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Lois Greenfield is uniquely adept at capturing the vibrancy and joy of dance. Part choreographer, part photographer, she does more than seize dancers in motion in her images--they seem to define the essence of movement itself. In this book, she has categorized her dancers as either earthbound or airborne, and it is hard to decide which images are more exhilarating.In the first set, a shot of a dancer taken the moment her toes hit the ground, with her body and filmy skirt still very much aloft, captures the fleeting experience of the transition. A dancer changes form beneath her stretchy curtain of a costume, seemingly grappling with gravity itself. Another is earthbound as she leaps up with an elongated tights leg pinned to the ground and anchoring her from below. Groups of dancers commingle, Pilobolus-style, and reshape the scope of human form. In the air, Greenfield's subjects fly, merge, and collide in a symphony of shapes that she somehow, unbelievably, captures on film.

All of the nearly 100 black-and-white photos in the book were shot in a studio with vacant backdrops so that the images sail forth unimpeded by background distractions. Greenfield offers short notes on many of the pictures that include information about the dancer as well as fascinating notes on how she achieved the image. Of one shot of three dancers seemingly pinned over each other and stuck like magnets to the same wall, she writes: "The dancers are running sequentially headlong into the wall. The first person is held up by the pressure of the second body. The third guy has to grab the top of the wall across the width of the two bodies. The moment I shot is when the outside man, Ned, just lets go from the wall."

Airborne is a breathtaking treat for lovers and dance and photography alike. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

fantastic , highly energised photographs & photography
I think the line above says everything.. you will not regret buying this book.

Wonderful no-trick photos that seem to defy gravity
Wonderful book. None of the photographs are tricked -- that is, all are usual perspectives, normal orientation (what looks like the floor at first glance really is), no strings, no unseen bars or plates, no studio retouching of former. (See LG's preface.) Truly amazing work.

A unique perspective of dance photography.
This book is a sequel to the book BREAKING BOUNDS.The trick photography is incredible! Some of the photos are tasteful nudes that captivate you with their artistry. If a picture is worth a thousand words... this book is worth a couple million! ... Read more

Book Description

First comprehensive overview of improvisation in dance. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

From Yoruban masked dance to Indian Bharatanatyam
Collaboratively compiled and ably co-edited by Ann Cooper Albright and David Gere, Taken By Surprise: A Dance Improvisation Reader collects together under one cover some twenty-one essays by well-known dancers, scholars, and historians. Discussing improvisation in dance within contexts and traditions ranging from Yoruban masked dance to Indian Bharatanatyam, flamenco, and more, Taken By Surprise offers an informed and insightful exploration into the art of impromptu dance, as well as the changing emotions expressed within its many forms. ... Read more

Book Description

The dream of pure freedom in the South Pacific islands has never died on the mainland; sometimes its more of an ache than a dream. Over time and through the mill of popular culture, the dream has been distilled into two enduring images: the hula dancer and the tiki god. This book displays over 500 color images of collectible hula dancers and tiki gods with which readers can have a little exotic fun and maybe catch a tropical thrill along the way.The hula dance provided an escape in its original culture, and here the dancers are shown in sections devoted to flat images, three-dimensions, crank girls, and Hollywoods versions from the twentieth century. The tiki gods that 1960s surfers wore for luck around their necks may have deeper meanings as well, and became the most important symbol of cool adulthood that mainland youngsters could imagine. Here lamps, figures, posters, and souvenirs all come together for entertainment and enjoyment. All dreamers of tropical pleasures will covet copies of this book to linger over. And the values guide will bring them quickly and happily back to reality. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Hula Dancers and Tiki Gods
There's no way this book should be listed under Home and Garden. Someone tell me why it is. Hula Dancers and Tiki Gods boasts over 500 color images of Hawaiiana collectibles. Pfouts' purpose is clear: It's all about fun. He claims he's not out to teach anyone anything. And then he goes ahead and does it anyway. Hula Dancers offers a great store of information and photos. Pfouts gives a clear picture of how the hula dancer and the tiki god came to symbolize so much to so many. He covers a wide range of Hula collectibles through four sections: flat hula treasures that includes postcards, paintings, pulp art, cocktail napkins, carnival sideshow art, decals, playing cards, tattoos, etc; the three-dimensional section brings the lovely ladies to life as figurines, salt and pepper shakers, plaster sculptures, drinking vessels, killer lamps and more; the vintage crank girls in the third section offer the reader a rare chance to see dainty little ladies who shimmy with a quick twist and the Hollywood section show how movie posters, album covers, photos and sheet music brought the hula into greater public view. The tiki gods portion of the book offers up information and photos on everything tiki, including swizzel sticks, mugs, pendants, bookends and furniture to die for. Combined with his entertaining commentary and assessments on what some of these collectibles are worth today, Hula Dancers and Tiki Gods leaves a lasting impression of the depth and availability of Hawaiiana out there. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

