The Orphan Dancer's Desperation


Nell Harte - 2020
    Struggling to survive, Genevieve dances on the street for coins saving every coin she can to bring the family home.Frail and earning barely enough to stay alive, a fortuitous meeting brings Genevieve to the Mowbray’s Music Hall. Now with more earnings and regular employment, Genevieve puts her plan into action to deliver her siblings from the workhouse, yet soon discovers a jealous and bitter enemy set on her ruin. Now alone and fighting for her life, Genevieve is evicted from her humble home for a wrong she never committed and thrown onto the streets.Guy Chambers, a handsome and kind violinist, suspects Genevieve has seen more trouble in her life than she reveals. Careful never to frighten her, he gradually gains her trust and a fledgling love begins to bloom. When Genevieve disappears without a word, Guy is desperate to find her, and searches the streets and alleyways, but what he discovers brings him to the brink of despair.Will Genevieve be able to survive and bring her family home? Will Guy find her in time to save her? Or is all hope lost for their love, her family, and a future together?If you enjoy clean historical romance, you will love Nell Harte books.

A Choreographer's Handbook


Jonathan Burrows - 2010
    In an inspiring and unusually empowering sequence of stories, ideas and paradoxes, internationally renowned dancer, choreographer and teacher Jonathan Burrows explains how it's possible to navigate a course through this complex process.It is a stunning reflection on a personal practice and professional journey, and draws upon five years' of workshop discussions, led by Burrows.Burrows' open and honest prose gives the reader access to a range of exercises, meditations, principles and ideas on choreography that allow artists and dance-makers to find their own aesthetic process.It is a book for anyone interested in making performance, at whatever level and in whichever style.

Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery


Eric Franklin - 1996
    The book's 195 illustrations will help you visualize the images and exercises and show you how to use them in a variety of contexts.Part I of Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery discusses the origins and uses of imagery and includes 36 exercises that demonstrate dynamic alignment in practice. You'll explore the importance of posture and dynamic alignment and discover how to use imagery to affect body movement.Part II explains the biomechanical and anatomical principles behind complex imagery and illustrates 52 exercises to bring these principles to life. You'll learn how to use basic physics to create a strong yet fluid balance in your muscles and joints.Part III provides 250 anatomical imagery exercises to help you fine-tune alignments and increase body awareness. The exercises focus on different regions of the body--the pelvis, hips, knees, lower legs, spine, shoulders, arms, hands, head, and neck--as well as on breathing. You can select specific images to address individual needs or follow the sequence presented in the book.And Part IV provides 23 holistic exercises to sculpt and improve alignment in various positions--standing, supine, and sitting. These exercises will help you establish a body image that facilitates dynamic alignment and releases excess tension.By practicing the techniques described in Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery, you'll tap into the power of imagery and create better movement.

Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance


Eric N. Franklin - 1996
    More than 160 illustrations highlight images and exercises you can put to use immediately in your movements and choreography.Part I explores using imagery with improvisation. You'll find 195 exercises centered on the body's basic movement images. These improvisational exercises will encourage you to explore new inner landscapes to create and communicate different movement qualities.Part II provides 314 imagery exercises you can immediately use to improve technique. The book also provides guidelines for applying imagery within the dance class repertoire:- Floorwork movements- Standing, walking, running- Ballet barre exercises- Swings, arches, spirals- Upper-body gestures- Turns and pirouettes- Jumping- PartneringPart III provides imagery tools to enhance or prepare for a performance. You'll learn how to use imagery to convey information about steps and to clarify the intent and content of a movement. In addition, you'll find 40 imagery exercises that focus on active imagination and symbolism, the performance environment, and the audience in the creative process.Part IV presents 34 exercises to help restore and regenerate the body through guided imagery used with massage and touch. The book details the ideokinetic constructive rest position and Sweigard's nine lines of action.With Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance, you'll discover how to use the power of your imagination to enhance performances.

