Review Of Marche Des Arts Du Spectacle Africain (Masa \u2797)

A panoply of over fifty dance, music, and theatre events from twenty African countries was performed at seven different venues, including indoor and outdoor theatres, clubs, concert halls, courtyards, gardens, and a sports stadium. The Moroccan company Ballet-Théâtre Zinoun presented Psyché Ou La Légende D\u27Adonis, a revisiting of the Adonis legend in which the balletic movement vocabulary and neoclassical choreographic techniques were interspersed with scenes in which a narrator alternated the words of Arab poets with riffs on his soprano saxophone

Review Of Rumba: Dance And Social Change In Contemporary Cuba By Y. Daniel

Daniels (dance and anthropology, Smith College) has written an informative account that includes a brief overview of the development of rumba and focuses on the period from 1985 to 1990. Writing from the perspective of a participant-observer, she discusses the social, political, economic, and religious conditions that influence the dance and the meaning attributed to rumba. Her engaging writing is augmented by interviews with Cuban rumberos, the texts of traditional rumba songs, and well-chosen quotes from the work of other scholars. Her extensive bibliography and detailed chapter notes will be useful to those who wish to explore the subject in greater detail. Also included is an appendix illustrating several rumba steps in labanotation. Recommended for upper-level undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars in the dance field, as well as practitioners of rumba

Review Of Il Ballarino: 16th Century Step Vocabulary And Dances By J. Sutton And J. Holub

This is the first commercially available instructional videotape on Renaissance court dance. Producer and director Julia Sutton is a renowned historical dance scholar whose recent (1986) translation of Fabritio Caroso\u27s Nobilta Di Dame (1600) is the basis for much of the material on this tape. Illustrations of appropriate paintings, drawings, texts, and musical scores of the period accompany Sutton\u27s narration and set the context for understanding these dances as an aspect of courtly conduct. First, a couple in modified rehearsal dress demonstrates typical steps and step patterns described by Cesare Negri and Fabritio Caroso, famous Italian dancing masters of the Renaissance. Step names are written on screen and a voice-over of Sutton\u27s comments concerning technique and stylistic choices accompanies the demonstration. Care is taken to point out details regarding performance practice. Later, three fully costumed reconstructions that Sutton has directed are shown. The presentation is technically simple and appropriate. Single camera recording, which includes both front and back views of the steps, is combined with regular use of close-ups to illustrate salient technical points. The onscreen labeling of steps is useful and, for the most part, does not interfere with the viewer\u27s sense of the dance as a whole. This tape will be particularly helpful to those involved in the study of dance, music, and theater of this period

Review Of The Grand Union: Accidental Anarchists Of Downtown Dance, 1970–1976 By W. Perron

In this readable book, Perron (former editor in chief of Dance Magazine) investigates the impactful six-year history (1970–76) of the New York City–based dance improvisation collective Grand Union. As a young person Perron attended many Grand Union events, and she brings to the book that early influence as well as her 40-year history of choreographing, dancing, and editing. She draws effectively on interviews of former Grand Union members and of others from the downtown dance community. Writings of other critics, performers, and artists in several disciplines deepen the discussion. The book explores the creation of Grand Union and early influences on the group; profiles each dancer; chronicles both early and later performances; and considers several overarching questions about leadership, gender, and innovations in the group. Brief interludes throughout provide commentary on parallel improvisation methods and groups active during the same period. Perron makes excellent use of archival videos by analyzing a number of performances in detail. Also included are a full chronology of Grand Union performances, a partial playlist of music for performances, thorough notes, and a helpful bibliography. This is a robust remembrance and reflection. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals

Review Of Dance And The Hollywood Latina: Race, Sex, And Stardom By P. P. Ovalle

This is Ovalle\u27s first book, and in it she effectively applies a cross-disciplinary approach to develop her premise that Latina performers in Hollywood have mediated complex racial and sexual ideologies through their employment of dance. Focusing on the careers of five Latina stars--Dolores Del Rio, Carmen Miranda, Rita Hayworth, Rita Moreno, and Jennifer Lopez--and spanning the period from the 1920s through 2000s, Ovalle (film and media studies, Univ. of Oregon) investigates ways that various national, racial, and gender myths developed as a result of the roles each of these women inhabited on-screen. The author devotes one chapter to each woman\u27s career. Using archival materials and textual analysis, she demonstrates how images shift over time and also reveal some retention of stereotypes. Moreno and Lopez were able to push beyond previous limits in the new global media marketplace. Ovalle introduces notions of inbetween-ness and racial mobility, both of which she employs to confirm ways these women expanded their agency through their dancing. Including helpful notes and an excellent bibliography, this book should be a good resource for those interested in dance, film, and media studies and in gender, race, and sexuality studies. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and above

