This book examines the globalization of belly dance and the distinct dancing communities that have evolved from it. The history of belly dance has taken place within the global flow of sojourners, immigrants, entrepreneurs, and tourists from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. In some cases, the dance is transferred to new communities within the gender normative structure of its original location in North Africa and the Middle East. Belly dance also has become part of popular culture's Orientalist infused discourse. The consequence of this discourse has been a global revision of the solo dances of North Africa and the Middle East into new genres that are still part of the larger belly dance community but are distinct in form and meaning from the dance as practiced within communities in North Africa and the Middle East.

People all over the world dance traditional and popular dances that have been staged for purposes of representing specific national and ethnic groups. Anthony Shay suggests these staged dance productions be called "ethno identity dances", especially to replace the term "folk dance," which Shay suggests should refer to the traditional dances found in village settings as an organic part of village and tribal life. Shay investigates the many motives that impel people to dance in these staged productions: dancing for sex or dancing sexy dances, dancing for fun and recreation, dancing for profit - such as dancing for tourists - dancing for the nation or to demonstrate ethnic pride. In this study Shay also examines belly dance, Zorba Dancing in Greek nightclubs and restaurants, Tango, Hula, Irish step dancing, and Ukrainian dancing.

This study describes and analyzes the phenomenal popularity of exotic dance forms among mainstream Americans. Throughout the twentieth century and especially since 1950, millions of Americans have begun learning and performing various Balkan dances, the tango, and other Latin American dances, along with the classical dances of India, Japan, and Indonesia.While most previous studies in dance ethnography and anthropology have focused specifically on ""dancing in the field,"" or the dancing that native dancers do in their own environments, this study turns the tables to examine the ways in which ethnic dancing has allowed many Americans to create more exciting and romantic identities through dancing the dances of the ""exotic other,"" if only within the framed moment of a one-time dance lesson or performance. Throughout the work, the author describes the uniquely American enthusiasm for learning exotic dances, describing specific deficiencies in the American cultural identity that have led massive numbers of Americans to seek new or alternative identities through the various exotic dance genres.

This collection of new essays explores the many ways in which writing relates to corporeality and how the two work together to create, resist or mark the body of the "Other." Contributors draw on their varied backgrounds to examine different movement practices, with a focus on movement as a meaning-making process-including the choreographic act of writing. The challenges faced by marginalized bodies are discussed, along with ability of a body to question, contest and re-write historical narratives.

Rudolf Laban was one of the leading dance theorists of the twentieth century. His work on dance analysis and notation raised the status of dance as both an art form and a scholarly discipline. This is the first book to combine: an overview of Laban's life, work and influences an exploration of his key ideas, including the revolutionary "Laban Movement Analysis" system analysis of his works Die Grunen Clowns and The Mastery of Movement and their relevance to dance theater from the 1920s onwards a detailed exercise-based breakdown of Laban's key teachings. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners are unbeatable value for today's student.

Dance and the Arts in Mexico, 1920-1950 tells the story of the arts explosion that launched at the end of the Mexican revolution, when composers, choreographers, and muralists had produced state-sponsored works in wide public spaces. The book assesses how the "cosmic generation" in Mexico connected the nation-body and the dancer's body in artistic movements between 1920 and 1950. It first discusses the role of dance in particular, the convergences of composers and visual artists in dance productions, and the allegorical relationship between the dancer's body and the nation-body in state-sponsored performances. The arts were of critical import in times of political and social transition, and the dynamic between the dancer's body and the national body shifted as the government stance had also shifted. Second, this book examines more deeply the involvement of US artists and patrons in this Mexican arts movement during the period. Given the power imbalance between north and south, these exchanges were vexed. Still, the results for both parties were invaluable. Ultimately, this book argues in favor of the benefits that artists on both sides of the border received from these exchanges.

