The Use of the Self by Alexander,F.M.The world famous classic by the originator of the Alexander Technique Frederick Matthias Alexander was born in Tasmania in 1869. In his twenties, he became a professional reciter of dramatic pieces. After almost completely losing his voice he pioneered a method of improving the 'use' of his body musculature in all positions and movements and cured his vocal problems without medical aid. Alexander then realised that most people stood, sat and moved in a defective manner and that incorrect 'use of the self' might be the cause of much human suffering. He moved to London and established a school, publishing several books and achieving success, with recommendations from famous contemporaries such as Aldous Huxley and Sir Stafford Cripps. Alexander died in 1955 but his 'principle' lives on through the work of many teachers of his method.
Call Number: 613.78 ALE
ISBN: 0752843915
Publication Date: 2001
The Body Eclectic by Bales,M. (Editor); Nettl-Fiol,R. (Editor)This rich collection of essays and interviews explores modern-dance technique training from the last fifty years. Focusing on the culture of dance, editors Melanie Bales and Rebecca Nettl-Fiol examine choreographic process and style, dancer agency and participation in the creative process, and changes in the role and purpose of training. Bringing recent writings on dance into dialogue with dance practice, The Body Eclectic: Evolving Practices in Dance Training asks readers to consider the relationship between training practices and choreographic style and content. The contributors explore how technique training both guides and reflects the art of dance. Contributors include Melanie Bales, Glenna Batson, Wendell Beavers, Veronica Dittman, Natalie Gilbert, Joshua Monten, Martha Myers, and Rebecca Nettl-Fiol. Dance professionals interviewed include David Dorfman, Ralph Lemon, Bebe Miller, Tere O'Connor, and Shelley Washington.
Call Number: 792.807 BAL
ISBN: 9780252074899
Publication Date: 2008
The Neurocognition of Dance by Bläsing,B. (Editor); Puttke, M. (Editor); Schack,T. (Editor)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. This book discusses the wide range of interrelations between body postures and body movements as conceptualised in dance with perception, mental processing and action planning. The volume brings together cognitive scientists, psychologists, neuroscientists, choreographers, and ballet teachers, to discuss important issues regarding dance and cognition. First, scientists introduce ideas that offer different perspectives on human movement. Professionals from the world of dance then go on to report how their creative and pedagogical work relates to cognition and learning. Finally, researchers with personal links to the dance world demonstrate how neurocognitive methods are applied to studying different aspects related to dance. This book is suitable for students and professionals from the fields of neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, sport psychology and sport science, movement science, motor control and development, kinesiology, cognitive robotics, dance, choreography, dance education and therapy.
Call Number: 792.8 BLA + eBook
ISBN: 9781848720244
Publication Date: 2010
Composing While Dancing by Buckwalter,M.Composing while Dancing: An Improviser's Companion examines the world of improvisational dance and the varied approaches to this art form. By introducing the improvisational strategies of twenty-six top contemporary artists of movement improvisation, Melinda Buckwalter offers a practical primer to the dance form. Each chapter focuses on an important aspect of improvisation including spatial relations, the eyes, and the dancing image. Included are sample practices from the artists profiled, exercises for further research, and a glossary of terms. Buckwalter gathers history, methods, interviews, and biographies in one book to showcase the many facets of improvisational dance and create an invaluable reference for dancers and dance educators.
