The Life And Times of LA MERI
Described as ''the indisputed queen of ethnic dance'' by Walter Sorrell, the dance writer, La Meri was long considered the leading American authority on the subject, particularly the dance of India and Spain.
Showing posts with label dance life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dance life. Show all posts
Blood Memory by Martha Graham
Martha Graham, dancer, choreographer, and teacher, has been called the most important and influential American artist ever born.
From her birth in 1894 to her death in 1991, she remained an uncompromising individualist who sought nothing less than to map the mysterious landscape of the human soul.
Blood Memory is Martha Graham's own account of her life and career.
It contains portraits of artists and innovators she has worked with: Louise Brooks, Helen Keller, Aaron Copland, Isamu Noguchi, plus students: Gregory Peck, Bette Davis, Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Liza Minnelli, & Madonna. More than 100 photos.
Review from GoodRead
Dance: Rituals of Experience by Jamake Highwater
What are your experiences of rituals?
Glorious, beautiful comments and reviews... all have been said.
Nothing to add! Check it out!
I believe this is a precious reading you will benefit from tremendously...
Dance on Its Own Terms: Theories and Methodologies by Melanie Bales & Karen Eliot
"...learn to do more with less, knowing that you can grow old and still produce magnificent moments..."
~ Ohad Naharin
Dance on its Own Terms is most valuable for everyone who keeps an interest in research on dance history, theories and methodologies, as a branch of social science.
A rare engaging book on the history of dance.
The breadth of the content reflects the richness and vibrancy of the dance field; each deeply informed examination serves as a window opening onto the larger world of dance history.
Conceptually, each chapter also raises concerns and questions that point to broadly inclusive methodological applications. Engaging and insightful, Dance on its Own Terms represents a major contribution to research on dance.
The Dance Claimed Me: A biography of Pearl Primus by Peggy & Murray Schwartz
(Pearl Primus (1919-1994) blazed onto the dance scene in 1943 with stunning works that incorporated social and racial protest into their dance aesthetic.
In The Dance Claimed Me, Peggy and Murray Schwartz, friends and colleagues of Primus, offer an intimate perspective on her life and explore her influences on American culture, dance, and education.
They trace Primus’s path from her childhood in Port of Spain, Trinidad, through her rise as an influential international dancer, an early member of the New Dance Group (whose motto was "Dance is a weapon"), and a pioneer in dance anthropology.
For The Dance Claimed Me, the Schwartzes interviewed more than a hundred of Primus’s family members, friends, and fellow artists, as well as other individuals to create a vivid portrayal of a life filled with passion, drama, determination, fearlessness, and brilliance.
The Dance Claimed Me one of the best dance gifts to explore activism through the art of dance.
Tango: The Art History Of Love by Robert Farris Thompson
From its syncretic evolution in the nineteenth century, partaking of European, Andalusian-Gaucho, and, unknown to many, African influences, to its representations by Hollywood and dramatizations in dance halls throughout the world, Robert Farris Thompson shows us tango not only as brilliant choreography but also as text, music, art, and philosophy of life.
Passionately argued; unparalleled in its research, its synthesis, and its depth of understanding; and written with revelatory clarity, Tango: The Art History of Love is a monumental achievement.
Tango: The Art History Of Love is a part of the history of dance that is indeniably a love affair, unique within latin dance gifts to immerse in a world by itself of quite intricate movements and backgrounds, yet accessible, fun and senseous.
Robert Farris Thompson is the author of, among other works, Black Gods and Kings and African Art in Motion. He has been a Ford Foundation Fellow and has mounted major exhibitions of African art at the National Gallery in Washington D.C.
KATHERINE DUNHAM: Dancing A LIFE by Joyce Aschenbrenner
"There is an energy within... pure strength... the energy of the person which is put in different forms, in different shapes... once we discover that energy I think that such a thing as dance becomes such a delight because you’re moving on a stream that is you but it is even over and beyond you..."
~ Katherine Dunham
Throughout the better part of the twentieth century, and in performance halls, classrooms, and communities throughout the world, the wellspring of Katherine Dunham's remarkable career can be traced to the intersection of dance, culture, and society.
More than a recounting of Dunham's accomplishments as a dancer and choreographer, this biography is the first to thoroughly examine her pioneering contributions to dance anthropology and her commitment to humanizing society through the arts.
Founder of the first self-supporting African American dance company, Dunham relied on her fieldwork as an anthropologist to fundamentally change modern dance.
She shaped new dance techniques and introduced other cultures to U.S. and European audiences by fusing Caribbean and African-based movement with ballet and modern dance.
Her revolutionary approaches to dance and its greater connection to the world have influenced a generation of dancers, theatrical performers, and scholars.
She believes that dance involves the development of an entire person and the rituals and traditions of dance are integral to the study of culture. Throughout her career she has been a living model of the socially responsible artist working to whet cultural appetites and combat social injustice.
Joyce Aschenbrenner's multifaceted portrait blends personal observations based on her own interactions with Dunham, archival documents, and interviews with Dunham's colleagues, students, and members of the Katherine Dunham Dance Company.
Integrating these sources, Aschenbrenner characterizes the social, familial, and cultural environment of Dunham's upbringing and the intellectual and artistic community she embraced at the University of Chicago that laid the groundwork for her development as a dancer, anthropologist, and humanitarian.
The book vividly depicts Dunham's and her dancers' touring experiences and includes detailed descriptions of her community cultural and educational programs in East St. Louis.
Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti by Maya Deren
Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti
Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti (1985) is a black-and-white documentary film about dance and possession in Haitian Vodou that was shot by experimental filmmaker Maya Deren between 1947 and 1954.
In 1981, twenty years after Deren's death, the film was completed by Deren's third husband Teiji Ito (1935-1982) and his wife Cherel Winett Ito (1947-1999). Most of the film consists of images of dancing and bodies in motion during rituals in Rada and Petro services.
The World of Dance Series by Elizabeth A. Hanley
The World Of Dance Series
"Dance as existed from time immemorial.
It has been an integral part of celebrations and rituals, a means of communication with gods and among humans, and a basic source of enjoyment and beauty"
~ Elizabeth A. Hanley
The world of dance series provides a starting point for readers interested in learning about ethnic, or folk, dances of world cultures, as well as the art forms of ballet and modern dance.
The World Of Dance Customs and Traditions
This series features an overview of the development of these dance genres, from a historical perspective to a practical one. Highlighting specific cultures, their dance steps and movements, their customs and traditions, underscore the importance of these fundamental elements for the reader.
Ballet and modern dance, more recent artistic dance genres, are explored in detail as well, giving the reader a comprehensive knowledge of their past, present, and potential future.
The one fact that each reader should remember is that dance has always been, and always will be, a form of communication. This is its legacy to the world.
Introduction by Elizabeth A. Hanley
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