Making Video Dance

Since the advent of digital video technology, ’dance on camera’ has become an increasingly popular, and important genre of dance. This is the first ever ’how-to’ manual for choreographers, dancers and students who want to make dance films. Specifically written from a personal experience of a complete lack of printed material to help beginners get started, Katrina McPherson has produced an exemplary text which combines practical help with aesthetic discussion in an anecdotal and accessible style. Making Video Dance includes: exercises to be used inside, or outside the classroom a production diary interviews with leading practitioners on both sides of the camera. Also including a glossary of terms, anyone involved in making dance videos needs this helpful and remarkable book.

Names: McPherson, Katrina, author. Title: Making video dance : a step-by-step guide to creating dance for the screen / Katrina McPherson. Description: Second edition. | Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018020888| ISBN 9781138699120 (hardback ; alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138699137 (pbk. ; alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315452654 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Dance in motion pictures, television, etc.--Production and direction--Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Video recordings--Production and direction--Handbooks, manuals, etc. | LCGFT: Handbooks and manuals. Classification: LCC GV1779 .M36 2019 | DDC 792.8--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018020888

The practice of dance and the technologies of representation has excited artists since the advent of film. This book weaves together theory from art and dance as well as appropriate historical reference material to propose a new theory of screendance, one that frames it within the discourse of post-modern art practice.

Virtually everyone working in dance today uses electronic media technology. Envisioning Dance on Film and Video chronicles this 100-year history and gives readers new insight on how dance creatively exploits the art and craft of film and video. In fifty-three essays, choreographers, filmmakers, critics and collaborating artists explore all aspects of the process of rendering a three-dimensional art form in two-dimensional electronic media. Many of these essays are illustrated by ninety-three photographs and a two-hour DVD (40 video excerpts). A project of UCLA – Center for Intercultural Performance, made possible through The Pew Charitable Trusts (www.wac.ucla.edu/cip).

This poetic and uplifting picture book illustrated by the #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines follows a young girl born with cerebral palsy as she pursues her dream of becoming a dancer. Like many young girls, Eva longs to dance. But unlike many would-be dancers, Eva has cerebral palsy. She doesn’t know what dance looks like for someone who uses a wheelchair. Then Eva learns of a place that has created a class for dancers of all abilities. Her first movements in the studio are tentative, but with the encouragement of her instructor and fellow students, Eva becomes more confident. Eva knows she’s found a place where she belongs. At last her dream of dancing has come true.

Making Music for Modern Dance traces the collaborative approaches, working procedures, and aesthetic views of the artists who forged a new and distinctly American art form during the first half of the 20th century. The book offers riveting first-hand accounts from innovative artists in the throes of their creative careers and provides a cross-section of the challenges faced by modern choreographers and composers in America. These articles are complemented by excerpts from astute observers of the music and dance scene as well as by retrospective evaluations of past collaborative practices. Beginning with the careers of pioneers Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn, and continuing through the avant-garde work of John Cage for Merce Cunningham, the book offers insights into the development of modern dance in relation to its music. Editor Katherine Teck's introductions and afterword offer historical context and tie the artists' essays in with collaborative practices in our own time. The substantive notes suggest further materials of interest to students, practicing dance artists and musicians, dance and music history scholars, and to all who appreciate dance.

Dancefilm: Choreography and the Moving Image examines the choreographic in cinema - the way choreographic elements inform cinematic operations in dancefilm. It traces the history of the form from some of its earliest manifestations in the silent film era, through the historic avant-garde, musicals and music videos to contemporary experimental short dancefilms. In so doing it also examines some of the most significant collaborations between dancers, choreographers, and filmmakers. The book also sets out to examine and rethink the parameters of dancefilm and thereby re-conceive the relations between dance and cinema. Dancefilm is understood as a modality that challenges familiar models of cinematic motion through its relation to the body, movement and time, instigating new categories of filmic performance and creating spectatorial experiences that are grounded in the somatic. Drawing on debates in both film theory (in particular ideas of gesture, the close up, and affect) and dance theory (concepts such as radical phrasing, the gestural anacrusis and somatic intelligence) and bringing these two fields into dialogue, the book argues that the combination of dance and film produces cine-choreographic practices that are specific to the dancefilm form. The book thus presents new models of cinematic movement that are both historically informed and thoroughly interdisciplinary.

Dance Production: Design and Technology, Second Edition is an introduction to the skills needed to plan, design, and execute the technical aspects of a dance production. Covering a broad range of topics, author Jeromy Hopgood takes the reader through the process of producing dance from start to finish. Part I addresses the collaborative process, business and organizational concerns for dance companies, planning the production, and the relationship between dance and performance spaces/staging methods. In Part II, each unique production area is examined, including production and stage management, sound, costume and makeup, scenery and props, lighting, and projection/video design. Each design area is divided into two chapters – the first introducing key concepts, and the second focusing on the process of creating the design. Part III brings back the popular quick reference guides from the first edition, providing an expanded and revised tool to bridge the language gap between the worlds of theatrical production and dance, and ensure productive communication across the different fields. This second edition features updated information on technology and processes, two new chapters on touring and non-traditional productions, more information on arts management within dance production, a comprehensive look at dance and video (including remote/streaming performances, as well as dance film), and additional chapter projects throughout the book. This unique book approaches the process of staging a dance production from a balanced perspective, making it an essential resource for choreographers, theatre designers, dancers, and management personnel alike, including for use in Dance and Dance Production courses.