Dance Scope

Dance Scope

The Dance

In dance, the choreographer creates, the dancer performs and the viewer observes. This work is a handbook for the viewer. By presenting historical and artistic perspectives of dance, dance events are made more approachable and appreciation for the art form is heightened. The choreographic components of body language, content, structure, music, design and interpretation are included. Also discussed is the development of critical reaction over time. Examples are drawn from Western theatrical dance and worldwide cultural variations. Terms are explained throughout the text, and an extensive bibliography gives sources in print and on tape for further study. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Movable Pillars

Movable Pillars traces the development of dance as scholarly inquiry over the course of the 20th century, and describes the social-political factors that facilitated a surge of interest in dance research in the period following World War II. This surge was reflected in the emergence of six key dance organizations: the American Dance Guild, the Congress on Research in Dance, the American Dance Therapy Association, the American College Dance Festival Association, the Dance Critics Association, and the Society of Dance History Scholars. Kolcio argues that their founding between the years 1956 and 1978 marked a new period of collective action in dance and is directly related to the inclusion of moving bodies in scholarly research and the ways in which dance studies interfaces with other fields such as feminist studies, critical research methods, and emancipatory education. An impeccable work of archival scholarship and interpretive history, Movable Pillars features nineteen interviews with dance luminaries who were intimately involved in the early years of each group. This is the first book to focus on the founding of these professional organizations and constitutes a major contribution to the understanding of the development of dance in American higher education. Ebook Edition Note: All images have been redacted.