trivia, not how-to
Want to know what the "buck and wing" looks like? The "black bottom," "shorty george," "eagle rock" or "Jersey bounce"? Well, if you can read Labanotation, you can find out from the last pages of this book. Otherwise, you'll just have to settle for a bunch of dance history and anecdotes strung together by the Stearns, who interviewed as many American jazz dancers as they could still find alive.

It's fascinating stuff, though. The text does give some limited descriptions, and opening the book to a random page reveals both " . . .Crawley danced while he played clarinet, juggling the pieces as he dismantled it" and "As performed by Little Egypt at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, where it first received national attention as the Hootchy-Kootchy, the Shake dance was not particularly rhythmic."

As an actual history of American dance, for me this book lacks coherence. But I did learn about ways in which African dance influenced American, see the names of quite a lot of performers, steps, and performance venues, and learn to play the "Buck Dancer's Lament" on the piano. If you want something you can read a page of and then put down until later, this will fill the bill. ... Read more

Book Description

Feel confident on the dance floor—step by step! Social Dance: Steps to Success will teach you all the moves for eight popular dance styles:

· Swing
· Cha-cha
· Foxtrot
· Polka
· Waltz
· Rumba
· Tango
· Salsa/mambo

Each step you take is a smooth transition from the one before. Your first few steps provide a solid foundation of skills and concepts. As you progress, you learn not only the basic dance steps and styling but also how to adjust to a partner, how to make the transitions between positions, and how to create sequences from variations of those basic steps.

Each of the steps also explains why the concept or skill is important, identifies the keys to correct technique, helps you avoid common errors, and explains how to practice each skill. A compact disc featuring music for each style is included to help you practice.

Written by master teacher and dancer Judy Patterson Wright, this book is part of the Steps to Success Activity Series—the most extensively researched and carefully developed set of sport skill instruction books ever published. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Written By A Master Teacher
SOCIAL DANCE is written by a master teacher who has done a lot of research on her subject. The person who will benefit from using this book is not someone who is looking for an easy method to learn a few dance routines. It is rather meant for the serious enthusiast who knows how to study a textbook and appreciates the value of long hours of practice. It will also be useful to those who already know something about swing, cha-cha, fox-trot, waltz and polka and wish to increase their social dance skills. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Book For The Lovers And The Haters
This book is one of the best book I have obtained over the years. My brother uses it when he has to attend ballet with our family since he can never figure out what is goin on since there is no speaking. Balencine has a great understanding of the ballets and tells you the important parts and leaves out the "hoopla". I recamend it for anyone who attends the ballet as a person that apreciates the art or someone just forced to go.

Save Your Money
I purchased this book and now regret it. So many of the ballets decribed are minor pieces that are rarely performed any more, while many major classic ballets that are still performed and/or that are important in dance history are totally neglected (e.g. Le Corsaire, Raymonda, Paquita, Esmerelda). Other descriptions focus only on one part of the ballet rather than telling you the actual story. The entry on "La Bayadère," for instance, focuses almost entirely on Act IV, which is frustrating since this is a ballet with a complicated libretto that could really benefit from a complete summary. I'd recommend going to a library and photocopying the info on the ballets that interest you rather than purchasing this as a handy reference book to have at home. It's just not worth the money.

