"Tomko blazes a new trail in dance scholarship by interconnecting U.S. History and dance studies. . . . the first to argue successfully that middle-class U.S. women promoted a new dance practice to manage industrial changes, crowded urban living, massive immigration, and interchange and repositioning among different classes." —Choice From salons to dance halls to settlement houses, new dance practices at the turn of the century became a vehicle for expressing cultural issues and negotiating matters of gender. By examining master narratives of modern dance history, this provocative and insightful book demonstrates the cultural agency of Progressive-era dance practices.

Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. Sophie loves to dance. She dreams of being a ballerina, and when she receives ballet lessons for her birthday, she hopes her wish to be a real dancer one day might really come true.

Rake, drunkard, aesthete, gossip, raconteur extraordinaire: the narrator of Bohumil Hrabal’s rambling, rambunctious masterpiece Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age is all these and more. Speaking to a group of sunbathing women who remind him of lovers past, this elderly roué tells the story of his life—or at least unburdens himself of a lifetime’s worth of stories. Thus we learn of amatory conquests (and humiliations), of scandals both private and public, of military adventures and domestic feuds, of what things were like “in the days of the monarchy” and how they’ve changed since. As the book tumbles restlessly forward, and the comic tone takes on darker shadings, we realize we are listening to a man talking as much out of desperation as from exuberance. Hrabal, one of the great Czech writers of the twentieth century, as well as an inveterate haunter of Prague’s pubs and football stadiums, developed a unique method which he termed “palavering,” whereby characters gab and soliloquize with abandon. Part drunken boast, part soul-rending confession, part metaphysical poem on the nature of love and time, this astonishing novel (which unfolds in a single monumental sentence) shows why he has earned the admiration of such writers as Milan Kundera, John Banville, and Louise Erdrich.

Polly Go Lightly practices her ballet positions and dreams of dancing on the big stage.

A highly illustrated reference to all aspects of jazz dance by one of the art's most respected teachers.

The reissue of a classic first storybook to celebrate Helen Oxenbury's work. A little girl is taken to her first dance class. Her mum buys her some ballet shoes and a pair of baggy tights, and ties her hair into a bun. The girl bounces about with all the other girls and boys and just as things get exciting, her laces come undone and everyone falls down. A warm and funny depiction of a girl’s first experience of a dance class and her delight in galloping about with her classmates. Helen Oxenbury’s First Storybooks perfectly describe the small but memorable events of childhood. The words are a delight and are perfect for reading aloud, while the pictures offer warm, affectionate visions of a child’s world, which parents and children will instantly recognize and love.

Ariel wishes she could dance like the people she sees on land, but she realizes there are ways she can dance underwater, and soon she is teaching all her undersea friends how they can do so too. On board pages.

This look at Progressive-era women and innovative cultural practices “blazes a new trail in dance scholarship” (Choice, Outstanding Academic Book of the Year). From salons to dance halls to settlement houses, new dance practices at the turn of the twentieth century became a vehicle for expressing cultural issues and negotiating matters of gender. By examining master narratives of modern dance history, this provocative and insightful book demonstrates the cultural agency of Progressive-era dance practices. “Tomko blazes a new trail in dance scholarship by interconnecting U.S. History and dance studies . . . the first to argue successfully that middle-class U.S. women promoted a new dance practice to manage industrial changes, crowded urban living, massive immigration, and interchange and repositioning among different classes.” —Choice

When an alligator shows up to class one day, Mrs. Iraina and her ballet students are very suprised. But she is able to follow along, so they decide it's okay for her to join. The class starts calling her Tanya and even creates a new dance to showcase her larger-than-life talents and big, swishy tail: "The Legend of the Swamp Queen." Tanya has the starring role.

Today is Emily's first dance class.