In Reaching Beyond, Buddhist thinker and activist Daisaku Ikeda explores the origins, development,and international influence of jazz with legendary artists Herbie Hancockand Wayne Shorter.Reflecting on their lives and careers, Mr. Hancock and Mr. Shorter sharethe lessons they have learned from their musical mentors, including MilesDavis and Art Blakey, and how the Buddhist philosophy they’ve learnedfrom President Ikeda over the past forty years deeply resonates with theemancipatory spirit of jazz.These wide-ranging conversations include such thought-provoking topics as:• Music’s mission for peace in a time of discord• The importance of the artist’s spiritual growth• The Buddhist concept of changing poison into medicine• Ways to make the “ideal America” a reality for everyoneReaching Beyond offers positive new ideasfor musicians and nonmusicians alike.

V. 1. Cognitions -- v. 2. Critical theories

Interdisciplinary approach chimes with current teaching trends Each section opens with specially commissioned thinkpiece from major scholar The first reader to address improvisation from a performance studies perspective

This introductory textbook establishes theatrical improvisation as a model for Christian ethics, helping Christians embody their faith in the practices of discipleship. Clearly, accessibly, and creatively written, it has been well received as a text for courses in Christian ethics. The repackaged edition has updated language and recent relevant resources, and it includes a new afterword by Wesley Vander Lugt and Benjamin D. Wayman that explores the reception and ongoing significance of the text.

The first history of keyboard improvisation in European music in the postclassical and romantic periods, Fantasies of Improvisation: Free Playing in Nineteenth-Century Music documents practices of improvisation on the piano and the organ, with a particular emphasis on free fantasies and other forms of free playing. Case studies of performers such as Abbé Vogler, J. N. Hummel, Ignaz Moscheles, Robert Schumann, Carl Loewe, and Franz Liszt describe in detail the motives, intentions, and musical styles of the nineteenth century's leading improvisers. Grounded in primary sources, the book further discusses the reception and valuation of improvisational performances by colleagues, audiences, and critics, which prompted many keyboardists to stop improvising. Author Dana Gooley argues that amidst the decline of improvisational practices in the first half of the nineteenth century there emerged a strong and influential "idea" of improvisation as an ideal or perfect performance. This idea, spawned and nourished by romanticism, preserved the aesthetic, social, and ethical values associated with improvisation, calling into question the supposed triumph of the "work."

Free Play is about the inner sources of spontaneous creation. It is about why we create and what we learn when we do. It is about the flow of unhindered creative energy: the joy of making art in all its varied forms. An international bestseller and beloved classic, Free Play is an inspiring and provocative book, directed toward people in any field who want to contact, honor, and strengthen their own creative powers. It reveals how inspiration arises within us, how that inspiration may be blocked, derailed or obscured, and how finally it can be liberated—how we can be liberated—to speak or sing, write or paint, dance or play, with our own authentic voice. Stephen Nachmanovitch, a pioneer in free improvisation, integrates material from a wide variety of sources among the arts, sciences, and spiritual traditions of humanity, drawing on unusual quotes, amusing and illuminating anecdotes, and original metaphors. The whole enterprise of improvisation in life and art, of recovering free play and awakening creativity, is about being true to ourselves and our visions. Free Play brings us into direct, active contact with boundless creative energies that we may not even know we had.

Flashes of lightning, resounding thunder, gloomy fog, brilliant sunshine...these are the life manifestations of the skies. The concrete visceral experiences that living under those skies stir within us are the ground for individual impulses, emotions, sentiments that in their interaction generate their own ever-changing clouds. While our intellect concentrates on the discovery of our cosmic position, on the architecture of the universe, our imagination is informed by the gloomy vapors, the glimmers of fleeting light, and the glory of the skies. Reconnoitering from the soil of human life and striving towards the infinite, the elan of imagination gets caught up in the clouds of the skies. There in that dimness, sensory receptivity, dispositions, emotions, passionate strivings, yearnings, elevations gather and propagate. From the “Passions of the Skies” spring innermost intuitions that nourish literature and the arts.​

Because mask improvisation work is relatively new in American theater training, this book is designed not only to acquaint readers with the theory of mask improvisation but to instruct them in the techniques of method as well. Featuring dozens of improvisational exercises in the innovative spirit of Viola Spolin, and supplemented with practical appendices on mask design and construction, forms and checklists, and other classroom materials, this book is an invaluable tool for teacher and student alike, as well as compelling reading for anyone interested in acquiring a deeper understanding of masks as agents of transformation, creativity, and performance.

Dance Improvisations: Warm-Ups, Games and Choreographic Tasks will provide assistance with any doubts that dancers and teachers might have with improvisation. This practical book promotes creativity that can lead to innovative breakthroughs among students from middle school age through college. With Dance Improvisations: Warm-Ups, Games and Choreographic Tasks, you receive • expert instruction in planning, teaching, and assessing students’ improvisations; • 73 activities in creating movement and material for choreographing dances; • a glossary of dance and choreographic terms; and • extensions of each improv to aid further exploration and development of the improvisation skills. The activities support all portions of your class—including improvisation lessons that you can use as warm-ups, games that stimulate creativity, and choreographic tasks for creating movement material. Each activity has been tested and refined by the author, a veteran dance instructor and choreographer. You can use the improvs individually in a lesson or use them in developing entire lesson plans. The step-by-step instruction and teaching tips that you receive save you valuable preparation time—and the instructions are clear enough that more experienced students can use the book to practice on their own. With Dance Improvisations: Warm-Ups, Games and Choreographic Tasks, you will find new ways to help your dancers create original movements through both individual and group activities. Your students will hone their creative responses, and the innovation and energy in your dance classes will fill your studio or classroom. Students will blossom and gain inspiration using these improvisations as they learn how to develop movement and choreograph studies.