No One Can Beat George Balanchine
Balanchine had a unique ability to understand the ballet and to be able to explain it to others, even if they did not know anything about it. This book which he wrote with Francis Mason, is very handy for balletomane's to have on their shelves. It explains about different ballet's, both classical and contemporary, and describes their story line or plot and gives detailed comments about how the ballet is presented. Good for reference or for curious readers.

Extremely Helpful, But Now Dated
This book should be of interest to any ballet fan, as it contains the librettos of many famous ballets. It was written by George Balanchine, the famous choreographer of New York City Ballet, along with Francis Mason, a dance critic. In the preface, Mr. Balanchine writes, "This book contains stories of 101 ballets. Fifty are old favorites, ballets in the standard repertory that are performed regularly, plus a few ballets of major historical importance. The fifty-one others are among the many new ballets that have appeared in the past six years, since 'Balanchine's New Complete Stories of the Great Ballets' appeared in 1968. The idea behind this paperback edition is to keep up with main trends in the repertory while also providing the background of the standard repertory. (p. ix)

I learned that I needed a book such as this one, when after viewing act 1 of "Giselle," I realized that I had become completely lost in trying to understand the story line, and there was no libretto provided on the VCR tape. I suppose that one could watch a ballet just for the sake of the dancing and the music, but I like to understand the plot as well! Many of the crucial points in understanding a ballet often come down to interpreting mime gestures, or dance movements that function as a mime gesture, as there are no spoken words in a ballet. That's where this book can really help out.

Each entry begins with an overview that contains a lot of information and historical data. Here is a typical entry from "Romeo and Juliet": "Ballet in three acts. Music by Sergei Prokofiev. Choreography by Kenneth MacMillan. Scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis. Lighting by William Bundy. First presented by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, February 9, 1965, with Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn as Romeo and Juliet. First presented in the United States by the Royal Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, April 21, 1965." (p. 373) In some cases, there are multiple versions of same ballet. For instance, there are five different interpretations of "Romeo and Juliet," those of Leonid Lavrosvsky, Antony Tudor, Frederick Ashton, John Cranko, and Kenneth MacMillan. Following the overview, there is a detailed analysis of every scene of each act. Even if you are familiar with a particular ballet, you may come to appreciate some finer points through the expert analysis. Sometimes at the end, Balanchine will also provide his own commentary, and there are often excerpts from critical reviews.

It's too bad that the third and last edition of this book was made in 1975, as Balanchine died in 1983. It would be nice to have something more contemporaneous, but this is the only one of its kind that I have been able to find, except for a few for children. As was stated in the quote from the preface above, half of this book is devoted to ballets that were created in the six years prior to 1975. I cannot say how well all of these ballets have held up over time, or whether they are actively being performed. But, at a minimum, the fifty ballets from the standard repertory should be helpful to today's ballet fan. This book does not include mention of any new interpretations of these standards from the last twenty-five years, but these librettos will probably get you fairly close. Despite the fact that this book is now dated, I still find it extremely helpful and valuable.

Awesome Book
This is a great book. I read the story, then watch the ballet. It has helped me to understand the ballets. ... Read more

Book Description

Based on thorough research and meticulous scholarship, it covers in its first part regional music and dance, exploring in detail the musical traditions of twenty specific areas, including the Society Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Niue, Uvea and Futuna, the Marquesas Islands, Easter Island, Hawaii, and New Zealand.

In the second part McLean describes the musical instruments and the uses, performance, composition, teaching and structure of music across the entire region.He studies the impact of European music on traditional music and includes a chapter on modern music and dance.He finally examines the cultural connections and the diffusion of styles throughout the Polynesian Pacific.