The third instalment in Craig Revel Horwood's frank and funny autobiography takes the reader through the highs and lows of the Strictly Come Dancing star's 'fab-u-lous' life. Join Craig and a host of Strictly stars - including Ore Oduba, Judy Murray and the unforgettable Ed Balls - on the show and live tours and get the real stories from behind the scenes. The Aussie-born judge shares his famously forthright views on the changes in the show's line up, from Bruce Forsyth and Len Goodman's departures to the arrival of Claudia Winkleman and Shirley Ballas, as well as the dancers and stars. Away from Strictly, Craig reveals fresh heartache over failed romances, his pain at losing his dad and how his work kept him from flying to Australia for the funeral. He marks the milestones in his life, including turning fifty and moving from London to live in a 'gorgeous' country pile, as well as going under the knife for a second hip operation plus a few nips and tucks. The multi-talented dancer, director and choreographer also discusses his award-winning shows, including Sister Act and Son of a Preacher Man, and spending a year in drag as Miss Hannigan in Annie. Plus, he reveals all about his foray into movies, choreographing Hugh Grant for Paddington 2 and making his big screen debut in Nativity Rocks. With his famous wit and a wealth of backstage gossip, In Strictest Confidence is the perfect read for all his fans as well as those of Strictly Come Dancing.

Dance has always been an important aspect of all human cultures, and the study of human movement and action has become a topic of increasing relevance over the last decade, bringing dance into the focus of the cognitive sciences. Since the first edition of The Neurocognition of Dance was published, research into the cognitive science of dance has expanded extensively, with the number of scientific studies focusing on dance and dance-related topics in cognitive psychology growing significantly. Featuring three new chapters addressing topics that have become highly relevant to the field in recent years - neuroaesthetics, entrainment, and choreographic cognition - as well as progress in teaching based on novel methods, this comprehensively revised and updated new edition of The Neurocognition of Dance is full of cutting-edge insights from scientists, researchers, and professionals from the world of dance. Also now including online material such as links to video clips, colour images and hands-on material for practical application, this book is an essential companion for students and professionals from fields including dance, cognitive psychology, sport psychology and sport science, movement science, and cognitive robotics.

This book focuses on Romeo Castellucci's theatrical project, exploring the ethical and aesthetic framework determined by his reflection on the nature of the image. But why does a director whose fundamental artistic tool is the image deny this key conceptual notion? Rooted in his conscious distancing from iconoclasm in the 1980s, Castellucci frequently replaces this notion with the words 'symbol', 'form' and 'idea'. As the first publication on the international market which presents Castellucci's work from both historical and theoretical perspectives, this book systematically confronts the director's discourse with other concepts related to his artistic project. Capturing the evolution of his theatre from icon to iconoclasm, word to image and symbol to allegory, the book explores experimental notions of staging alongside an 'emotional wave', which serves as an animating principle of Castellucci's revolutionary theatre.

In May 2012, bestselling author Neil Gaiman stood at a podium at Philadelphia's University of the Arts to deliver the commencement address. For the next nineteen minutes he shared his thoughts about creativity, bravery, and strength: he encouraged the students before him to break rules and think outside the box. Most of all, he encouraged the fledgling painters, musicians, writers, and dreamers to make good art.

This book, designed by renowned graphic artist Chip Kidd, contains the full text of Gaiman's inspiring speech. Whether bestowed upon a young artist beginning his or her creative journey, or given as a token of gratitude to an admired mentor, or acquired as a gift to oneself, this volume is a fitting offering for anyone who strives to make good art.

From the propulsive rhythm of the African dancer, to the swinging ragtime of the American jazz age, tap dancing has evolved into a unique blend of cultural expression, improvisation and creativity, open to all ages and abilities. With clear step-by-step instructions, The Essential Guide to Tap Dance covers basic steps such as the shuffle, pick up and paddle, before building these into traditional combinations such as the time step and shim sham. Additional material includes the history and development of tap dancing; rhythm and musicality; learning the language of tap dancing; the role of improvisation and choreography and finally, the basic steps to advanced techniques. This is the perfect companion to instruct the beginner tap dancer and expand the more experienced dancer's technique, offering full-colour pictures, helpful instruction and essential notes on this vibrant and accessible dance form.

From its early inception at the French court to modern-day developments and interpretations, ballet has long had a popular following. Packed full of essential information, this pocket-sized handbook explores the history, performers, composers and music, highlighting the very best ballets and the stand-out tracks that should feature in the collection of any aficionado. Classic FM's Handy Guides are a fun and informative set of introductions to standout subjects within classical music, each of which can be read and digested in one sitting: a perfect collectible series whether you're new to the world of classical music or an aficionado.

