Sharing the dance : contact improvisation and American culture / Cynthia J. Novack.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Novack, Cynthia Jean, author.

Series:

New directions in anthropological writing.

New directions in anthropological writing

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Improvisation in dance--History.

Improvisation in dance.

Dance--Anthropological aspects--United States.

Dance.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (277 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Madison, Wisconsin : University of Wisconsin Press, [1990]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Sharing the Dance, Cynthia Novack considers the development of contact improvisation within its web of historical, social, and cultural contexts. This book examines the ways contact improvisers (and their surrounding communities) encode sexuality, spontaneity, and gender roles, as well as concepts of the self and society in their dancing. While focusing on the changing practice of contact improvisation through two decades of social transformation, Novack's work incorporates the history of rock dancing and disco, the modern and experimental dance movements of Merce Cunningham, Anna Halprin, and Judson Church, among others, and a variety of other physical activities, such as martial arts, aerobics, and wrestling.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

1. Contact Improvistaion and Anthropological Analysis

2. Contact Improvisation's Origins and Influences

3. "You Come. We'll Show You What We Do" : The Initial Development of Contact Improvisation

4. Dance as "Art-Sport" : Continuing the Form

5. Movement and Meaning in Contact Improvisation

6. Experiencing the Body

7. Cultural Symbols and Aesthetic Practices

8. Community, Values, and Authority

9. The Business of Performance

References

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780299124434

0299124436

OCLC:

966821516