Weavers of Song is lavishly illustrated with 165 photographs and over 80 musical examples.It is accompanied by a CD sampler containing songs, dance-songs and instrumental music from areas studied in the book ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Musical traditions of twenty specific south sea areas
Weavers Of Song: Polynesian Music & Dance is an informative and engaging exploration of the musical traditions of twenty specific south sea areas including the Society Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Niue, Uvea and Futuna, the Marquesas Islands, Easter Island, Hawaii, and New Zealand. Weavers Of Song describes the musical instruments and their uses, performance, teaching and structure of music across the entire region. Merveyn McLean is an ethnomusicologist who draws upon his many years as an authority on Polynesian music to present a meticulously researched and superbly presented text that is enhanced with 165 photographs, 80 musical examples, and an accompanying CD sampler of songs, dance-songs, and instrumental music from the areas featured in this outstanding contribution to music history in general, and the musical cultures and legacies of the Polynesian south seas in particular. ... Read more

Book Description

Mary Wigman, Germany's premier modern dancer between thetwo worldwars, envisioned the dancer in the thrall of ecstatic and demonicforces.Transforming the performer into an abstract configuration of energy inspace,her works subverted the traditional eroticization of the female dancer.Criticsin her own time and historians since have hailed her as a majorinnovator ofdance modernism. What commentators have not acknowledged until recently, however, is hercollaboration with the Nazis. Under the Third Reich, Wigman subtlytransformedthe choreographic themes that had brought her fame during the WeimarRepublic.Reverting to more traditional images of the female dancer, her worksrepresentedthe division between male and female spheres so central to fascistideology. Herchoreographic career thus challenges the prevailing view of a sharpbreakbetween Weimar and Nazi culture. Dance and cultural historian Susan Manning traces Wigman's career fromMonteVerita, an artist's colony where she spent the First World War involuntaryexile, to West Berlin, where she premiered her final work just monthsafter thebuilding of the Berlin Wall. Manning argues that Wigman challenged thevoyeurismof the male spectator while projecting an essentialized nationalidentity, amystical aura of Germanness. Introducing methods not usually found in dance studies, Manning spinsWigman'sstory into an interdisciplinary space bounded by ongoing dialogues onthehistory of the body and the sexual and national politics of artisticmodernism. ... Read more

Book Description

Born in 1925, Maria Tallchief spent part of her childhood on an Osage reservation in Oklahoma. With the support of her family and world-renowned choreographer George Balanchine, she rose to the top of her art form to become America's first prima ballerina. Black-and-white illustrations provide visual sidebars to the history of ballet while taking readers through the life of this amazing dancer.

Illustrated by Val Paul Taylor. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

wonderful illustrations
i picked this book up on a whim. I just finished reading it, and I have to highly recommend it for its amazing collection of photographs, painting, sculpture, and other depictions of the ancient use of dance to connect with God. It's a wonderful resource, a book I'll peruse over and over again. ... Read more

Book Description

Maya Plisetskaya, one of the world's foremost dancers, rose to becomea prima ballerina of Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet after an early life filled with tragedy andloss. In this spirited memoir, Plisetskaya reflects on her personal and professionalodyssey, presenting a unique view of the life of a Soviet artist during the troubled periodfrom the late 1930s to the 1990s.Plisetskaya recounts the execution of her father in theGreat Terror and her mother's exile to the Gulag. She describes her admission to theBolshoi in 1943, the roles she performed there, and the endless petty harassments sheendured, from both envious colleagues and Party officials. Refused permission for sixyears to tour with the company, Plisetskaya eventually performed all over the world,working with such noted choreographers as Roland Petit and Maurice Béjart. Sherecounts the tumultuous events she lived through and the fascinating people she met-- among them the legendary ballet teacher Agrippina Vaganova, George Balanchine, FrankSinatra, Rudolf Nureyev, and Dmitri Shostakovich. And she provides fascinating detailsabout testy cocktail-party encounters with Khrushchev, tours abroad when her meager perdiem allowance brought her close to starvation, and KGB plots to capitalize on herfriendship with Robert Kennedy. Gifted, courageous, and brutally honest, Plisetskayabrilliantly illuminates the world of Soviet ballet during an era that encompasses bothrepression and cultural détente. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

interesting, revealing
I loved the book even though at points it was hard to follow. Sometimes it got a little too confusing with lot of russian names and positions. But it was great reading about her life and ballets.