This book addresses the need for critical scholarship about contemporary dance practices in Ireland. Bringing together key voices from a new wave of scholarship to examine recent practice and research in the field of contemporary dance, it examines the excitingly diverse range of choreographers and works that are transforming Ireland's performance landscape. The first section provides a chronologically-ordered collection of critical essays to ground the reader in some of the most important issues currently at play in contemporary dance in Ireland. The second section then provides an interrogation of individual choreographers' processes. The book traces new choreographic work and trends through a broad array of topics, including somatics in performance, screendance, cultural trauma, dance archives, affect studies, feminist perspectives, choreographic process, the dancer's voice, interdisciplinarity, and pedagogical paradigms.

Dance's Duet with the Camera: Motion Pictures is a collection of essays written by various authors on the relationship between live dance and film. Chapters cover a range of topics that explore dance film, contemporary dance with film on stage, dance as an ideal medium to be captured by 3D images and videodance as kin to site-specific choreography. This book explores the ways in which early practitioners such as Loie Fuller and Maya Deren began a conversation between media that has continued to evolve and yet still retains certain unanswered questions. Methodology for this conversation includes dance historical approaches as well as mechanical considerations. The camera is a partner, a disembodied portion of self that looks in order to reflect on, to mirror, or to presage movement. This conversation includes issues of sexuality, race, and mixed ability. Bodies and lenses share equal billing.

This book illuminates the relationship between philosophy and experimental choreographic practice today in the works of leading European choreographers. A discussion of key issues in contemporary performance from the viewpoint of Deleuze, Spinoza and Bergson is accompanied by intricate analyses of seven groundbreaking dance performances.

As seasoned dancers and dance educators, Minton and Faber approach brain function from inside the body as embodiment of thought. Their collection of neurological research about the thought processes in learning and performing dance encompasses a vision of dance as creative art, communication, education, and life. The book informs neuroscientists, educators, and dancers about the complex interdependence of brain localities and networking of human neurology through an integration of physiology, cognition, and the art of dance. Chapters address observation, engagement, critical thought, emotion, memory, imagery and imagination, learning, problem solving, and 21st century skills. Finer components are explored through neurological networks, classroom pedagogy, dance, and movement experiences that provide: *Description of the thought processes, their components, and their neurological functional needs. *The neurological physiology that has been discovered in the cognitive process. *How brain function can be applied to the educational classroom. *Applications of the neurological research to dance education, the choreographic process, and dance performance. *Movement explorations for readers to experience the thought processes through dance with neurological knowledge in mind.

This comprehensive book covers all aspects of choreography from the most fundamental techniques to highly sophisticated artistic concerns. It presents the what and the how of choreography in a workable format that begins with basics--time, space, force--and moves on to the more complex issues faced by the intermediate and advanced choreographer--form, style, abstraction, compositional structures, and choreographic devices.

The language of tap dancing is as rich and varied as that of any art, and different choreographers, teachers and performers often use totally different terms for exactly the same step. The various names of all steps and clear descriptions of them are collected for the first time in this reference work. The emphasis is on all variations of a name, from universally recognized terms to simple ""pet"" names that individual performers and choreographers have created, with extensive cross-references provided. Each of the steps is fully described, with appropriate counts, explanations and history. Many antique and unusual steps such as the Patting Juba, the Quack and the Swanee Shuffle are included.

Choreographing Discourses brings together essays originally published by Mark Franko between 1996 and the contemporary moment. Assembling these essays from international, sometimes untranslated sources and curating their relationship to a rapidly changing field, this Reader offers an important resource in the dynamic scholarly fields of Dance and Performance Studies. What makes this volume especially appropriate for undergraduate and graduate teaching is its critical focus on twentieth- and twenty-first-century dance artists and choreographers - among these, Oskar Schlemmer, Merce Cunningham, Kazuo Ohno, William Forsythe, Bill T. Jones, and Pina Bausch, some of the most high-profile European, American, and Japanese artists of the past century. The volume's constellation of topics delves into controversies that are essential turning points in the field (notably, Still/Here and Paris is Burning), which illuminate the spine of the field while interlinking dance scholarship with performance theory, film, visual, and public art. The volume contains the first critical assessments of Franko's contribution to the field by Andre Lepecki and Gay Morris, and an interview incorporating a biographical dimension to the development of Franko's work and its relation to his dance and choreography. Ultimately, this Reader encourages a wide scope of conversation and engagement, opening up core questions in ethics, embodiment, and performativity.

