*The accompanying CD / downloadable album can also be purchased from the Mike Ruff Music website and from The Endless Bookcase website. This book looks at the practicalities of maypole dancing. Designed for teachers with little or no experience of teaching dance, the traditional dances are laid out in a clear and easy to use format with photos, diagrams and a Dance at a Glance feature. Maypole dancing is constantly changing and growing, and so a number of modern dances are also included, graded from simple to challenging. Issues of inclusivity, creativity and cross-curricular work are addressed in detail, along with non-ribbon dances from the Victorian and Tudor periods which are great for bringing history to life. A website and lively CD complete the package. "Easy to use manual, even for a novice" - Folkestone Primary Academy "This is an excellent, clearly presented maypole teaching resource which is attractively and thoughtfully presented, user-friendly and modern in its outlook. I am very happy to recommend this for anyone wanting the essential information on how to lead maypole dancing with young people and adults alike." - Rachel Elliott, Education Director, English Folk Dance and Song Society "This is the answer to our prayers! A really well written book and entertaining music CD to get people of all ages maypole dancing" - Paul James, Formally Halsway Manor, National Centre for the Folk Arts *The accompanying Maypole Manual Music album can be purchased as a CD or as a download, or as single track downloads.

A novel that will be read and loved for the next one hundred years, and essential reading for right now. I could not have loved it more.' Coco Mellors, author of Blue Sisters

'This story left me thinking about the ways we overcome setbacks and redefine what truly matters.' Reese Witherspoon

A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK FOR DECEMBER 2024 * A HARPER'S BAZAAR BEST BOOK OF 2024

Slowly recovering from a terrible accident, Natalia is faced with a devastating choice – to return to the cutthroat world of Russian ballet that nearly broke her, or to walk away forever – in this sweeping novel of love and redemption

Prima ballerina Natalia Leonova was once celebrated across the world, her signature bravura in demand on stages from St. Petersburg to Paris to New York. But at the top of her career, an accident forces her into sudden retirement. Injured and alone, she turns to pills and alcohol to numb the pain of her past, still haunted by her relationships with two gifted dancers, Dmitri and Alexander. These men were responsible for her soaring highs, her darkest hours and, ultimately, both played their part in her downfall.

So when Dmitri resurfaces with a tantalising offer for Natalia, she must decide what she is willing to sacrifice in order to dance again – and for the chance to return to the great love of her life. Painting a vivid portrait of a world in which ruthless ambition, desire and sublime artistry collide, City of Night Birds unveils the making of a dancer with profound intimacy and breathtaking scope.

Iconic images from fiery scenes of catharsis in Gone With the Wind and Rebecca to The Third Man's decadent cinematography have proven inseparable from their accompanying melodies. From the 1910s-50s, producer David O. Selznick depended upon music to distinguish his films from his competitors'. By demonstrating music's value in film and encouraging its distribution through sheet music, concerts, radio broadcasts, and soundtrack albums, Selznick changed audiences' relationship to movie music. But what role did Selznick play in the actual music composition that distinguished his productions, and how was that music made? As the first of its kind to consider film music from the perspective of a producer, this book tells the story of the evolution of Selznick's style through the many artists whose work defined Hollywood sound. Utilizing thousands of archival documents, chapters in this book unearth and analyze Selznick's efforts in the late silent-era, his work at three major Hollywood studios, and his accomplishments as an independent producer, including music-making for King Kong, A Star is Born, Prisoner of Zenda, Duel in the Sun, among many others.

Largely through trial and error, filmmakers have developed engaging techniques that capture our sensations, thoughts, and feelings. Philosophers and film theorists have thought deeply about the nature and impact of these techniques, yet few scientists have delved into empirical analyses of our movie experience-or what Arthur P. Shimamura has coined "psychocinematics." This edited volume introduces this exciting field by bringing together film theorists, philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists to consider the viability of a scientific approach to our movie experience.