Call Number: 792.8 BUC + eBook
ISBN: 9780299248147
Publication Date: 2010
Taken by Surprise by Albright,A.C. (Editor); Gere,D. (Editor)This collection of classic and new writings on dance improvisation brings together 21 essays by prominent dancers, scholars and historians. Until now, discussion of improvisation in dance has focused mainly on the postmodern form known as contact improv. Taken by Surprise reflects the development of improvisation as a compositional and performance mode in a wide variety of dance contexts, including dance traditions from around the globe, such as Yoruban masked dance, Indian Bharatanatyam and flamenco. The book also includes a thoughtful look at computer-aided choreography, a discussion of recent innovations in tap dancing and a section on improvisation in everyday life. Combining primary sources with critical analysis, Taken by Surprise will serve as an indispensible companion to studio work in improvisation, and a much-needed supplement to twentieth century dance histories. CONTRIBUTORS: Ann Cooper Albright, Sally Banes, Bruce Curtis, Kent Despain, Margaret Thompson Drewal, Simone Forti, Susan Leigh Foster, David Gere, Raymond W. Gibbs, JR, Michelle Heffner Hayes, Carmela Hermann, Constance Valis Hill, Rachel Kaplan, Maura Keefe, Victoria Marks, Avanthi Meduri, Steve Paxton, Janice Ross, Karen Schaffman, Nancy Stark Smith, Ellen Webb, Ruth Zaporah.
The Dancer and the Dance by Cunningham, M.; Lesschaeve, J.Leading dance innovator Merce Cunningham not only describes his development as a dancer and choreographer, but also discusses individual compositions--includingTorse, Inlets andSquaregame--revealing a great deal about his collaborations with such modern masters as John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, David Tudor, Jasper Johns and Morris Graves.
Call Number: 793.307 CUN
ISBN: 0714529311
Publication Date: 2000
Beyond Dance by Davies,E.Beyond Dance: Laban's Legacy of Movement Analysis offers students of dance and movement a brief introduction to the life and work of Rudolf Laban, and how this work has been extended into the fields of movement therapy, communications, early childhood development, and other fields. While many dance students know of Laban and his work as it applies to their field, few know the full story of how this technique has developed and grown. For many who enter into the fields of dance movement therapy, performance, and communications, there are valuable lessons to be learned from Laban and his follower's works. Beyond Dance offers a concise introduction to this world. Refreshingly free of jargon and easy to understand, the work offers dance students ¿ and others interested in human movement ¿ a full picture of the many possibilities inherent in Laban's theories. For many who will pursue careers 'beyond dance', this work will be a useful guidebook into related areas. This will be ideally suited to students of Laban movement theory in dance and movement therapy, and will be used in advanced courses in these areas as useful, brief introduction to the field.
Call Number: 792.82 DAV
ISBN: 0415977282
Publication Date: 2006
Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance - 2nd Edition by Franklin,E.Renowned master teacher Eric Franklin has thoroughly updated his classic text, Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance, providing dancers and dance educators with a deep understanding of how they can use imagery to improve their dancing and artistic expression in class and in performance. These features are new to this edition: -Two chapters include background, history, theory, and uses of imagery. -294 exercises offer dancers and dance educators greater opportunities to experience how imagery can enhance technique and performance. -133 illustrations facilitate the use of imagery to improve technique, artistic expression, and performance. -Four exercises taught by Franklin and available on HK's website help dancers with essential rest and relaxation techniques. Franklin provides hundreds of imagery exercises to refine improvisation, technique, and choreography. The 295 illustrations cover the major topics in the book, showing exercises to use in technique, artistic expression, and performance. In addition, Franklin supplies imagery exercises that can restore and regenerate the body through massage, touch, and stretching. And he offers guidance in using imagery to convey information about a dancer's steps and to clarify the intent and content of movement. This new edition of Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance can be used with Franklin's Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery, Second Edition, or on its own. Either way, readers will learn how to combine technical expertise with imagery skills to enrich their performance, and they will discover methods they can use to explore how imagery connects with dance improvisation and technique. Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance uses improvisation exercises to help readers investigate new inner landscapes to create and communicate various movement qualities, provides guidelines for applying imagery in the dance class, and helps dancers expand their repertoire of expressiveness in technique and performance across ballet, modern, and contemporary dance. This expanded edition of Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance supplies imagery tools for enhancing or preparing for performance, and it introduces the importance of imagery in dancing and teaching dance. Franklin's method of using imagery in dance is displayed throughout this lavishly illustrated book, and the research from scientific and dance literature that supports Franklin's method is detailed. The text, exercises, and illustrations make this book a practical resource for dancers and dance educators alike.