Discusses all basic principles of ballet, grouping movement by fundamental types. Diagrams show clearly the exact foot, leg, arm and body positions for the proper execution of many steps and movements. Offers dancers, teachers and ballet lovers information often difficult to locate in other books.

Elfrida Eden was born into a distinguished family - her uncle was Sir Anthony Eden, British Prime Minister in the mid-1950s. As one of the last of the true 'debs', Elfrida mingled with the stars in the 1950s and 60s and has counted many household names from the world of entertainment as lifelong friends, including David Jacobs, Derek Nimmo and Peter Bowles. She auditioned as a singer for Judy Garland at the star's home and turned Norman Wisdom down when he offered her a part in a film (her family considered it unsuitable for one so young). She also turned Sean Connery down when he made a pass at her at a party, the day he was cast as James Bond. Highly talented but too tall for the ballet stage herself, 'Elfie' went on to run one of London's leading ballet schools. Despite some moments of great sadness along the way, Elfrida has led a privileged, fascinating and exceptionally happy life, and to celebrate it she has written her story.

Ten international dramaturg-scholars advance proposals that reset notions of agency in contemporary dance creation. Dramaturgy becomes driven by artistic inquiry, distributed among collaborating artists, embedded in improvisation tasks, or weaved through audience engagement, and the dramaturg becomes a facilitator of dramaturgical awareness.

Rudolf Laban, the famed dancer-choreographer and 'founding father' of modern dance, also had experience as a painter, sculptor, and architect, and allowed those skills to influence his innovative choreographic techniques. His important works and his creation of one of the most significant forms of dance notation make him an essential component of dance history. Rudolf Laban: The Dancer of the Crystal examines Laban's training, his teaching experiences, and the discovery and development of his principles of form and movement, paying special attention to his choreographic and philosophical work. Author Evelyn Doerr presents intriguing tidbits of the artist's experience, such as Laban's ambivalent position as the 'dance organizer' of the Nazi party in Germany, embedded in a historical and philosophical context, offering insights to his choreographic processes and the events that shaped his life. The book presents the different stages and elements of Laban's choreography discussing, for example, Laban's "dance-sound-word" instructional approach, his concept of the "movement choir" and examples of its realization, the concepts of eukinetics and choreutics, and a description of how these subjects were taught in Laban's school. Doerr also analyzes important elements in Laban's theories of spatial harmony and of effort, and she investigates his various early systems of dance notation, leading to a detailed explanation of kinetography, Laban's final notational system. A complete bibliography and an appendix of works choreographed between 1897 and 1936 help make this book an important contribution to Laban scholarship and to the dance, theater, and cultural history of Europe in the first half of the 20th century.

Making Video Dance: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dance for the Screen is the first workbook to follow the entire process of video dance production: from having an idea, through to choreographing for the screen, filming and editing, and distribution. In doing so, it explores and analyses the creative, practical, technical, and aesthetic issues that arise when making screen dance. This rigorously revised edition brings the book fully up to date from a technical and aesthetic point of view, and includes: An extended exploration of improvisation in the video dance-making process New writing about filming in the landscape Additional writing on developing a practice and working with scores and manifestos Updated information about camera use, including filming with mobile phones A step-by-step guide to digital non-linear editing of screen dance Ideas for distribution in the 21st century Insights into Katrina's own screen dance practice, with reference to specific works that she has directed and which are available to view online New and revised practical exercises New illustrations specially drawn for this edition

Examining corporeal expressions of indigenousness from an historical perspective, this book highlights the development of cultural hybridity in New Zealand via the popular performing arts, contributing new understandings of racial, ethnic, and gender identities through performance. The author offers an insightful and welcome examination of New Zealand performing arts via case studies of drama, music, and dance, performed both domestically and internationally. As these examples show, notions of modern New Zealand were shaped and understood in the creation and reception of popular culture. Highlighting embodied indigenous cultures of the past provides a new interpretation of the development of New Zealand's cultural history and adds an unexplored dimension in understanding the relationships between M?ori (indigenous New Zealander) and P?keh? (non-M?ori) throughout the late nineteenth and into the early twentieth centuries.