The Moving Body in the Aural Skills Classroom-influenced by Dalcroze-eurhythmics-is a practical guide for college-level teachers and students interested in integrating the moving body into the traditional aural skills classroom. What distinguishes this book from other texts is its central concern with movement-to-music as a tool for developing musical perception and the kinesthetic aspects humans experience as performers. Moving to music and watching others move cultivates an active, multi-sensory learning experience, in which students learn by discovery and from each other. Improvisatory and expressive elements are built into exercises to encourage a dynamic link between musical training and artistic performance. Designed for a three- to four-semester undergraduate curriculum, the book contains a wealth of exercises that teach rhythmic, melodic, harmonic and formal concepts. Exercises not only develop the ear, but also awaken the muscular and nervous system, foster mind-body connections, strengthen the powers of concentration (being in the "musical now "), develop inner-hearing, short- and long-term memory, multi-tasking skills, limb autonomy, and expressive freedom. Exercises are presented in a graded, though flexible order allowing you to select individual exercises in any sequence. Activities involve movement through space (traveling movement) as well as movement in place (stationary movement) for those teaching in small classrooms. The text can be used as a teacher's manual, a supplementary aural-skills textbook, or as a stand-alone reference in a course dedicated to eurhythmics. Movement exercises are designed to enhance and work in conjunction with musical examples presented in other texts. Many exercises also provide an effective aural/sensory tool in the music theory classroom to complement verbal explanations. The approach integrates easily into any traditional college or conservatory classroom and is compatible with the following systems: fixed do, moveable do, and scale degrees. A companion website accompanies the text featuring undergraduate students performing select exercises.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Discover the funny, uplifting, occasionally heartbreaking and always honest life story of Phillip Schofield '[A] fantastic read on such an interesting life' Lorraine Kelly 'A really smashing book' Michael Ball For forty years we've watched Phillip on our tellies, from children's TV to This Morning and Dancing on Ice, but what is it like on set and who is he when the camera's off? In Life's What You Make It Philip for the first time takes us behind the scenes of his remarkable career. From his idyllic childhood in Cornwall, where for years he pestered the BBC for a job, eventually landing a prize position in the Broom Cupboard with mischievous sidekick Gordon the Gopher, through hosting Going Live!, starring in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and finally finding his on-screen home and presenting-partner Holly Willoughby on This Morning, Phillip takes us on the highs and lows of his extraordinary life. ____ 'For a long time, I felt that I couldn't write this book. At first, I didn't think I'd lived enough, then life got busy and filled with distractions. In more recent years, there was always a very painful consideration - I knew where it would eventually have to go. 'I have recently decided that the truth is the only thing that can set me free. The truth has taken a long time to make itself clear to me, but now is the right time to share it, all of it. 'Television and broadcasting has been a part of my DNA for as long as I can remember. As a young boy I would make model TV sets out of cardboard boxes, while spending long summers at home, barefoot on Cornwall's golden beaches. Landing a job at the ice-cream kiosk, I would enviously look on as my presenting heroes took to the stage of Radio 1's Roadshow, an unforgettable event when it came to town. 'In Life's What You Make It I look back with nostalgic delight on my life, from being a young boy endlessly writing letters to the BBC in pursuit of a job in broadcasting, to making it on to the Broom Cupboard, with my infamous sidekick Gordon the Gopher, to being on Going Live and starring as the lead in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. It has taken four decades to get here but I feel lucky to have called the sets of Talking Telephone Numbers, The Cube, Dancing on Ice and of course, This Morning, home. 'I'm going to take you behind the scenes of my television home at ITV, into my career and my dangerously funny relationship with Holly Willoughby. I'm going to introduce you to my loving and remarkable family, and I hope most of all to tell you that life, it seems, is what you make it. Take it from someone who has sat on the very edge and looked over, it's all about the people that love you, and after that anything is possible. So, finally, here we go, this is the real me.' ____ 'A beautiful book. There are amazing stories in there about meeting Princess Diana, the Red Arrows and all of our favourite telly shows. It's a delight' Zoe Ball, BBC Radio 2 'We have loved your book - you've been so honest, open, everything that anyone will have hoped to get from this book . . . you get it. A stroll through your incredible career and you also tackle, head on, in a really beautiful way what happened earlier this year' Andrea McLean, Loose Women 'One of our favourite things is the many hilarious anecdotes he has to share about his good friend Holly Willoughby' Hello! 'The book we've all been waiting for . . . we haven't been able to put it down' New 'A bona fide national treasure . . . He tells his story in his way, with great honesty' Prima 'A fantastic read!' Steve Wright, BBC Radio 2

Elvis Presley was strongly connected to Nashville and recorded approximately 260 songs at RCA Studio B in Nashville. He also performed in several concerts in the area and, during his early days, often came to Nashville to confer with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who lived in Nashville.