The Intimate Act of Choreography


Lynne Anne Blom - 1982
    A comprehensive book that covers all aspects of choreography from the most fundamental techniques to highly sophisticated artistic concerns.  The Intimate Act of Choreography presents the what and how of choreography in a workable format that begins with basics- - time, space, force -- and moves on to the more complex issues faced by the intermediate and advanced choreographer -- form, style, abstraction, compositional structures, and choreographic devices.The format of the book evolved from the idea that improvisation is a good way to learn choreography.  This approach is in harmony with widely accepted dance philosophies that value the unique quality of each individual’s creativity.  After discussing a concept, the authors provide improvisations, and choreographic studies that give the student a physical experience of that concept.  The language is stimulating an innovative, rich in visual images that will challenge the choreographer to explore new directions in movement.The book is for serious dance students and professionals who are interested in both the practical and theoretical aspects of the art, dancers who are just starting to choreograph, and teachers who are seeking fresh ideas and new approaches to use with young choreographers.  (A Teacher’s Addendum offers suggestions on how to use the material in the classroom.)  It is a guide, a text, and an extensive resource of every choreographic concept central to the art form.

Trail Guide to the Body: A hands-on guide to locating muscles, bones and more (Fourth Edition)


Andrew R. Biel - 2010
    This acclaimed book delivers beautifully illustrated information for learning palpation and the musculoskeletal system. It makes mastering the essential manual therapy skills interesting, memorable and easy. With 440 pages and 1,400 illustrations covering more than 162 muscles, 206 bones, 33 ligaments and 110 bony landmarks, this text provides an invaluable map of the body. A complimentary DVD for practicing palpation is included with the textbook.

The Pointe Book: Shoes, Training & Technique


Janice Barringer - 1990
    Interviews with dancers Larissa Ponomarenko, Paloma Herrera, and Marisa Soltis reveal different personal and highly evolved methods of breaking in and taking care of pointe shoes. One will find, as well, a complete discussion of the foot's anatomy, of the pointe shoe itself, pointe-related injuries and their remedies, and an historical review of the pointe shoe. The Pointe Book, Revised Edition lays out the basics of teaching pointe, comparing proven teaching methods. All levels of pointe technique classes are sampled from schools around the US to create an authoritative syllabus for teachers and students alike.

The Art of Making Dances


Doris Humphrey - 1959
    Written just before her death in 1958, it is Miss Humphrey's autobiography in art, a gathering together of her experiences in performance and a lucid and practical source book on choreography. One of the truly great figures in the dance world -- a pioneer of American modern dance, a great choreographer and teacher whose influences and innovations are apparent everywhere in the field -- Miss Humphrey has given us the first modern book on the "art" of choreography, and indespensible guide not only for the modern dance but for all stage creations.The Art of Making Dances presents modern dance as theater. It contains a short history of the dance and various chapters discuss design, dynamics, and rhythm of dance. It includes a check list for composers of dances and an appendix of all the dances composed by Miss Humphrey.

Dance Anatomy


Jacqui Haas - 2010
    Featuring over 200 full-color illustrations, Dance Anatomy visually depicts the unique relationship between muscle development and aesthetic movement as never before.Dance Anatomy features 82 of the most effective dance, movement, and performance exercises, each designed to promote perfect alignment, improved placement, proper breathing, and prevention of common injuries. In stunning detail, the accompanying illustration captures the dancer in motion and highlights the active muscles associated with each movement.You'll learn how to modify exercises to target specific areas to enhance flexibility and reduce muscle tension. You'll also learn to put it all together to personalize a program based on your style of dance, level of expertise, and individual needs and goals.Whether you seek to optimize performance, add a new movement to your repertoire, or minimize muscle fatigue, stress, and injury, Dance Anatomy is your perfect partner.

Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet


Gail Grant - 1967
    Teacher's organizations would do well to consider the use of Miss Grant's Technical Manual as an official textbook." — Dance MagazineTeacher recommended, Gail Grant's Technical Manual has long been one of the most popular and effective ballet reference guides. Completely revised and updated, this third edition is virtually a new work and should be owned by every student, dance teacher, choreographer, and ballet enthusiast — even those who purchased the second edition. Extensive revision, expansion, and the inclusion of more than 300 new terms have added immeasurably to the value of this concise, definitive manual.Moving from "abstract ballet" and "adage, adagio" to "working leg" and "wrapped position," the book fully describes and defines over 1,100 ballet steps (saul de chat, jeté enveloppé, failli, entrechat six, etc.), movements and poses (arabesque, épaulement, attitude, en arrière, retiré, à terre, dégagé, etc.), and other expressions and concepts. For each, first a phonetic transcription is provided, then a literal translation, and finally an explanation of how the step is performed, the pose captured, or the movement executed, of how the concept fits in with actual ballet dancing, or of the purpose or function of the idea. A pronunciation guide, cross-references to alternate names for similar steps and positions that vary from the Russian to the French or Italian schools, and a bibliography are all invaluable aids.But the most important supplement is the 15-page pictorial section, drawn by the author, who is both a successful ballet teacher and dancer. Keyed to the dictionary (and vice-versa), these diagrams show clearly the exact foot, leg, arm, and body positions for the proper execution of many of the more common ballet steps and movements. This essential and easy reference is a must for every teacher, aspiring dancer, and ballet class.

