves into the many factions of dancing: moving, gesturing, self-othering, playing, seducing, and masking. Gill also draws on the analysis of contemporary dance films and musicals, his experience as a dancer and dance teacher, his extensive research on dance traditions, and his interest in neurobiology and phenomenology to develop the core of this rich exploration of dancing, the structurality of all dances.

Pina Bausch s work has had tremendous impact across the spectrum of late twentieth-century performance practice, helping to redefine the possibilities of what both dance and theater can be. This edited collection presents a compendium of source material and contextual essays that examine Pina Bausch's history, practice and legacy, and the development of Tanztheater as a new form, with sections including:

• Dance and theatre roots and connections;
• Bausch s developmental process;
• The creation of Tanztheater;
• Bausch s reception;
• Critical perspectives.

Interviews, reviews and major essays chart the evolution of Bausch s pioneering approach and explore this evocative new mode of performance. Edited by noted Bausch scholar, Royd Climenhaga, "The Pina Bausch Sourcebook" aims to open up Bausch s performative world for students, scholars, dance and theatre artists and audiences everywhere.

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.

Features important information about Dene community life in the 1960s during the crucial period immediately following the move from bush to town. Deals extensively with the traditional economy, the structure of Dene Kinship, its role in social organization, and the role of the drum dance in the social life of the community under rapidly-changing circumstances.

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.

If we imagine multiple ways of being together, how might that shift choreographic practices and help us imagine ways groups assemble in more varied ways than just pairing another man with another woman? How might dancing queerly ask us to imagine futures through something other than heterosexuality and reproduction? How does challenging gender binaries always mean thinking about race, thinking about the postcolonial, about ableism? What are the arbitrary rules structuring dance in all its arenas, whether concert and social or commercial and competition, and how do we see those invisible structures and work to disrupt them? Queer Dance brings together artists and scholars in a multi-platformed project-book, accompanying website, and live performance series to ask, "How does dancing queerly progressively challenge us?" The artists and scholars whose writing appears in the book and whose performances and filmed interviews appear online stage a range of genders and sexualities that challenge and destabilize social norms. Engaging with dance making, dance scholarship, queer studies, and other fields, Queer Dance asks how identities, communities, and artmaking and scholarly practices might consider what queer work the body does and can do. There is great power in claiming queerness in the press of bodies touching or in the exceeding of the body best measured in sweat and exhaustion. How does queerness exist in the realm of affect and touch, and what then might we explore about queerness through these pleasurable and complex bodily ways of knowing?

As stage and screen artists explore new means to enhance their craft, a new wave of interest in expressive movement and physical improvisation has developed. And in order to bring authenticity and believability to a character, it has become increasingly vital for actors to be aware of movement and physical acting. Stage and screen artists must now call upon physical presence, movement on stage, non-verbal interactions, and gestures to fully convey themselves. In Bringing the Body to the Stage and Screen, Annette Lust provides stage and screen artists with a program of physical and related expressive exercises that can empower their art with more creativity. In this book, Lust provides a general introduction to movement, including definitions and differences between movement on the stage and screen, how to conduct a class or learn on one's own, and choosing a movement style. Throughout the book and in the appendixes, Lust incorporates learning programs that cover the use of basic physical and expressive exercises for the entire body. In addition, she provides original solo and group pantomimes; improvisational exercises; examples of plays, fiction, poetry, and songs that may be interpreted with movement; a list of training centers in America and Europe; and an extensive bibliography and videography. With 15 interviews and essays by prominent stage and screen actors, mimes, clowns, dancers, and puppeteers who describe the importance of movement in their art and illustrated with dozens of photos of renowned world companies and artists, Bringing the Body to the Stage and Screen will be a valuable resource for theater teachers and students, as well as anyone engaged in the performing arts.

