Reading dancing : bodies and subjects in contemporary American dance / Susan Leigh Foster.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Foster, Susan Leigh.

Contributor:

American Council of Learned Societies.

Series:

ACLS Humanities E-Book.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Modern dance--United States.

Modern dance.

Choreography.

Movement, Aesthetics of.

Dance--History.

Dance.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxi, 307 p. ) ill. ;

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c1986.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Winner of the Dance Perspectives Foundation de la Torre Bueno Prize Recent approaches to dance composition, seen in the works of Merce Cunningham and the Judson Church performances of the early 1960s, suggest the possibility for a new theory of choreographic meaning. Borrowing from contemporary semiotics and post-structuralist criticism, Reading Dancing outlines four distinct models for representation in dance which are illustrated, first, through an analysis of the works of contemporary choreographers Deborah Hay, George Balanchine, Martha Graham, and Merce Cunningham, and then through reference to historical examples beginning with court ballets of the Renaissance. The comparison of these four approaches to representation affirms the unparalleled diversity of choreographic methods in American dance, and also suggests a critical perspective from which to reflect on dance making and viewing.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Illustrations

Preface

CHAPTER ONE Reading Dance: Composing the Choreographer, the Dancer, and the Viewer

CHAPTER TWO Reading Choreography: Composing Dances

CHAPTER THREE Readings in Dance's History: Historical Approaches to Dance Composition

CHAPTER FOUR 'Writing Dancing: The Viewer as Choreographer in Contemporary Dance

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliography (p. 265-283) and index.

ISBN:

0-520-90880-5

OCLC:

1419789779

Publisher Number:

2027/heb05786 hdl