Call Number: 792.802 FRA
ISBN: 9780736067881
Publication Date: 2013
Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery by Franklin,E,N.Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery, Second Edition, expands on the classic text and reference written by Eric Franklin, an internationally renowned teacher, dancer, and choreographer who has been sharing his imagery techniques for 25 years. In this new edition, Franklin shows you how to use imagery, touch, and movement exercises to improve your coordination and alignment. These exercises will also help you relieve tension, enhance the health of your spine and back, and prevent back injury. This expanded new edition includes - more than 600 imagery exercises along with nearly 500 illustrations to help you visualize the exercises and use them in various contexts; - audio files for dynamic imagery exercises set to music and posted online to the book's product page; and - updated chapters throughout the book, including new material on integrated dynamic alignment exercises and dynamic alignment and imagery. This book will help you discover your natural flexibility and quickly increase your power to move. You'll learn elements of body design. You'll explore how to use imagery to improve your confidence, and you'll discover imagery conditioning programs that will lead you toward better alignment, safer movement, increased fitness, and greater joy. Further, you'll examine how to apply this understanding to your discipline or training to improve your performance. Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery, Second Edition, will help you experience the biomechanical and anatomical principles that are crucial to dancers, other performing artists, yoga and Pilates teachers and practitioners, and athletes. The techniques and exercises presented in the book will guide you in improving your posture--and they will positively affect your thoughts and attitude about yourself and others and help you feel and move better both mentally and physically.
Call Number: 615.82 FRA
ISBN: 9780736067898
Publication Date: 2012
Conditioning for Dance by Franklin,E.Even the best sense of rhythm, the most careful technical training, and the most astute dance intuition aren't enough to make a dancer truly excel; you also need focused strength, balance, and flexibility to execute the movements with power and grace. Conditioning for Danceimproves your technique and performance in all dance forms by strengthening the body's core (abdominal and back muscles) while improving coordination, balance, and alignment and optimizing flexibility. The result is more lift without tension, deeper pliés, higher jumps with less effort, tighter turns, and improved extension and turnout. Conditioning for Danceis the result of years of practical experience combined with scientific and anatomical analysis. Author Eric Franklin is an internationally known dancer, teacher, choreographer, and writer. His innovative, proven techniques will help you execute key dance skills better as you -strengthen the muscles you use in dance by performing exercises with elastic resistance bands; -start and move in proper alignment using imagery; -improve your balance and release tension through playful exercises with small balls; -develop leg and torso power that translates to higher jumps and tighter turns; and -optimize your flexibility through touch, movement awareness, and imagery.The book features 102 imagery illustrations paired with dance-specific exercises to help you maximize body-mind conditioning and develop more fluid mobility, balance, and tension release. The book culminates with a 20-minute, full-body workout routine designed to help dancers warm up, condition, and refine their dance technique. You'll learn how to execute lifelong dance skills that give power without the risk of injuries. By working the muscles through movements and ranges of motion that approximate the demands of your chosen dance form, you directly enrich your performance capabilities. And as you strengthen the body's core, stretch to gain just the right amount of flexibility, and incorporate the power of the mind, you unleash your full artistic and physical potential.