Sitney analyzes in detail the work of eleven American avant-garde filmmakers as heirs to the aesthetics of exhilaration and innovative vision articulated by Ralph Waldo Emerson and explored by John Cage and Gertrude Stein. The films discussed span the sixty years since the Second World War. With three chapters each devoted to Stan Brakhage and Robert Beavers, two each to Hollis Frampton and Jonas Mekas, and single chapters on Marie Menken, Ian Hugo, Andrew Noren, Warren Sonbert, Su Friedrich, Ernie Gehr, and Abigail Child, Eyes Upside Down is the fruit of Sitney's lifelong study of visionary aspirations of the American avant-garde cinema. Sitney's earlier book and critical essays defined the field of serious criticism of the American film avant-garde. He supplies a unique approach, critical, formal and intellectual, rather than sociological, ideological or institutional. Like his earlier book, Eyes Upside Down is a dense, sustained blast of convincing criticism which unfolds through a compelling personal vision. It makes a serious contribution to cinema studies and it is sure to remain in circulation for many years to come.

Marlene hosts a dinner party in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: Isabella Bird (1831- 1904) - the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258) - the mediaeval courtesan who became a Buddhist nun and travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who as Dulle Griet in a Bruegel painting, led a crowd of women on a charge through hell; Pope Joan - the transvestite early female pope and last but not least Patient Griselda, an obedient wife out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the impending crisis in Marlene's own life. A classic of contemporary theatre, Churchill's play is seen as a landmark for a new generation of playwrights. It was premiered by the Royal Court in 1982. "Top Girls has a combination of directness and complexity which keeps you both emotionally and intellectually alert. You can smell life, and at the same time feel locked in an argument with an agile and passionate mind." (John Peter, Sunday Times)

This book tells the story of Vicky and Anthony and life in the glamorous world of ballroom dancing. All proceeds from sales will go to a homeless charity.

Grief is all around us. At the heart of the brightly coloured, vividly characterised, joyful films of Studio Ghibli, they are wracked with loss - of innocence, of love, of the connection to our world and of that world itself. Now Go enters these emotional waters to interrogate not only how Studio Ghibli navigates grief so well, but how that informs our own understanding of grief's manifold faces.

Theatre of the Book explores the impact of printing on the European theatre, 1480-1880. Far from being marginal to Renaissance dramatists, the printing press played an essential role in the birth of the modern theatre. Looking at playtexts, engravings, actor portraits, notation systems, and theatrical ephemera as part of the broader history of theatrical ideas, this illustrated book offers both a history of European dramatic publication and an examination of the European theatre's continual refashioning of itself in the world of print.

Step inside Louis' life like never before as he turns his critical eye on himself, his home, and family and tries to make sense of our weird and sometimes scary world. His new autobiography is the perfect book for our uncertain times by the hilarious and relatable Louis Theroux. Louis started lockdown with a sense of purpose and determination. Like the generation who survived the Second World War, this was his chance to shine. Then reality set in, forcing him to ask: When did he start annoying his children? Why is home-schooling so hard? Has the kitchen become the new shed, a hideaway for men, where, under the guise of being helpful, you can just drink, listen to music and keep to yourself? And is his drinking really becoming a problem? He also describes his dealings with Joe Exotic and flies to the US to make a documentary on the Tiger King, discusses his Grounded podcast, jumps back into the world of militias and conspiracy theorists as he catches up with past interviewees for his Life on the Edge series, and wonders whether he could get rich if he wrote Trump: The Musical.

Guerrilla Radios in Southern Africa is a collection of essays on the histories of the different radios of the liberation movements in the region during the era of the armed struggle.

From Angola and Mozambique, to Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, the new technology of radio provided the liberation movements in exile with a platform to address their followers at home, to propagate their ideologies and to counter the propaganda of the oppressive white minority regimes. As the cheapest and most direct medium, guerrilla radios transcended the boundaries imposed by the settler regimes and were widely listened to, albeit within the realm of illegality.

Transnational in its approach, the book explores the workings of these radios from their areas of broadcast in exile, international solidarity, to reception at home where listeners often huddled around their receivers to listen to the messages from the liberation movements, often beyond the gaze of the state. These radios shaped the nature of resistance campaigns that the liberation movements embarked upon in the various countries in the region.