Fabulous!!
Read this and know what a great artist is all about. She is the ballerina par excllence, and Makarova would agree.

Her dying swan was so overwhelingly great in person, which I saw three times, that audiences yelled for thirty minutes for her to just bow to them again and again. She repeated the dying swan or part of it at one performance I attended and there was pandemoinium. Her arms are perfect wings, waving naturally in the winds that she made you belive in. She metamorphosed herself into a swan before our eyes. Indeed, her other ballet scenes were of the smae magnitude. Her examples from Giselle, Manon Lescaut etc. made huge fans out of haters of ballet.

When we went back stage to get autographs there were over a thousand people waiiting to see her, touch, applaud her once more.

To read her book is to know the horrors of the Soviet system of old, with its repression of people like her. We had only small samples of her art, and now her great Autobiography...Plisetskaya will live forever in the records of ballet, even Nureyev and Barishnikov in thier spheres can only touch her greatness..Makarova is the closet , very much so, but Madame Plisetskaya is the ballet Diva of the universe, and this book will help you see why.

There are films of her dancing that mezmerize, even through the weirdness of TV imagery and snow.

Buy this book and begin to know about the art of ballet by its supreme practioner.

A great story by a great ballerina
Written with honesty, in a personal and intimate way, this is the fascinating yet horrifying story of life for the foremost ballerina in Russia under Stalinist, and after his death, equally cruel communist rule. While she was being used to show off the brilliance of Russian ballet, dancing for visiting foreign dignitaries, she was followed, spied on, given little money, and for fear of defection, not allowed to leave the country with the rest of the Bolshoi company.
Although by then she was in her forties, I was lucky enough to have seen her dance here in the USA and in Paris. Her 'Odette/Odile' and her 'Dying Swan' were, I think, the best in the history of dance. Her book is a page-turner. I couldn't put it down.
I also highly recommend the videotape, "Plisetskaya Dances". Wait til you see her leaps where her foot touches the back of her head! ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Although the techniques of classical ballet were invented by French and Italian masters two hundred years ago, the Russian Ballet refined these techiques, thus enhancing its already superb performances.In 1738, the first professional school of dance opened in St. Petersburg.During the 18th century, the Russian Ballet became known for its tragic and its comic ballets.The Russian Ballet reached is apogee during the 19th century.The second half of the 19th century was marked by the collaboration of Petipa, the French choreographer, withe the Russian composer Tchaikovsky.In the early 20th century, Diaghilev delighted audiences in the West by presenting his Ballets Russes with suprememly talented choreographers, dancers, compers, and set deisgners.The book offers an encyclopedic overview of the entire history of the Russian Ballet, written by a team of scholars. ... Read more

Book Description

Entertaining America is a captivating look at one of the longest-running and most provocative public discussions in America: the relationship between the nation's Jews and its entertainment media. This colorfully written, lavishly illustrated book surveys how Jews have participated in--and been identified with--American movies, radio, and television from the nickelodeon era at the turn of the twentieth century to the present day.

Throughout, the tone is lively, the design is playful, and key points are visually enhanced by stills, publicity photos, and memorabilia. This anthology of original analyses and primary texts covers a wide range of topics, including the multiple versions of The Jazz Singer, the saga of the Hollywood movie moguls, the irrepressible Goldbergs of radio and television fame, the representation of the Holocaust, how Charlie Chaplin and other non-Jewish stars became "virtual Jews," and the dazzling success of the television series Seinfeld. There is also an illustrated gallery of more than twenty Jewish-American stars from Theda Bara to Adam Sandler.

The principal authors, J. Hoberman and Jeffrey Shandler, examine not only the history of Jews in the industry but also the steady stream of richly varied voices that have had something to say about this history--in fan magazines as well as literary fiction, by religious and political leaders as well as journalists, historians, and Jews in the entertainment business themselves.

Entertaining America, which accompanies an exhibition opening at The Jewish Museum, is itself tremendously entertaining while providing the most expansive, authoritative look at this fascinating subject. In its pages, readers will find ample material to help them formulate their own responses to this frank, contentious, multilayered discussion.