Call Number: 792.8 FRA
ISBN: 0736041567
Publication Date: 2003
I Want to Be Ready by Danielle Goldman,D."Danielle Goldman's contribution to the theory and history of improvisation in dance is rich, beautiful and extraordinary. In her careful, rigorously imaginative analysis of the discipline of choreography in real time, Goldman both compels and allows us to become initiates in the mysteries of flight and preparation. She studies the massive volitional resources that one unleashes in giving oneself over to being unleashed. It is customary to say of such a text that it is 'long-awaited' or 'much anticipated'; because of Goldman's work we now know something about the potenza, the kinetic explosion, those terms carry. Reader, get ready to move and be moved." ---Fred Moten, Duke University "In this careful, intelligent, and theoretically rigorous book, Danielle Goldman attends to the 'tight spaces' within which improvised dance explores both its limitations and its capacity to press back against them. While doing this, Goldman also allows herself---and us---to be moved by dance itself. The poignant conclusion, evoking specific moments of embodied elegance, vulnerability, and courage, asks the reader: 'Does it make you feel like dancing?' Whether taken literally or figuratively, I can't imagine any other response to this beautiful book." ---Barbara Browning, New York University "This book will become the single most important reflection on the question of improvisation, a question which has become foundational to dance itself. The achievement of I Want to Be Ready lies not simply in its mastery of the relevant literature within dance, but in its capacity to engage dance in a deep and abiding dialogue with other expressive forms, to think improvisation through myriad sites and a rich vein of cultural diversity, and to join improvisation in dance with its manifestations in life so as to consider what constitutes dance's own politics." ---Randy Martin, Tisch School of Arts at New York University I Want To Be Ready draws on original archival research, careful readings of individual performances, and a thorough knowledge of dance scholarship to offer an understanding of the "freedom" of improvisational dance. While scholars often celebrate the freedom of improvised performances, they are generally focusing on freedom from formal constraints. Drawing on the work of Michel Foucault and Houston Baker, among others, Danielle Goldman argues that this negative idea of freedom elides improvisation's greatest power. Far from representing an escape from the necessities of genre, gender, class, and race, the most skillful improvisations negotiate an ever shifting landscape of constraints. This work will appeal to those interested in dance history and criticism and also interdisciplinary audiences in the fields of American and cultural studies. Danielle Goldman is Assistant Professor of Dance at The New School and a professional dancer in New York City, where she recently has danced for DD Dorvillier and Beth Gill. Cover art: Still from Ghostcatching, 1999, by Bill T. Jones, Paul Kaiser, and Shelley Eshkar. Image courtesy of Kaiser/Eshkar.
Call Number: 792.801 GOL + eBook
ISBN: 9780472050840
Publication Date: 2010
Lamb at the Altar by Hay,D."The intention of my work is to dislodge assumptions about the fixity of the three-dimensional body."--Deborah Hay Her movements are uncharacteristic, her words subversive, her dances unlike anything done before--and this is the story of how it all works. A founding member of the famed Judson Dance Theater and a past performer in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Deborah Hay is well known for choreographing works using large groups of trained and untrained dancers whose surprising combinations test the limits of the art. Lamb at the Altar is Hay's account of a four-month seminar on movement and performance held in Austin, Texas, in 1991. There, forty-four trained and untrained dancers became the human laboratory for Hay's creation of the dance Lamb, lamb, lamb . . . , a work that she later distilled into an evening-length solo piece, Lamb at the Altar. In her book, in part a reflection on her life as a dancer and choreographer, Hay tells how this dance came to be. She includes a movement libretto (a prose dance score) and numerous photographs by Phyllis Liedeker documenting the dance's four-month emergence. In an original style that has marked her teaching and writing, Hay describes her thoughts as the dance progresses, commenting on the process and on the work itself, and ultimately creating a remarkable document on the movements--precise and mysterious, mental and physical--that go into the making of a dance. Having replaced traditional movement technique with a form she calls a performance meditation practice, Hay describes how dance is enlivened, as is each living moment, by the perception of dying and then involves a freeing of this perception from emotional, psychological, clinical, and cultural attitudes into movement. Lamb at the Altar tells the story of this process as specifically practiced in the creation of a single piece.