Paris Nights: My Year at the Moulin Rouge opens with a bored twenty-seven-year old Cliff Simon staring out at the ocean from his beachfront house, wishing he was somewhere else. Gavin Mills telephones him from Paris inviting him to join him at the iconic Moulin Rouge. Cliff sells everything he owns, leaving Johannesburg, South Africa for the City of Lights. He learns that his spot at the Moulin is not guaranteed and is forced to audition. Making the grade, he is put into can can school before he is allowed into the company. His adrenaline is pumping from excitement and fear, both of which he has faced before. Taking a look back, we see twelve-year-old Cliff helming a racing dinghy in the midst of a thunderstorm on the Vaal River. His father yells at him not to be a sissy, and he brings the boat back to shore alone. We then travel to London with his family escaping the tumult of Apartheid. He trains for the Olympics, but drops out, enrolling in the South African military where he subjected to harsh treatment and name calling Fokken Jood. After a honorable discharge, he works in cabaret at seaside resorts and is recruited as a gymnast in a cabaret, where he realizes that the stage is his destiny. The memoir fast forwards to Cliffs meteoric rise at the Moulin from swing dancer to principal in Formidable. Off stage he gets into fights with street thugs, hangs out with diamond smugglers, and has his pick of gorgeous women. With a year at the Moulin to his credit, doors open for him internationally and back in South Africa. He earns a starring role in Egoli: Place of Gold, and marries his long-time girlfriend, Colette. On their honeymoon to Paris, Cliff says, Merci Paris for the best year of my life.

This is the first study of May 68 in fiction and in film. It looks at the ways the events themselves were represented in narrative, evaluates the impact these crucial times had on French cultural and intellectual history, and offers readings of texts which were shaped by it. The chosen texts concentrate upon important features of May and its aftermath: the student rebellion, the workers strikes, the question of the intellectuals, sexuality, feminism, the political thriller, history, and textuality. Attention is paid to the context of the social and cultural history of the Fifth Republic, to Gaullism, and to the cultural politics of gauchisme. The book aims to show the importance of the interplay of real and imaginary in the text(s) of May, and the emphasis placed upon the problematic of writing and interpretation. It argues that re-reading the texts of May forces a reconsideration of the existing accounts of postwar cultural history. The texts of May reflect on social order, on rationality, logic, and modes of representation, and are this highly relevant to contemporary debates on modernity.

The Festival Cities of Edinburgh and Adelaide examines how these cities' world-famous arts events have shaped and been shaped by their long-term interaction with their urban environments. While the Edinburgh International Festival and Adelaide Festival are long-established, prestigious events that champion artistic excellence, they are also accompanied by the two largest open-access fringe festivals in the world. It is this simultaneous staging of multiple events within Edinburgh's Summer Festivals and Adelaide's Mad March that generates the visibility and festive atmosphere popularly associated with both places. Drawing on perspectives from theatre studies and cultural geography, this book interrogates how the Festival City, as a place myth, has developed in the very different local contexts of Edinburgh and Adelaide, and how it is challenged by groups competing for the right to use and define public space. Each chapter examines a recent performative event in which festival debates and controversies spilled out beyond the festival space to activate the public sphere by intersecting with broader concerns and audiences. This book forges an interdisciplinary, comparative framework for festival studies to interrogate how festivals are embedded in the social and political fabric of cities and to assess the cultural impact of the festivalisation phenomenon.

In a career that spanned nearly five decades, Dorothy Fields penned the words to more than four hundred songs, among them mega-hits such as "On the Sunny Side of the Street," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "The Way You Look Tonight," and "If My Friends could See Me Now." While Fields's name may be known mainly to connoisseurs, her contributions to our popular culture--indeed, our national consciousness--have been remarkable.
In I Feel a Song Coming On, Charlotte Greenspan offers the most complete, serious treatment of Fields's life and work to date, tracing her rise to prominence in a male-dominated world. Born in 1904 into a show business family--her father, Lou Fields, was a famed vaudeville comedian turned Broadway producer--Fields first teamed with songwriter Jimmy McHugh in the late 1920s and went on to a series of Hollywood collaborations with Jerome Kern, including the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers classic Swing Time. With her brother Herbert, she co-authored the books for several of Cole Porter's Broadway shows, as well as for Irving Berlin's phenomenally successful Annie Get Your Gun. More stage hits would follow, among them Redhead and Sweet Charity, as Fields remained active right up to her death in 1974. Fields's lyrics--colloquial, urbane, sometimes slangy, sometimes sensuous--won her high praise from later generation songwriters including Stephen Sondheim and Fred Ebb, and her stellar career opened a path for other women in her profession, among them Betty Comden, Dory Previn, and Marilyn Bergman.
Meticulously researched and filled with sharp insights, this lively biography not only illuminates Fields's life but also offers unique insights into the golden ageof popular song.