Dancing in the Dash tells the inspiring and compelling story of a woman whose experiences have taken her around the world. Lauri Fitz-Pegado has had a remarkable life performing in the arts, embracing activism and advocacy, and working in the world of policy, politics, and diplomacy. She became a career diplomat, a presidential appointee in the Clinton Administration at the Department of Commerce under Secretary Ron Brown, and she met with renowned world leaders. Ballet provided ballast and grace throughout the rigors of her life and career, beginning with her training at the prestigious Jones-Haywood School of Ballet in Washington, DC. The author explores her life's journey, and how her training in dance helped establish the skills-balance, endurance, perseverance-that informed her approach to the challenges that she faced, both professionally and personally, as an African American woman. This memoir is particularly relevant today, during our national conversation reassessing our assumptions, our past, as well as our path forward. In telling her story, the author reveals her insights and observations about history and its consequences, about opportunity and obstacles, and about loss and redemption.

Dancers experience pain, joy, frustration, rapture, failure, applause, and are above the worldly concerns of food, money, and financial security. They live only to dance. Or do they? The reality is dancers of all ages, types, and skill levels often experience incredible physical and psychological stress and have traditionally bore their pain in stoic silence. In this much needed new book, Dance Magazine's Linda Hamilton offers dancers the same type of advice and understanding they have come to trust from her popular monthly column. Psychologist Hamilton--a former dancer with New York City Ballet under the legendary George Balanchine--offers a complete resource for coping with the day to day pressures of being a dancer. Page after page is filled with the insight that can only come from a person who has been intimately involved in the world of dance. Hamilton outlines strategies for dancers for dealing with a variety of common physical and psychological issues and shows how to be true to your passion and bring back the joy in dancing. The book is filled with answers to dancer's most often asked questions and offers practical methods for dealing with such difficult problems as eating disorders, substance abuse, ruthless competition, and performance anxiety. Advice for Dancers will teach you how to: Achieve you physical potential and select the dance technique that's right for you Find out which teaching practices you can trust and why Learn how to reach your optimal weight without compromising your energy, health, and career Develop healthy relationships both inside and outside the dance studio Use a variety of resources to get work, roles, and promotions Perform technical feats in front of an audience even when you are frightened Advice for Dancers is a result of Hamiltion's extensive research and years clinical work with dancers and includes information for a survey of more that 1,000 dancers from across the country.

Given that touch and touching is so central to everyday embodied existence, why has it been largely ignored by social scientists for so long? What is the place of touch in our mixed spaces of sociality, work, domesticity, recreation, creativity or care? What conceptual resources and academic languages can we reach towards when approaching tactile activities and somatic experiences through the body? How is this tactile landscape gendered? How is touch becoming revisited and revalidated in late capitalism through animal encounters, tourism, massage, beauty treatments, professional medicine, everyday spiritualities or the aseptic touch-free spaces of automated toilets? How is touch placed and valued within scholarly fieldwork and research itself, integral as it is to the production of embodied epistemologies? How is touch involved in such aesthetic experiences as shaping objects in sand, or encountering fleshly bodies within a painting? The goal of this edited collection, Touching Space, Placing Touch is twofold: 1. To further advance theoretical and empirical understanding of touch in social science scholarship by focussing on the differential social and cultural meanings of touching and the places of touch. 2. To develop a multi-faceted and interdisciplinary explanations of touch in terms of individual and social life, personal experiences and tasks, and their related cultural contexts. The twelve essays in this volume provide a rich combination of theoretical resources, methodological approaches and empirical investigation. Each chapter takes a distinct aspect of touch within a particular spatial context, exploring this through a mixture of sustained empirical work, critical theories of embodiment, philosophical and psychoanalytic approaches to gendered touch and touching, or the relationship between visual and non-visual culture, to articulate something of the variety and variability of touching experiences. The contributors are a mixture of established and emerging researchers within a growing interdisciplinary field of scholarship, yet the volume has a strong thematic identity and therefore represents the formative collection concerning the multiple senses of touch within social science scholarship at this time.

"Beyond the Shadows: Conquering Overthinking and Embracing a Life of Empowerment" is a deeply personal and transformative journey of self-discovery and growth. In this inspiring and empowering book, Alexis Jose Cabauatan shares his story of overcoming the shadows of overthinking, finding resilience in the face of adversity, and embracing a life of empowerment. The book takes readers on a profound exploration of the human mind and the impact of overthinking on one's life. Alexis candidly reflects on his struggles with overthinking, revealing the inner battles and self-limiting beliefs that once held him back. With vulnerability and authenticity, he shares the turning points that sparked his journey to conquer overthinking and embrace empowerment. Drawing from personal experiences and insights, Alexis offers practical strategies and empowering perspectives to help readers navigate their journey of self-discovery. He delves into the power of mindset, self-compassion, and embracing vulnerability as key elements in conquering overthinking and fostering resilience. Through inspiring anecdotes and thought-provoking reflections, readers are invited to embrace life's uncertainties, find strength in their vulnerability, and discover the courage to step into their power. Alexis also shares his experiences of advocating for mental health and disabilities, emphasizing the importance of fostering inclusivity and creating a compassionate world. With each turn of the page, readers are encouraged to rise above the shadows of overthinking and embrace the beauty of empowerment. The book celebrates the transformative journey of growth, resilience, and the triumph of the human spirit. "Beyond the Shadows: Conquering Overthinking and Embracing a Life of Empowerment" is a heartfelt testament to the human capacity for resilience, the power of vulnerability, and the beauty of embracing one's unique journey. It serves as a guiding light for those seeking to conquer overthinking, cultivate self-compassion, and step into the fullness of their true potential. Throughout the book, Alexis Jose Cabauatan invites readers to embark on a journey of self-discovery and personal empowerment, offering valuable insights and practical tools to inspire a life beyond the shadows of overthinking. It is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of embracing empowerment. As readers journey through the pages of "Beyond the Shadows," they are reminded that they are not alone in their struggles and that the path to empowerment is within reach. The book encourages readers to celebrate their unique strengths, embrace their vulnerabilities, and step into a life that flourishes beyond the confines of overthinking. Ultimately, "Beyond the Shadows: Conquering Overthinking and Embracing a Life of Empowerment" is a heartfelt call to action—an invitation to break free from the shadows that limit us, discover the beauty of vulnerability, and embrace the boundless potential that lies within each of us. It is a journey of love, resilience, and empowerment that leaves readers feeling inspired, hopeful, and ready to embrace their transformative path.

Is stripping good or bad for the women who do it? According to sociologist Mindy S. Bradley-Engen, there's no simple answer. An exotic dancer's experiences can be both empowering and degrading: at times a dancer can feel like a goddess, at times ashamed and dirty. Drawing on extensive interviews as well as her own experiences as an exotic dancer, Bradley-Engen shows that strippers' work experiences are shaped by the types of establishments—the different worlds—in which they work. A typology of strip clubs emerges: the hustle club, the show club, and the social club, each with its own distinct culture, expectations, and challenges, each creating circumstances in which stripping can be good, bad, or indifferent. Going beyond the warring rhetorics of exploitation and empowerment, this book provides a rich and complex account of the realities of exotic dance and offers a fascinating, thought-provoking consideration for both academics and general readers.