On Careers

Passionate Work: Choreographing a Career, by Ruth Horowitz

Artists on Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography, edited by Tonya Lockyer

Ballet Somatics, by Deidre Neal

These three books explore career paths through multiple lenses. New York University sociology professor emerita Ruth Horowitz took a deep dive into the careers of dancers in Passionate Work: Choreographing a Career. Through 87 interviews, she studied the career trajectories of corps de ballet members and dancers working for multiple artists to patchwork a career. This is an exploration of passion, work, rewards, and challenges. 

Capturing the administrative side of the art form, Tonya Lockyer edited the volume Artists on Creative Administration. Thirty artists from various regions of the country and varying-sized organizations put words on paper—an expansion of the incredible work going on at the National Center for Choreography and its Creative Administration Research Initiative. 

In Ballet Somatics, Deidre Neal shares a fresh approach to ballet training and careers. The book includes a window into the mechanics of steps and anatomy. Neal also describes her journey using a holistic lens for becoming a ballerina and shares her teaching philosophy. It’s an ideal read for ballet teachers reflecting on their own teaching practice.

On Legacy 

Edges of Ailey, edited by Adrienne Edwards

The Simonson Legacy, by Jeanne Donohue

The Essential Jill Johnston Reader, edited by Clare Croft

Jill Johnston in Motion: Dance, Writing, and Lesbian Life, by Clare Croft

Four books capture and document the contributions of two dancers and one dance writer: Alvin Ailey, Lynn Simonson, and Jill Johnston. 

In conjunction with the exhibit of the same title at the Whitney Museum of American Art—running until February 9, 2025—Edges of Ailey is a hefty 388-page archive of Ailey’s work with over 400 hundred images, plus essays. The book deepens our understanding of Ailey and his wide influence and longstanding impact on the field. 

Another sizable volume, The Simonson Legacy (348 pages) is a rich archive of the career and impact of Lynn Simonson. With a wealth of photographs throughout, the book chronicles her career, teacher training program, and close colleagues. 

This year also brought not one but two books by University of Michigan professor Clare Croft about dance writer Jill Johnston. One book is Croft’s writing on Johnston; the second is an edited volume of Johnston’s work. At this moment in time as we reflect on the role of the dance critic in our field, learning about Jill Johnston and her 20 years at the Village Voice offers a great starting point for personal reflection. Johnston was an essential voice in dance criticism as well as in the women’s and gay rights movements. 

On Choreographing

Dancers: Choreographers in Dialogue, by Ingo Shaefer

You, the Choreographer: Creating and Crafting Dance, by Vladimir Angelov

Two books inspire and nurture us as artmakers. Photographer and author Ingo Shaefer invites us into conversations with eight contemporary ballet choreographers. This contemporary-specific lens is great for students and aspiring choreographers alike. 

You, the Choreographer is a 500-plus-page textbook and reference book for professors and students. The book begins with chapters on dance history and builds choreographic questions from there. Then, the book heads into the elements of dance, choreographic tools, and design elements. Exercises and activities are detailed throughout.

Capturing History

Ageless Dancers, by Betti Franceschi

Dance History(s): Imagination as a Form of Study, edited by Thomas F. DeFrantz and Annie-B Parson

Two more books help us explore dance history wonderfully through living, embodied histories. Artist Betti Franceschi captured 40 dancers in photos in Ageless Dancers, ranging in age from 62 to 101. The book is an artistic tribute celebrating longevity, the moving body, and beauty and grace across the generations. 

In Dance History(s): Imagination as a Form of Study, we are invited into the world of 12 artists as they examine and reimagine what “dance history” is. Delightfully, this title comes in the form of 12 separate booklets, inviting the reader into worlds of artmaking. Artists you’ll hear from include Bebe Miller, Okwui Okpokwasili, and Thomas F. DeFrantz.

Capturing the Experience

Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through the Dancefloor, by Emma Warren

Now in paperback, Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through the Dancefloor brings us back to our most essential ideas of embodiment, rhythm, and physical spaces. Author Emma Warren’s pandemic-era research turned into an in-depth volume that follows personal passions and impulses, primarily on European dancefloors. 

Indeed, 2024 was a year filled with so many exciting new writing contributions to the dance field. 

Be sure to also check out the eight books we highlighted earlier this summer here.