One of the most striking aspects of the cultural scene in the United States today has been the rapid growth of dance, both as a performing art and as a form of creative education. This book depicts that growth in detail and presents an accurate picture of dance in American culture today. This book examines the history and current status of dance as a performing art and also its other important functions in society. Performers seeking to explore and learn more about their art. Also a good tool for educators seeking to incorporate dance in their curriculum.

Brenda McCutchen provides an integrated approach to dance education, using four cornerstones: dancing and performing, creating and composing, historical and cultural inquiry and analysing and critiquing. She also illustrates the main developmental aspects of dance.

History of Dance, Second Edition, offers readers a panoramic view of dance from prehistory to the present. The text covers the dance forms, designs, artists, costumes, performing spaces, and accompaniments throughout the centuries and around the globe. Its investigative approach engages students in assignments and web projects that reinforce the learning from the text, and its ancillaries for both teachers and students make it easy for students to perceive, create, and respond to the history of dance. New to This Edition History of Dance retains its strong foundations from the first edition while adding these new and improved features: • An instructor guide with media literacy assignments, teaching tips, strategies for finding historical videos, and more • A test bank with hundreds of questions for creating tests and quizzes • A presentation package with hundreds of slides that present key points and graphics • A web resource with activities, extensions of chapter content, annotated links to useful websites, and study aids • Developing a Deeper Perspective assignments that encourage students to use visual or aesthetic scanning, learn and perform period dances, observe and write performance reports, develop research projects and WebQuests (Internet-based research projects), and participate in other learning activities • Experiential learning activities that help students dig deeper into the history of dance, dancers, and significant dance works and literature • Eye-catching full-color interior that adds visual appeal and brings the content to life Also new to this edition is a chapter entitled “Global Interactions: 2000–2016,” which examines dance in the 21st century. Resources and Activities The web resources and experiential learning activities promote student-centered learning and help students develop critical thinking and investigative skills.Teachers can use the experiential learning activities as extended projects to help apply the information and to use technology to make the history of dance more meaningful. Three Parts History of Dance is presented in three parts. Part I covers early dance history, beginning with prehistoric times and moving through ancient civilizations in Greece, Crete, Egypt, and Rome and up to the Renaissance. Part II explores dance from the Renaissance to the 20th century, including a chapter on dance in the United States from the 17th through 19th centuries. Part III unfolds the evolution of American dance from the 20th century to the present, examining imported influences, emerging modern dance and ballet, and new directions for both American ballet and modern dance. Chapters Each chapter focuses on the dancers and choreographers, the dances, and significant dance works and literature from the time period. Students will learn how dance design has changed through the ages and how new dance genres, forms, and styles have emerged and continue to emerge. The chapters also include special features, such as History Highlight sidebars and Time Capsule charts, to help students place dancers, events, and facts in their proper context and perspective. Vocabulary words appear at the end of each chapter, as do questions that prompt review of the chapter’s important information. The text is reader-friendly and current, and it is supported by the national standards in dance, arts education, social studies, and technology education. Through History of Dance, students will acquire a well-rounded view of dance from the dawn of time to the present day. This influential text offers students a foundation for understanding and a springboard for studying dance in the 21st century.

Dance Teaching Methods and Curriculum Design, Second Edition, presents a comprehensive model that prepares students to teach dance in school and community settings. It offers 14 dance units and many tools to help students learn to design lesson plans and units and create their own dance portfolio

Dance and Dance Drama in Education attempts to explain the arts of dance and dance drama as they take place in schools and colleges, and to relate them to other, more familiar creative arts in education. It takes into account the needs of young people in so far as they relate to these arts, and sets out to some extent to observe and to estimate the balance or lack of balance in school curricula, establishing the possible place of dance and dance drama in the education of children. Special attention is given to the place of this work in the curriculum of the Secondary Modern Girls' School, where such arts could play a most important part. The book begins by tracing the history of dance leading to the present place of dance and dance drama in education. This is followed by separate chapters on the language of movement; aims of the teacher of dance and dance drama; the link between the arts of dance and dance drama; and dance and dance drama as therapy. Subsequent chapters deal with movement, dance, and dance drama in primary and secondary schools; and work with students in a teacher training college.

This new collection of essays surveys the history of dance in an innovative and wide-ranging fashion. Editors Dils and Albright address the current dearth of comprehensive teaching material in the dance history field through the creation of a multifaceted, non-linear, yet well-structured and comprehensive survey of select moments in the development of both American and World dance. This book is illustrated with over 50 photographs, and would make an ideal text for undergraduate classes in dance ethnography, criticism or appreciation, as well as dance history—particularly those with a cross-cultural, contemporary, or an American focus. The reader is organized into four thematic sections which allow for varied and individualized course use: Thinking about Dance History: Theories and Practices, World Dance Traditions, America Dancing, and Contemporary Dance: Global Contexts. The editors have structured the readings with the understanding that contemporary theory has thoroughly questioned the discursive construction of history and the resultant canonization of certain dances, texts and points of view. The historical readings are presented in a way that encourages thoughtful analysis and allows the opportunity for critical engagement with the text. Ebook Edition Note: Ebook edition note: Five essays have been redacted, including “The Belly Dance: Ancient Ritual to Cabaret Performance,” by Shawna Helland; “Epitome of Korean Folk Dance”, by Lee Kyong-Hee; “Juba and American Minstrelsy,” by Marian Hannah Winter; “The Natural Body,” by Ann Daly; and “Butoh: ‘Twenty Years Ago We Were Crazy, Dirty, and Mad’,”by Bonnie Sue Stein. Eleven of the 41 illustrations in the book have also been redacted.