6.1.4. Ballet and Modern Dance Criticism and Analysis
Description
This article is from the Ballet and Modern Dance FAQ, by Tom Parsons twp@panix.com with numerous contributions by others.
6.1.4. Ballet and Modern Dance Criticism and Analysis
Acocella, Joan, and Garafola, Lynn. "Andre Levinson on Dance". Hanover,
New Hampshire: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1991, ISBN 0-8195-5227-5.
Selected writings of one of the most important dance critics of the
20th century.
Anderson, Richard L. "Calliope's Sisters: A Comparative Study of
Philosophies of Art". Prentice-Hall, 1989, ISBN 0-13-1554125-5. Looks
at several non-Western art philosophies.
Banes, Sally. "Writing Dancing in the Age of Postmodernism". University
Press of New England, 1994, ISBN 0-8195-6268-8. Collection of recent
materials, excellent on postmodern dance.
Chazin-Bennahum, Judith. "The Ballets of Antony Tudor". New York: Oxford
University Press, 1994, ISBN 0-19-507186-7. The great choreographer's
career and works.
Cohen, Selma Jeanne. "Next Week, Swan Lake". University Press of New
England, ISBN 0-8195-6110-X. Excellent introduction to philosophical
issues in dance without needing a philosophy background.
Copeland, Roger, and Cohen, Marshall, eds. "What is Dance?". Oxford
University Press, 1983, ISBN 0-19-503197-0. Anthology of primary
source readings in several areas, good overview.
Croce, Arlene. "Afterimages". Random House, 1977, ISBN 0-394-41093-9, out
of print. Her first anthology, great discussion of Balanchine and NYCB.
Denby, Edwin. "Dance Writings". Knopf, 1986, ISBN 0-394-54416-1.
Anthology of everything, beautiful writing even if you don't agree with
him, considered spiritual father of many contemporary critics.
"Looking at the Dance". New York: Pellegrini & Cudahy, 1949.
Some of the best dance criticism written in the 20th century. The
first part of the book ("Meaning in Ballet") is a particularly good
introduction to ballet for the newcomer.
"Dancers, Buildings, and People in the Streets." New York:
Horizon Press, 1965. Collected dance criticism.
Emery, Lynne Fauley. "Black Dance From 1619 to Today". Ayer Co.
Publishing, 1988, ISBN 0-88143-074-9.
Foster, Susan. "Reading Dancing: Bodies and Subjects in Contemporary
Choreography". University of California Press, 1986, ISBN 0-520-06333-
3. Deconstruction applied to contemporary dance, very influential text.
Humphrey, Doris. "The Art of Making Dances". Princeton: Princeton Book
Company, ISBN 0-87127-158-3. Humphrey on choreography.
Jowitt, Deborah. "Dance Beat". Books on Demand, ISBN 0-317-28434-7. Her
first anthology, great look at "dance boom" NYC.
"Time and the Dancing Image". University of California Press,
1989, ISBN 0-520-06627-8. Connecting eras in dance to their historical
contexts. (Why does Romantic ballet look the way it does?)
"The Dance in Mind". David R. Godine, 1985, ISBN 0-87923-534-9.
Anthology of more recent reviews.
Kraus, Richard, Chapman, Sarah, & Dixon-Stowell, Brenda. "History of the
Dance in Art and Education". Prentice-Hall, 1990, ISBN 0-13-389362-6.
College text, very helpful for dance education history (not always easy
to find).
Langer, Susanne. "Problems of Art". Macmillan, 1977, ISBN 0-02-367510-1.
One of the first contemporary philosophers to take dance seriously.
Lewis, Daniel. "The Illustrated Dance Technique of Jose Limon". New York:
Harper & Row, 1984, ISBN 0-06-015185-4.
Matteo. "The Language of Spanish Dance". Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1990.
ISBN not known.
McFee, Graham. "Understanding Dance". Routledge, 1992, ISBN 0-415-07810-
5. British philosopher.
Pagels, Jurgen. "Character Dance". Indiana Univ. Press, 1984. ISBN not
known.
Siegel, Marcia. "Watching the Dance Go By". Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1977, ISBN 0-395-25173-7, out of print. Her first anthology.
"The Shapes of Change". University of California Press, 1985,
ISBN 0-520-04212-3. The history of American dance seen through
specific works--excellent description.
"The Tail of the Dragon". Duke University Press, 1991, ISBN
0-8223-1156-9. Recent anthology.
Sparshot, Francis, "Off the Ground: First Steps in a Philosophical
Consideration of Dance". Princeton University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-692-
07327-9.
Stearns, Marshall, and Jean. "Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular
Dance". Da Capo Press, 1994, ISBN 0-306-80553-7.
van Praagh, Dame Peggy, and Peter Brinson. "The Choreographic Art". New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1963, no ISBN. A masterly survey of every
aspect of the choreographer's art.
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