Dorothy Madden's lively book about Louis Horst (You don't call me Mr. Horst, you call me Louis, he always said) makes for compulsive reading. She follows Horst's extraordinary life, punctuating her narrative with reminiscences, illuminating anecdotes from her personal store of memories, as well as the shared thoughts of others, all interspersed with her choice of evocative and expressive photographs and illustrations, to create a dynamic and memorable portrait of this key figure in American modern dance. Louis Horst: musician, composer, pianist, violonist, pit player, arranger, super accompanist (all sorts), conductor, régisseur, stage manager, tour tartar, catalyst, editor, writer, critic, teacher, consoler, the Sherlock Holmes of restaurants, keeper of journals and budgets, loan provider, lover, friend...
Four American women: Marcia Siegel, Deborah Jowitt, Arlene Croce and Nancy Goldner are writers who became dance critics partly by design. By showing us extensive examples from their vivid writing about dance, Diana Theodores presents a detailed and illuminating analysis of their styles and ideas from 1965 to 1985, the Golden Age of Dance in New York. For the first time, she presents these four writers as a school of dance criticism, four women who defined American dance in a key era of its recent history. About the Author
A major biography—the first in three decades—of one of the most important artistic forces of the twentieth century, the legendary American dancer and choreographer who upended dance, propelling the art form into the modern age, and whose profound and pioneering influence is still being felt today. "Brings together all the elements of Graham’s colorful life...with wit, verve, critical discernment, and a powerful lyricism.”—Mary Dearborn, acclaimed author of Ernest Hemingway Time magazine called her “the Dancer of the Century.” Her technique, used by dance companies throughout the world, became the first long-lasting alternative to the idiom of classical ballet. Her pioneering movements—powerful, dynamic, jagged, edgy, forthright—combined with her distinctive system of training, were the epitome of American modernism, performance as art. Her work continued to astonish and inspire for more than sixty years as she choreographed more than 180 works. At the heart of Graham’s work: movement that could express inner feeling. Neil Baldwin, author of admired biographies of Man Ray (“Truly definitive . . . absolutely fascinating” —Patricia Bosworth) and Thomas Edison (“Absorbing, gripping, a major contribution to our understanding of a remarkable man and a remarkable era” —Robert Caro), gives us the artist and performer, the dance monument who led a cult of dance worshippers as well as the woman herself in all of her complexity. Here is Graham, from her nineteenth-century (born in 1894) Allegheny, Pennsylvania, childhood, to becoming the star of the Denishawn exotic ballets, and in 1926, at age thirty-two, founding her own company (now the longest-running dance company in America). Baldwin writes of how the company flourished during the artistic explosion of New York City’s midcentury cultural scene; of Erick Hawkins, in 1936, fresh from Balanchine’s School of American Ballet, a handsome Midwesterner fourteen years her junior, becoming Graham’s muse, lover, and eventual spouse. Graham, inspiring the next generation of dancers, choreographers, and teachers, among them: Merce Cunningham and Paul Taylor. Baldwin tells the story of this large, fiercely lived life, a life beset by conflict, competition, and loneliness—filled with fire and inspiration, drive, passion, dedication, and sacrifice in work and in dance creation.
The untold life story of All-of-a-Kind Family author Sydney Taylor, highlighting her dramatic influence on American children’s literature This is the first and only biography of Sydney Taylor (1904–1978), author of the award-winning All-of-a-Kind Family series of books, the first juvenile novels published by a mainstream publisher to feature Jewish children characters. The family—based on Taylor’s own as a child—includes five sisters, each two years apart, dressed alike by their fastidious immigrant mother so they all look the same: all-of-a-kind. The four other sisters’ names were the same in the books as in their real lives; only the real-life Sarah changed hers to the boyish Sydney while she was in high school. Cummins elucidates the deep connections between the progressive Taylor’s books and American Jewish experiences, arguing that Taylor was deeply influential in the development of national Jewish identity. This biography conveys the vital importance of children’s books in the transmission of Jewish culture and the preservation of ethnic heritage.
The revolution that happened in the American dance world between 1932 until 1992 was as great, or even greater, than the earlier movement revolution instigated by the Ballets Russes. In his revealing book David Wood evokes this exciting period of change and describes the roles of the key creative personalities with whom he worked: Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Jose Limon, Hanya Holm, Alwin Nikolais, Helen Tamiris, Sophie Maslow, Jane Dudley, and William Bales. David Wood has been a key figure in the American dance world for nearly 50 years, making numerous appearances on television as an actor/dancer and in Broadway musicals. He began working with Martha Graham in 1953, as a soloist, touring the world, performing roles in all the famous productions, especially Secular Games which Graham created for him. He has his own company BARD (Bay Area Repertory Dance) which has toured the United States and Europe. The choreography of Wood's signature work, Lorca's House of B
How do women set up institutions? How has higher education helped or hindered women in the world of dance? These are some of the questions addressed through interviews and researched by the educators and dancers Sharon E. Friedler and Susan B. Glazer in Dancing Female . In dealing with some of the tensions, joys, frustrations, and fears women experience at various points of their creative lives, the contributors strike a balance between a theoretical sense of feminism and its practice in reality. This book presents answers to basic questions about women, power, and action. Why do women choreographers choose to create the dances they do in the manner they do? How do women in dance work independently and organizationally?
This book also traces the evolution of the Spanish Dance technique, marked as it is by a turbulent history. Antonio Triana was a dancer of mature artistry, dignity and power. His physical and technical achievements went beyond what is generally known about Spanish Dance. His dance presented the essence of the Spanish character and, in his choreography, he used his traditional background for his brilliant inspirations. He partnered the legendary La Argentinita, Pilar Lopez and Carmen Amaya with spirit and gallantry. Over the years he developed a very distinct method of teaching and he became one of the foremost Spanish Flamenco dancers and teachers of his time. Rita Vega de Triana formed the Triana Ballet Español with her late husband. She currently teaches Hispanic dance and related subjects at the University of Texas at El Paso and directs her own school as well as performing around the United States as a guest artist and choreographer.
'When directors understand the value of a movement director they remove any sense of hierarchy within the room and place movement directors firmly by their side for they are and should be their co-pilot, navigating and creating the world of the play.' - Joan Iyiola Movement directors work with the physical, living bodies at the heart of theatre productions, creating movement languages with actors and directors. Through a series of in-depth interviews with leading theatre practitioners, Ayse Tashkiran charts the growth of the movement director in contemporary theatre. The voices of Jane Gibson, Sue Lefton, Kate Flatt, Toby Sedgwick, Siân Williams, Struan Leslie, Ellen Kane, Peter Darling, Steven Hoggett, Ann Yee, Imogen Knight and Shelley Maxwell explore processes of creativity, collaboration and innovation for the moving body in performance. The conversations open up: Growth of movement direction through the 20th century New insights into embodied theatre practice Diverse movement approaches and creative preparation Physical trainings and influences Working methods with directors and actors in the rehearsal room Movement for actors in opera, film, television and musical theatre Relationships between movement direction and theatre choreography Potential future developments in the field
Jose Limn is universally recognized as one of the most important modern dancers of the 20th century. His technique is still taught at major colleges and dance schools; his dance company continues to revive his works, plus presents new works. His most famous work, The Moor's Pavanne, has been presented around the world by ballet and modern dance companies. This book presents a series of essays about Limn's life and works by noted scholars and dancers who were associated with Limn. It serves as a perfect introduction to his choreography and legacy. The book should appeal to fans of modern dance.