Call Number: 792.842 HAY
ISBN: 0822314398
Publication Date: 1994
Martha Graham by Horosko,M."Focuses on the celebrated technique, though the stuff of memoir naturally seeps in as well . . . . The illuminating, aphoristic comments appended to specific exercises recall the rich verbal imagery Graham employed, famously, in her teaching."--Los Angeles Times "The only book in print with a syllabus of her movements (including advanced work)."--Dancer"Recommended for all dance and theater collections . . . . Invaluable."--Backstage Marian Horosko brings together new and previously published interviews of Martha Graham's "family" of dancers, teachers, choreographers, and actors and interweaves them with provocative biographical material about the life and influence of the creator of classic modern dance. The interviews testify to the remarkable legacy that inspired the careers of many in the dance world, among them dancers from the contemporary generation who inherited her technique but never saw her perform. The interviews of teachers, all former Graham students, reflect their passion for maintaining Graham's few fixed principles and her emotional integrity. Some of the foremost actors of Graham's time describe their stormy encounters with her as she attempted to teach them that "movement doesn't lie." This book offers the only syllabus in print of Graham's work. Drawn from a private film of a class for her advanced and professional company members in the 1960s, it includes comments from Graham and speaks to her use of imagery in teaching. Detailed photographs document the development of Graham's choreographic legacy, which expanded and changed as she created each new work, more than 200 in all. These images, along with the interviews and commentary, plot the evolution of Graham's methodology and vocabulary of movement, on which classical modern dance continues to rely.
Call Number: 792.8092 HOR
ISBN: 0813024730
Publication Date: 2002
The Wise Body by Lansley, J.; Early,F.In The Wise Body: Conversations with Experienced Dancers, UK choreographers Jacky Lansley and Fergus Early interview twelve distinguished dancers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines who continue to enjoy exceptionally long performing careers. They discuss early training, memorable performing experiences, the things that sustain them, and the pleasures and challenges of being 'older' dancers in a profession in which youth is often idolized. The contributors include Philippe Priasso, Lisa Nelson, La Tati, Julyen Hamilton, Yoshito Ohno, Steve Paxton, Will Gaines, Jane Dudley, Pauline de Groot, and Bisakha Sarker. Taken as a whole, the interviews, with their long and international perspective, invite a radical reappraisal of the development of modern and postmodern dance and their varied cultural starting points give rise to serious questions about the meaning of dance as an art form.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781841504186
Publication Date: 2011
Bone, Breath, and Gesture by Johnson, D.H.This book is a collection of writings on principles and techniques by the pioneers of bodywork and body awareness disciplines. Together, they represent a historical record of the field of somatics. Ranging from hands-on workers like Ida Rolf to phenomenologist Elizabeth Behnke, their lives span this century. In these lectures, writings, and interviews, editor Don Hanlon Johnson has sought to revel the unbroken lineage, theoretical differences, and major similarities of these originators.
Call Number: 616.53 JOH
ISBN: 9781556432019
Publication Date: 1995
The Complete Guide to Joseph Pilates' Techniques of Physical Conditioning by Menezes,A.This second edition of the best-selling THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO JOSEPH H. PILATES' TECHNIQUES OF PHYSICAL CONDITIONING, offers strength-building and flexibility exercises for anyone who wants to get in shape. The exercises also are perfect to complement the training program of anyone who plays sports, as well as those who want relief for back or knee problems. The book contains: ** A thorough introduction to the history and philosophy of Joseph Pilates' unique techniques ** 88 Pilates exercises in basic, intermediate and advanced routines ** Over 240 photos and illustrations ** A chapter addressing pain relief ** A routine for relieving lower back pain and strengthening weak abdominals ** Worksheets for monitoring progress The second edition contains the following new material: ** The Stamina Stretch -- to increase breathing capacity and support core abdominals ** The B-Line Core -- to give support for routines, a trimmer waist, plus relief from back pain ** How to change the way you walk to prevent back pain and tension headaches ** New back strengthening routines for rotational sports like golf, tennis, racquetball ** New upper body exercises for computer users
Call Number: 613.71 MEN
ISBN: 9780897934381
Publication Date: 2004
The Dancing Word by Mroz,D.The product of over eighteen years of embodied research by the author, "The Dancing Word "presents a systemic and phenomenological description of a contemporary intercultural theatre practice. This volume offers a blueprint for both training and collaborative performance creation that integrates the best of western laboratory theatre with the practice and ontological underpinnings of Chinese martial ("Wushu") and healing/self care ("Qigong") arts. This is a book for theatre practitioners, students, scholars, and those interested in exploring transcultural methodologies.