Beyond Words presents a range of illuminating approaches to examining every day social interactions, to help the reader understand human movement in new ways. Carol-Lynne Moore and Kaoru Yamamoto build on the principles that they expertly explored in the first edition of the book, maintaining a focus on the processes of movement as opposed to discussions of static body language. The authors combine textual discussion with a new set of website-hosted video instructions to ensure that readers develop an in-depth understanding of nonverbal communication, as well as the work of its most influential analyst, Rudolf Laban. This fully-revised, extensively illustrated second edition includes a new introduction by the authors. It presents a fascinating insight into this vital field of study, and will be an invaluable resource for scholars and practitioners in many activities, from performing and martial arts, athletics, to therapeutic and spiritual practices, conflict resolution, business interactions, and intercultural relations.

This anthology celebrates dancing diversities in Malaysia, a multicultural nation with old and not-so-old dance traditions in a synchronicity of history, creativity, inventions and representation of its people, culture and traditions. These articles and interviews document the legacy of dances from the Malay Sultanates to a contemporary remix of old and new dances aspired by a m lange of influences from the old world of India, China, European and indigenous dance traditions. This gives forth dance cultures that vibrate with multicultural dance experiences. Narratives of eclecticism, syncretic and innovative dance forms and styles reflect the processes of inventing and sharing of dance identities from the era of the colonial Malay states to post-independence Malaysia.

Dance occupies a prestigious place in Indian performing arts, yet it curiously, to a large extent, has remained outside the arena of academic discourse. This book documents and celebrates the emergence of contemporary dance practice in India. Incorporating a multidisciplinary approach, it includes contributions from scholars, writers and commentators as well as short essays and interviews with Indian artists and performers; the latter add personal perspectives and insights to the broad themes discussed.

Young Indian dance artists are courageously charting out new trajectories in dance, diverging from the time-worn paths of tradition. The classical forms of Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Odissi and Manipuri, to name a few, are rich resources for choreographers exploring contemporary dance. This volume speaks about their struggles of working within and outside tradition as they grapple with national and international audience expectations as well as their own values and sense of identity.

The artists represented here continue to question the uneasy relationship that exists between the insular world of dance and outside reality. Simultaneously, they are actively creating new dance languages that are both articulate in a performative context and demand examination by researchers and critics.

This book provides an engaging and contextualised insight into a South African township-based arts centre that has survived the vicissitudes of steady militarisation in townships during some of the worst years of apartheid as well as the exhilaration of a new democratic policy while attempting to circumnavigate different policies and funding dispensations. Sibikwa provides arts centres across the world and especially those in decolonising countries with strategies for survival in tumultuous times. This multi-disciplinary book maps and co-ordinates wider historical, political, and social contextual concerns and events with matters specific to a community-based east of Johannesburg and provides an exploration and analysis by experts of authentic theatre-making and performance, dance, indigenous music, arts in education and NGO governance. It has contemporary significance and raises important questions regarding inclusivity and transformation, the function and future of arts centres, community-based applied arts practices, creativity, and international partnerships. This study will be of great interest to students and scholars in theatre and performance, indigenous music, dance, and South African history.

"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.

This book traces the history of engagements between dance and the visual arts in the mid-twentieth century and provides a backdrop for the emerging field of contemporary, intermedial art practice. Exploring the disciplinary identity of dance in dialogue with the visual arts, this book unpacks how compositional methods that were dance-based informed visual art contexts. The book provokes fresh consideration of the entangled relationship between, and historiographic significance of, visual arts and dance by exploring movements in history that dance has been traditionally mapped to (Neo-Avant Garde, Neo-Dada, Conceptual art, Postmodernism, and Performance Art) and the specific practices and innovations from key people in the field (like John Cage, Anna Halprin, and Robert Rauschenberg). This book also employs a series of historical and critical case studies which show how compositional approaches from dance-breath, weight, tone, energy-informed the emergence of the intermedial. Ultimately this book shows how dance and choreography have played an important role in shaping visual arts culture and enables the re-imagination of current art practices through the use of choreographic tools. This unique and timely offering is important reading for those studying and researching in visual and fine arts, performance history and theory, dance practice and dance studies, as well as those working within the fields of dance and visual art. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.