Critical Response Process: a method for getting useful feedback on anything you make, from dance to dessert


Liz Lerman - 2003
    Illustrated.

Margot Fonteyn


Meredith Daneman - 2004
    Carried to fame on a wave of wartime patriotism, Margot's sense of duty rather than ambition propelled her forward. Yet her gifts were such that her pre-eminence would come to eclipse the careers of subsequent generations.Ballet is a fairytale world; if Margot, like the pure and poetic heroine of Swan Lake, was a natural Odette, she would also have to contend with virtue's raw shadow-side in the guise of Constant Lambert, Roberto Arias and Rudolph Nureyev - the men who, like Von Rothbart, were to take possession of her heart.

The Ballet Companion: A Dancer's Guide to the Technique, Traditions, and Joys of Ballet


Eliza Gaynor Minden - 2005
    With 150 stunning photographs of ballet stars Maria Riccetto and Benjamin Millepied demonstrating perfect execution of positions and steps, this elegant volume brims with everything today's dance student needs, including: Practical advice for getting started, such as selecting a school, making the most of class, and studio etiquette Explanations of ballet fundamentals and major training systems An illustrated guide through ballet class -- warm-up, barre, and center floor Guidelines for safe, healthy dancing through a sensible diet, injury prevention, and cross-training with yoga and Pilates Descriptions of must-see ballets and glossaries of dance, music, and theater terms Along the way you'll find technique secrets from stars of American Ballet Theatre, lavishly illustrated sidebars on ballet history, and tips on everything from styling a ballet bun to stage makeup to performing the perfect pirouette. Whether a budding ballerina, serious student, or adult returning to ballet, dancers will find a lively mix of ballet's time-honored traditions and essential new information.

Basic Principles of Classical Ballet


Agrippina Vaganova - 1969
    The development of this school was largely due to Mme. Vaganova (1879–1951), not only a great dancer but also the teacher of Galina Ulanova and many others and an unsurpassed theoretician.The principles of Vaganova's system are presented in this well-known book. Mme. Vaganova's aim of creating a personal approach to the Russian dance was based on the critical assimilation of the experience of her contemporaries. Her ability to choose the best of what had been accomplished in the various ballet traditions (French, Italian, and Russian) and combine these into a unified teaching practice in itself amounted to a new school of dance. She firmly believed that the teaching process should be a planned exercise, ever changing with innovations in the dance. She sought from her pupils emotional expressiveness, strictness of form, a resolute, energetic manner of performance, and the understanding of the underlying coordination of movements.Her book discusses all basic principles of ballet, grouping movements by fundamental types. Chapters cover battements, rotary movements of the legs, the arms, poses of the classical dance, connecting and auxiliary movements, jumps, beats, point work, and turns as well as material for a sample lesson. Diagrams show clearly the exact foot, leg, arm, and body positions for the proper execution of many steps and movements. The result is a fundamental theory of dance that offers dancers, teachers, and ballet lovers information often difficult to locate in other books. 118 illustrations.

Mario Makes a Move


Jill McElmurry - 2012
    But though his parents ooh and ahh at whatever he does, his friend Isabelle is not so easily impressed. When she points out that anyone can have a move, Mario must find some other way to stand out.Sometimes being amazing is hard work, as shown in this zany yet accessible picture book from Jill McElmurry, illustrator of The One and Only Marigold and Little Blue Truck. Young readers will instantly recognize themselves in Mario, as he searches for his one-of-a-kind talent. Here is a hilarious read-aloud that will have little ones oohing and ahhing—and trying out some moves of their own.