Call Number: 792.028 MRO
ISBN: 9789042033306
Publication Date: 2011
Dance and the Specific Image by Nagrin, D.After an extraordinary career in dance - as a performer, choreographer, and teacher - Daniel Nagrin has now written an extraordinary book. In it he explores the roots of his aesthetic philosophy, influenced by Stanislavski, Helen Tamiris, Joseph Chaikin and the Open Theatre, and his work on and off Broadway as an actor and dancer. Dance and the Specific Image includes over one hundred improvisational structures that Nagrin created with his new company, the Workgroup, and has taught in dance classes and workshops all over the United States. Designed primarily for dancers, many can be adapted for actors and even musicians. In the 1960s, at a time when many modern dancers were working with movement as abstraction, Nagrin turned instead toward movement as metaphor. His passionate belief that dance must speak of people led him to found the Workgroup, a small company of dancers who, in the early 1970s, devoted themselves to the practice and performance of improvisation. Nagrin invites the reader into the mind of a dancer totally absorbed in his art, one who writes with wisdom and authority about what it means to be an artist.
Call Number: 792.8 NAG
ISBN: 9780822955207
Publication Date: 1994
Bodystories by Olsen,A.; McHose, C. (Other)BodyStories is a book that engages the general reader as well as the serious student of anatomy. Thirty-one days of learning sessions heighten awareness about each bone and body system and provide self-guided studies. The book draws on Ms. Olsen's thirty years as a dancer and teacher of anatomy to show how our attitudes and approaches to our body affect us day to day. Amusing and insightful personal stories enliven the text and provide ways of working with the body for efficiency and for healing. BodyStories is used as a primary text in college dance departments, massage schools, and yoga training programs internationally.
Call Number: 611 OLS
ISBN: 9781584653547
Publication Date: 2004
The Dancing Self by Press,C.The author employs psychoanalytic self psychology to analyze the creative process, emphasizing the self-world relationship and its transformative possibilities. This analysis is applied to the work of modern dance choreography, with special attention to the life and work of Paul Taylor. Drawing on this analysis, the implications of her theory of the creative process for the enrichment of the individual in his or her daily aesthetic, are examined.
Call Number: 792.8071 PRE
ISBN: 9781572734418
Publication Date: 2002
Dance Improvisations by Reeve,J.Dance Improvisations: Warm-Ups, Games and Choreographic Tasks will provide assistance with any doubts that dancers and teachers might have with improvisation. This practical book promotes creativity that can lead to innovative breakthroughs among students from middle school age through college. With Dance Improvisations: Warm-Ups, Games and Choreographic Tasks, you receive * expert instruction in planning, teaching, and assessing students' improvisations; * 73 activities in creating movement and material for choreographing dances; * a glossary of dance and choreographic terms; and * extensions of each improv to aid further exploration and development of the improvisation skills. The activities support all portions of your class--including improvisation lessons that you can use as warm-ups, games that stimulate creativity, and choreographic tasks for creating movement material. Each activity has been tested and refined by the author, a veteran dance instructor and choreographer. You can use the improvs individually in a lesson or use them in developing entire lesson plans. The step-by-step instruction and teaching tips that you receive save you valuable preparation time--and the instructions are clear enough that more experienced students can use the book to practice on their own. With Dance Improvisations: Warm-Ups, Games and Choreographic Tasks, you will find new ways to help your dancers create original movements through both individual and group activities. Your students will hone their creative responses, and the innovation and energy in your dance classes will fill your studio or classroom. Students will blossom and gain inspiration using these improvisations as they learn how to develop movement and choreograph studies.
