While many productions of The Nutcracker, traditional or unconventional, are still going strong across the country, this weekend also saw countless Claras and Maries waving good-bye to the Land of Sweets for the very last time this year. And let’s be real here: the post-Nutcracker blues are a struggle like no other. We know your […]
Jitterbugs! A Dance-Along Story Inspired by Real American Jitterbugs. by Margot Toppen and illustrated by Karen Light EduMotion LLC; 32 pages; $17.99 Younger students will love learning about real-life 1930s Lindy Hop dancers George Snowden and Beatrice Gay in this fun, bright storybook. You’ll enjoy the bonus materials (like common core lesson plans) available on […]
Playing to Win: Raising Children in a Competitive Culture by Hilary Levey Friedman 298 pages, $29.95 For her book Playing to Win, Harvard graduate Hilary Levey Friedman spent nine months observing competitive dance through the lens of two Boston-area dance studios (I.D.-ed with pseudonyms). The question on her mind: Does involvement in a win-or-lose culture […]
Come home Charley Patton By Ralph Lemon Wesleyan University Press, 2013 240 pages In the final installment of his Geography trilogy, acclaimed modern choreographer, visual artist and author Ralph Lemon documents his artistic process. Come home Charley Patton revolves around a road trip Lemon takes with his daughter as research for his next dance piece, […]
When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky: Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot By Lauren Stringer 30 pages One hundred years ago, the Ballets Russes debuted a ballet so radical, the audience disintegrated into an angry, brawling mob. On that day in 1913, The Rite of Spring, brightly illustrated in Lauren Stringer’s children’s book, When Stravinsky […]
by Nola Nolen Holland Human Kinetics, 2013 e-book $22, paperback $39 Several textbooks have been written for beginner music theory students, but very few are tailored specifically to dancers. In Music Fundamentals for Dance (123 pages), author Nola Holland, assistant professor of dance and music theory at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, relates musical concepts […]
By Tim Federle Simon & Schuster, 2013 275 pages, $16.99 “Macaroni and cheese is still my favorite food—how would I know who I want to hook up with?” That’s Nate Foster, the 13-year-old protagonist of Tim Federle’s young readers novel, Better Nate Than Ever, responding to a bully who taunts him about his sexuality. Whether […]
Pilates Anatomy: Your illustrated guide to mat work for core stability and balance By Rael Isacowitz and Karen Clippinger Human Kinetics, 2011 204 pages Ideal for a Pilates instructor or general practitioner, Pilates Anatomy is an informative and comprehensive guide to the technique. Examining movement from the inside out, the book shows which muscles are […]
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 […]
Introduction to Modern Dance Techniques by Joshua Legg Princeton Book Company, 2011 252 pages, $34.95 Ideal for an undergraduate dance history or pedagogy course, Introduction to Modern Dance Techniques explores the work of more than 10 modern dance choreographers, including Martha Graham, José Limón, Lester Horton, Katherine Dunham and Erick Hawkins. The book highlights the […]