Folk dancing Books
Berghahn Books Embodied Communities: Dance Traditions and Change
Book Synopsis Court dance in Java has changed from a colonial ceremonial tradition into a national artistic classicism. Central to this general transformation has been dance’s role in personal transformation, developing appropriate forms of everyday behaviour and strengthening the powers of persuasion that come from the skillful manipulation of both physical and verbal forms of politeness. This account of dance’s significance in performance and in everyday life draws on extensive research, including dance training in Java, and builds on how practitioners interpret and explain the repertoire. The Javanese case is contextualized in relation to social values, religion, philosophy, and commoditization arising from tourism. It also raises fundamental questions about the theorization of culture, society and the body during a period of radical change.Trade Review “Even if it is rather demanding, Hughes-Freeland’s study makes for highly rewarding reading.” · JRAI “The book is carefully constructed…we can learn a lot from it [which] may well be due to its robust empiricism.” · Social Anthropology/Anthropologie sociale “This book attempts a much more comprehensive consideration of dance in its cultural, social, and historical contexts than most and the author should be commended not only for this ambitious approach but also for keeping ethnographic method as the foundation of the research… the world of dance scholarship, anthropology, performance studies, and Indonesian studies are the better for this book which is, in important ways, remarkable." · American Ethnologist "This is a valuable addition to the literature on performance in Southeast Asia, on dance history, and on culture change in general … a very timely and important work … the quality of its prose, the depth of research involved make it a unique contribution to dance scholarship." · Hélène Bouvier, CNRS, ParisTable of Contents List of Figures and tables Preface and Acknowledgements A Note on Spelling and Other Matters Abbreviations Chapter 1. Introduction: Dance, Culture, and Embodiment Chapter 2. Before the Nation: The Heyday of Court Dance Chapter 3. From Colony to Nation: Dance in the Reign of Haengkubuwana IX Chapter 4. Embodying Culture: Dance as Education Chapter 5. Performance and Symbolism: Bedhaya and the Poetics of Power Chapter 6. The Art of Dancing: Joged Matatam Chapter 7. Changing Styles of Patronage: Tourism and Commoditization Chapter 8. Conclusion: Embodies Communities in the Nation State Appendices I Appendices II Appendices II Glossary Bibliography Index
£89.10
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Illicit Worlds of Indian Dance: Cultures of
Book SynopsisUntil the 1930s no woman could perform in public and retain respectability in India. Professional female performers were courtesans and dancing girls who lived beyond the confines of marriage, but were often powerful figures in social and cultural life. Women's roles were often also taken by boys and men, some of whom were simply female impersonators, others transgender. Since the late nineteenth century the status, livelihood and identity of these performers have all diminished, with the result that many of them have become involved in sexual transactions and sexualised performances. Meanwhile, upper-class, upper-caste women have taken control of the classical performing arts and also entered the film industry, while a Bollywood dance and fitness craze has recently swept middle class India. In her historical on-the-ground study, Anna Morcom investigates the emergence of illicit worlds of dance in the shadow of India's official performing arts. She explores over a century of marginalisation of courtesans, dancing girls, bar girls and transgender performers, and de- scribes their lives as they struggle with stigmatisation, derision and loss of livelihood.Trade Review'Anna Morcom's extraordinarily compelling book represents one of the most significant interventions in the study of dance in contemporary South Asia. Masterfully bridging discourses on class, gender, globalization, economics, morality, and aesthetics, it effectively foregrounds the forms of inequality and power at work in the production, consumption, and politicization of dance in today's India.' - Davesh Soneji, McGill University, author of Unfinished Gestures: Devadasis, Memory and Modernity in South India 'This is a remarkable book, of great originality, rigour, and importance in the study of modern Indian popular culture. Combining extensive fieldwork, archival research, and astute interpretation, Morcom presents a rich exploration of the contradictory effects of modernity, nationalism, and bourgeois values on a diverse range of Indian dance traditions, old and new.' - Peter Manuel, Professor, Graduate Center of the City University of New York 'A hugely valuable addition to the literature on the performing arts in India, focusing as it does on communities of highly marginalized dancers who have received scant academic attention. Illicit Worlds of Indian Dance deals with a wide-ranging set of dance sectors including female hereditary performers, bar dancers, transgender erotic performers and kothi dancers, interpreting the author's rich ethnographic detail through a variety of theoretical lenses. On all counts, a very welcome and timely scholarly contribution.' - Prabha Kotiswaran, Senior Lecturer in Criminal Law, King's College London, and author of Dangerous Sex, Invisible Labor: Sex Work and the Law in India
£45.00
University of Nevada Press Basque Dance
Book SynopsisThis work aims to provide both Basque and non-Basque readers with an introduction to an ancient art form that still endures. The Basques have succeeded in preserving a rich and varied collection of folk dances. From village to village and province to province, the music, steps and costumes change, but the collective reveals the Basques' deep love of dance. There are approximately 400 distinct Basque folk dances, each with its own story and significance. Some, the more ancient ritual dances, are performed only for particular events or circumstances and initially were performed by male dancers only. Many include the use of sticks and swords that the dancers strike together as they progress through the movements of the dance. The more recent social dances derive from early celebratory dances but are today devoid of any sacred function. They are characterized by differences in style and function, and allow for dual-gender participation. Early immigrants - the founders of Basque American traditions - brought their knowledge of local dance traditions with them to the United States. These dances, as well as those performed in the Basque Country, fit into two broad categories: traditional or ritual dances and the more recent social or recreational dances. Ritual dances are those set aside for particular events and require specific circumstances and, initially, were performed by male dancers. Basque dance traditions, including the distinctive high kicks and intricate leaps that make performances so thrilling, were brought to the United States by early Basque immigrants. Today, Basque dance enjoys a vital role in Basque American communities throughout the West.
£11.35
DatASIA, Inc. Cambodian Dancers - Ancient and Modern
£39.85
DatASIA, Inc. Cambodian Dancers - Ancient and Modern
£19.90
Bohlau Verlag Diverging Ontologies in Music for Dancing:
Book Synopsis
£77.41
D.K. Print World Ltd Tantra Mantra Yantra in Dance: An Exposition of
Book SynopsisThis book explores the roots of Kathaka dance forms to reveal its their sublime and divine dimension. It discusses the concepts of Tantra and Sound and their manifestation in Kathaka. It also analyses the distinct yantra formations both in the dance as well as on the dance floor.
£28.49
Almuzara El Baile Flamenco: Una Aproximacion Historica
Book Synopsis
£16.65
The American University in Cairo Press Femininity and Dance in Egypt: Embodiment and
Book SynopsisConsidering the paradoxical position of al-raqs al-baladi or “belly dance” in Egyptian social life, as both a vibrant and a contested cultural form, this issue of Cairo Papers in Social Science considers the impact of wider socio-cultural and political forces on the marginalization of professional performers, on the one hand, and in defining the parameters for non-professional performances on the other hand. Through interviews with professional and non-professional female dancers in Egypt, it explores the relationship between al-raqs al-baladi and the dynamic cultural repertoire that produces notions of femininity and normative personhood in Egypt. As a dance that Egyptians learn in childhood, it exposes the cardinal relationship between culture and body movement. The study received the Magda al-Nowaihi Award for best graduate work on gender studies in 2010. Cairo Papers in Social Science 32/3
£24.99