Call Number: 792.8 REE
ISBN: 9781450402149
Publication Date: 2011
Dance Masters by Roseman,J.L.Dance Masters is a lively ensemble of conversations with seven celebrated dancers and choreographers. In these intimate interviews, dance critic Janet Lynn Roseman probes the heart of dance: * The creative process * The role of dream and rituals * The interplay between dancer and audience * The spiritual aspects of performance These dance masters offer rare insights into the internal world of the artist as they reveal their philosophies on dance training, discuss their mentors, and speak candidly about the artistic process of dance-making and how it actually feels to dance.
On Technique by Speer,D.Insights from artists at the top of their game "Here is a book that tells it like it is, a book that everyone can learn from."--Rasta Thomas, director, Bad Boys of Dance "Right at my fingertips, helpful, firsthand advice from some of the greatest dance teachers in the world. This book is full of essential information for students, teachers, scholars, and directors at every level."--Rick McCullough, Florida State University "An interesting and unique book that shows both commonalities and divergent opinions that guide all ballet teaching professionals."--John White Jr., author of Advanced Principles in Teaching Classical Ballet "What a wonderful adventure to open a book and read about so many of the world's finest dance luminaries. Thank you for giving us such a marvelous opportunity to learn about these wonderful dancers and their teaching techniques."--Lauren Jonas, artistic director, Diablo Ballet On Technique provides a fascinating look into the careers and teaching philosophies of eighteen of the world's most respected ballet masters, principals, and artistic directors. Author Dean Speer sat down with prominent ballet pedagogues and asked each a standard set of questions, including "What do we mean when we say someone has beautiful technique?" and "How did you become a dancer?" Featuring such artists as Peter Boal (artistic director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet) and Bene Arnold (first ballet mistress of the San Francisco Ballet), this volume offers fascinating insights into the nature of both performance and artistic instruction. Speer's approach reveals sometimes surprising convergences among these world-class talents, despite their varying pedagogical backgrounds and divisions.
Body Space Image by Tufnell,M.; Crickmay,C.The first of its kind, 'Body, Space, Image' is a remarkable book about improvisation - a narrative of discovery that sets the mind loose from the rut of everyday perception. From a starting point in movement, improvisation is extended to include groups working together and the physical setting of performance - space, light, sound, objects. Generously illustrated with examples drawn from twenty years of experimental performance, 'Body, Space, Image' explores ways of working and ways of thinking about performance that will inspire both the beginner and the experienced artist. It is a manual intended to stimulate rather than a comprehensive system of working, and includes a unique collection of images - from dance, theatre and painting - and statements by working artists. Words and images combine to celebrate and record one of the most exacting art forms developed in the twentieth century.
Conditioning for Dancers by Welsh,T.Take control of your conditioning regimen "Well-organized, to the point, easy to read and full of practical and earnest advice for athletes."--#65533;Karen Kain, artistic director, National Ballet of Canada "This well-rounded book deals with important issues that all dance professionals should know about."--John White, author of Advanced Principles in Teaching Classical Ballet Dancers must learn to negotiate a truly amazing range of physical demands to achieve peak performance and avoid injury. Through hours of rehearsal, technique classes, and performances, both full- and part-time professional dancers must be able to move their bodies with precision and grace through an extended range of motion. Moreover, they must weather the physical stresses of touring, teaching, and, in many cases, working a second job to supplement their income. An accomplished dancer and gymnast himself, Tom Welsh wrote this book to empower conscientious dancer-athletes to take an active role in directing their own training and development. His clear, straightforward explanations of important concepts in conditioning hone in on the physical capabilities that are key to success not only for dancers but also for gymnasts, ice-skaters, and other athletes for whom strength and flexibility, precise alignment, and movement efficiency are high priorities. With an expert's eye, he distills complex insights into human kinetics into a format that is immediately useful. The applicability and accessibility of Welsh's approach has been extensively tested in his many classes and seminars across the country. Precision athletes who are serious about avoiding injury, improving fitness, and increasing physical capability will find this comprehensive yet concise reference invaluable.