Review Of Rhythm And Life: The Work Of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze By I. Spector

Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950), an eminent Swiss musician, has been the subject of several biographical works. Spector presents a respectful chronicle of Dalcroze\u27s life as seen through a thorough study of his work as a music educator and composer. The author explains Dalcroze\u27s “Rhythmique” system and the relationship of its development to the musical and political environments in Europe from the early 1900s through the 1940s. Care is also taken to demonstrate the ways that the three elements of the system (movement, ear training, and improvisation) are integrated in practical use. Particularly useful chapters are included about “Rhythmique” schools in Hellerau, Germany (1910-14) and in Geneva, Switzerland (1914-24). Spector also chronicles the growth of the system around the world during the latter half of this century. Appendixes include an essay, “Jaques-Dalcroze as Music Educator” by Maria Adama van Scheltema, and five examples of Dalcroze scores. There are numerous black-and-white photographs and drawings and an extensive bibliography

Review Of Somewhere: The Life Of Jerome Robbins By A. Vaill

Known for her biography of Gerald and Sara Murphy, Everybody Was So Young (CH, Apr\u2799, 36-4274), Vaill tackles another kind of love story here. First and foremost, this is a tale of American choreographer/director/dancer Jerome Robbins\u27s tumultuous relationship with his work over the course of his long, productive career. But one also learns about the many ways Robbins\u27s personal life, particularly his love affairs (heterosexual and homosexual), impacted his choreography. Vaill follows Robbins (1937-98) from his beginning amateur forays through his mature development as one of the most noted ballet, musical theater, and Hollywood artists in the US. Her careful research and access to Robbins\u27s papers result in a book that gives a full reading of circumstances surrounding the creation of many of Robbins\u27s masterworks, including such musicals as The King and I, West Side Story, and Fiddler on the Roof and such ballets as Afternoon of a Faun, Watermill, and Goldberg Variations, which helped define neoclassic American ballet. Vaill is not a dance historian or critic, so those interested in analysis of Robbins\u27s choreography should turn to Arlene Croce, Deborah Jowitt, or Marcia Siegel. But generalists will appreciate the useful light Vaill casts on the work of this multifaceted genius. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-/lower-division undergraduates; general readers

Review Of Music For The Dance: Reflections On A Collaborative Art By K. Teck

Teck explores the creation and performance of music for ballet, modern concert dance, and musical theater dance in 20th-century America. The author writes from her perspective as a professional musician with a graduate degree in composition and extensive experience as an accompanist for dance. Dividing her study into four sections (Creation, Performance, Silent Artists Speak, and Toward the Future), Teck investigates issues that arise in music and dance collaborations. She presents personal interviews with composers, choreographers, conductors, and performers of both music and dance along with her own reflections on a number of interesting and rarely addressed issues. Two of the most engaging are What is musicality in a dancer, and How does one obtain new music for choreography? Readers seeking more information also might see E. Sawyer\u27s Dance with the Music: The World of the Ballet Musician (CH, Feb\u2787). Teck is preparing two companion volumes, Music in the Dance Studio and Music in the Training of Dancers, which should be welcome additions to the literature. Recommended for undergraduates, community college students, and general readers

Review Of Why We Dance: A Philosophy Of Bodily Becoming By K. L. LaMothe

This book, LaMothe\u27s fifth, weaves together current concerns in dance, philosophy, psychology, and religion. The author examines why people dance, what dance is, and why everyone should do it. She suggests dance can play a central role in reversing humanity’s currently hazardous path toward ecological destruction and therefore self-destruction. Referencing a variety of disciplines and authors from a wide range of fields, LaMothe organizes her vision of dance around three principles: through dance one creates and becomes patterns of sensation and response ; dancing creates a sensory awareness of participation in it; in dancing one attends consciously to one’s movements and, therefore, to the evolving challenges of each moment. The author argues that this sensory attention to the moment is precisely what is lacking in overmediated 21st-century lives. In addition, LaMothe claims that participation in the minute-by-minute sensory presence dancing provides is a biological, ethical, spiritual, and ecological necessity. Through dancing, she posits, one can understand and transform the self, the communities in which one lives and participates, and the larger world. The chapters alternate between theory and personal narrative, providing readers with both challenge and balance. The audience for this volume extends to specialists interested in ecology, feminist studies, and religion. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, professionals