La Volta (1550s) (“the turn”) La volta was a 16th-century court dance for couples that called for intimate embraces and high jumps that tested the standards of propriety. It became more respectable after Queen Elizabeth I danced it. The Waltz (1810s) Though tame by today’s standards, the close embrace and continuous looping feeling from the […]
Daniel Madoff and Andrea Weber in CRWDSPCR (1993) In our January issue’s History: Lesson Plan, we learn about Merce Cunningham, the creator of chance dance. Cunningham’s CRWDSPCR (1993) was created with DanceForms software, a computer program that allowed him to devise movement. The nonstop, frenetic activity recalls Grand Central Terminal at rush hour. To learn more about […]
Let your students know they can use their smartphones for more than Snapchat! Conversations on Dance isn’t just another fun app spreading dance to people who don’t know dance (as important as those are). This one is for serious, classical students. It can help young pre-professionals educate themselves on everything about ballet that isn’t covered in the studio. Ballet […]
Initially released in 1988, Mr. Bojangles: The Biography of Bill Robinson was well-reviewed but fell out of print, relegated to collectors’ shelves. Now, the full-length biography of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson has been re-released, and teachers and dance history buffs can once again get their hands on the story of the legendary tapper. Robinson (1878–1949) was known for […]
Underground Dance Masters: Final History of a Forgotten Era By Thomas Guzman-Sanchez Praeger, 2012 169 pages, $48 From the soul and funk boogaloos, to rocking, popping and power moves, Underground Dance Masters explores the evolving styles and movements that dance crews across the United States performed in the mid-1960s through the 1980s. It’s written by […]