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE

The Jewish Museum, New York
February 21 - September 14, 2003
The Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore
October 16, 2003 - January 18, 2004
... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Petrushka
Petrushka is arguably the best ballet Stravinsky ever wrote. If you liked The Rite of Spring or The Firebird, then you will love this score. Stravinsky was a brilliant composer and Petrushka is an example of one of his finest works. The story is about a Russian puppet show, but the music can be interpreted in so many ways, there really is no way to review the ballet based on what one person thinks it should have been. Therefore, I will tell you just that the music is wonderful even if you would have interpreted the ballet itself otherwise. ... Read more

Book Description

Merengue—the quintessential Dominican dance music—has a long and complex history, both on the island and in the large immigrant community in New York City. In this ambitious work, Paul Austerlitz unravels the African and Iberian roots of merengue and traces its growth under dictator Rafael Trujillo and its renewed popularity as an international music.

Using extensive interviews as well as written commentaries, Austerlitz examines the historical and contemporary contexts in which merengue is performed and danced, its symbolic significance, its social functions, and its musical and choreographic structures. He tells the tale of merengue's political functions, and of its class and racial significance. He not only explores the various ethnic origins of this Ibero-African art form, but points out how some Dominicans have tried to deny its African roots.

In today's global society, mass culture often marks ethnic identity. Found throughout Dominican society, both at home and abroad, merengue is the prime marker of Dominican identity. By telling the story of this dance music, the author captures the meaning of mass and folk expression in contemporary ethnicity as well as the relationship between regional, national, and migrant culture and between rural/regional and urban/mass culture. Austerlitz also traces the impact of migration and global culture on the native music, itself already a vibrant intermixture of home-grown merengue forms.

From rural folk idiom to transnational mass music, merengue has had a long and colorful career. Its well-deserved popularity will make this book a must read for anyone interested in contemporary music; its complex history will make the book equally indispensable to anyone interested in cultural studies. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

AY COMPAY! DON'T MISS THIS!
Up in Manhattan's Morningside Heights and its Dominican analogs all over the US, salsa is edged out by the magnificently manic beat of the merengue, whether stirred into Dominican rap and house (the most original as well as the least known versions of the genre) or in the tear-em-down accordion of Fefita La Grande. Austerlitz has all this and a lot more, all the way from the luckless Toma' back in the 1840s (read the book!)Austerlitz covers merengue from rural to hi-society in all its fierce joviality. Read this book and you'll know there's one good thing Trujillo did for the Dominican Republic!

John Storm Roberts

An Important Addition to the Library of Any Merengue Fan
If you are looking for a quick yet thorough coverage of this topic then this is the book for you. It is a relatively short book, coming in at 167 pages (not including bibliography but including notes section), yet it covers the whole spectrum of the national music of the Dominican Republic.

Mr Austerlitz covers the beginnings of this music all the way through to its current state. It also spends time on Merengue's development during the Trujillo era (a particularly interesting topic to anyone who studies the Dominican Republic).

Mr Austerlitz also does a good job of addressing the sociological issues that arise from music and manages to blend well the merengue of the campo with that of the salon.

A good read and it even comes with a CD with some very good campo (country) merengue. If you are looking for merengue at its roots then this CD should please you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1.Introduction

PART 1: THE HISTORY OF MERENGUE 1854-1961. 2. Nineteenth-Century Caribbean Merengue. 3. Merengue Cibaeno, Cultural Nationalism, and Resistance. 4. Music and the State: Merengue during the Era of Trujillo, 1930-1961.

PART 2: The Contemporary Era, 1961-1995. 5. Merengue in the Transnational Community. 6. Innovation and Social Issues in Pop Merengue. 7. Merengue on the Global Stage. 8. Enduring Localism. 9. Conclusion

Let me know if you found this useful.

Great Overview of Merengue
Enjoyed the insight into the history of Merengue and its cultural context. This book has a place on my bookshelf along with "The Latin Tinge" and "The Brazilian Sound." ... Read more