In the past decade, Vancouver dance has received tremendous acclaim nationally and internationally, as witnessed by the success of choreographer Crystal Pite and a rejuvenated Ballet BC. But this is only part of a vibrant and diverse story of contemporary movement practices in the city. In My Vancouver Dance History Peter Dickinson crafts an embodied narrative that focuses on his critical and creative collaborations with nine Vancouver-based dance artists and companies. Mixing interview excerpts with fieldwork descriptions of studio research and performance analysis, Dickinson draws on ten years of close observation to delve into the individual histories of select members of this community, while also relating the cumulative story of Vancouver dance production and performance as it has unfolded in the past decade. The voices of other invested participants interpolate this rich history, and chapters are interspersed with a series of "movement intervals" that reflect key moments in Dickinson's history as a spectator, scholar, and collaborator. In innovative ways, Dickinson suggests that when we pay attention to the larger social topography of dance practice - the sites that give rise to it, the labour that goes into it, and the professional friendships it engenders - we can properly understand dance's contributions to civic life.

The creation of this work is an invitation to step into the world of the dancer and vicariously experience the passion and motivation for the dance arts. This book’s focus centers on the power and spirituality of the dance told through the life stories of two dance artists, Magda and Gertrud Hahn. This work additionally invites the reader to celebrate the sublime and nuanced inner and outer experiences achieved through dancing. Foremost, in these pages you will accompany two sisters, who faced many challenges throughout their lives, but were sustained and inspired by their love of dance. The Hanova School of Modern Studies in Body Sculpture and the Classical Dance occurred throughout the twentieth century on three continents around the world and may be largely forgotten, but a record of the Hahn sisters’ lives may be seen as one of many important personal narratives to be read in order to understand the history and formation of the modern dance we enjoy today.

This book examines the challenges and possibilities of conducting cultural environmental history research today. Disciplinary commitments certainly influence the questions scholars ask and the ways they seek out answers, but some methodological challenges go beyond the boundaries of any one discipline. The book examines: how to account for the fact that humans are not the only actors in history yet dominate archival records; how to attend to the non-visual senses when traditional sources offer only a two-dimensional, non-sensory version of the past; how to decolonize research in and beyond the archives; and how effectively to use sources and means of communication made available in the digital age. This book will be a valuable resource for those interested in environmental history and politics, sustainable development and historical geography.

This companion consists of chapters that focus on and bring forward critical theories and productive methodologies for Indigenous art history in North America. This book makes a major and original contribution to the fields of Indigenous visual arts, professional curatorial practice, graduate-level curriculum development, and academic research. The contributors expand, create, establish and define Indigenous theoretical and methodological approaches for the production, discussion, and writing of Indigenous art histories. Bringing together scholars, curators, and artists from across the intersecting fields of Indigenous art history, critical museology, cultural studies, and curatorial practice, the companion promotes the study and dissemination of Indigenous art and stimulates new conversations on such key areas as visual sovereignty and self-determination; resurgence and resilience; land-based, embodied, and nation-specific knowledges; epistemologies and ontologies; curatorial and museological methodologies; language; decolonization and Indigenization; and collaboration, consultation, and mentorship.

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.

Meke, a traditional rhythmic dance accompanied by singing, signifies an important piece of identity for Fijians. Despite its complicated history of colonialism, racism, censorship, and religious conflict, meke remained a vital part of artistic expression and culture. Evadne Kelly performs close readings of the dance in relation to an evolving landscape, following the postcolonial reclamation that provided dancers with political agency and a strong sense of community that connected and fractured Fijians worldwide. Through extensive archival and ethnographic fieldwork in both Fiji and Canada, Kelly offers key insights into an underrepresented dance form, region, and culture. Her perceptive analysis of meke will be of interest in dance studies, postcolonial and Indigenous studies, anthropology and performance ethnography, and Pacific Island studies.

New Directions in Dance is a collection of papers presented at the Seventh Dance in Canada Conference held at the University of Waterloo, Canada, in June 1979. The book focuses on the future directions of dance and covers dance thought and expression, its physical realities, related arts, and its role in society. The topics encompass a wide range of disciplines, from choreography, semiotics, and aesthetics to criticism, psychology,history, physics, biomechanics, orthopedics, education, and computer analysis. Comprised of 19 chapters, this book begins with an introduction to Aristotle's dramatic theories and their application to the criticism of dances, particularly those with dramatic structure and/or origins. Of particular relevance are Aristotle's treatment of the aesthetic concepts of unity and causality; his definition of tragedy; the means of poetic imitation as diction and melody; and the manner of poetic imitation as dramatic with the use of spectacle. The discussion then turns to R. G. Collingwood's principles of art and whether they contain a theory of dance; some applications of linguistic and semiological concepts to theater dance; and parallel trends in the development of Expressionist painting and the genesis of modern dance in Germany. Subsequent chapters explore children as dance audience; the history of dance in Canada; the link between physics and ballet; and computer-assisted notation of dance. The final section is devoted to dance policy and education. This monograph will be of interest to dancers, dance scholars and researchers, artists, students, teachers, and others involved in the dance profession.

A proofreader realizes his power to edit the truth on a whim, in a “brilliantly original” novel by a Nobel Prize winner (Los Angeles Times Book Review). Raimundo Silva is a middle-aged, celibate clerk, proofing manuscripts for a respectable publishing house. Fluent in Portuguese, he has been assigned to work on a standard history of the country, and the twelfth-century king who laid siege to Lisbon. In a moment of subversive daring, Raimundo decides to change just one single word of text—a capricious revision that completely undoes the past. When discovered, his insolent disregard for facts appalls his employers—save for his new editor, Maria Sara. She suggests that Rainmundo take his transgressions even further. Through Rainmundo and Maria’s eyes, what transpires is an alternate view of history and a colorful reinvention of a debatable truth. It’s a serpentine journey through time where past and present converge, fact becomes myth, and fiction and reality blur—especially for Rainmundo and Maria themselves, who begin to find themselves erotically drawn to each other. “Walter Mitty has nothing on Raimundo Silva . . . this hypnotic tale is a great comic romp through history, language and the imagination.” —Publishers Weekly Translated by Giovanni Pontiero

"A piece of wood, two trucks, four wheels ... a skateboard. You start by rolling down a sidewalk, and end up rolling through life. For some the ride stops at the end of the street; for others the ride never ends. This book was written by those for whom the ride is never-ending: by the 15-year-old grom who falls asleep dreaming of skateboarding; by the 40-something "pad dad" you see at the local skatepark; by the women whose stories have never been told; and by the 73-year-old architect who didn't begin skateboarding until the age of 65. Over 170 stories and 200+ photographs. The 'everyman/everywoman' are accompanied by contributions from some 'notable' skateboarders, and other personalities from the skateboard world ... Some of the great skateboarding photographers have graciously contributed to the book."--Description from www.amazon.com

Some people travel to discover a country’s architecture; others to sample its cuisine, or experience its nature. For author Lori Henry, travel is a way to discover a country’s dances. In Dancing Through History, Henry crosses Canada’s vast physical and ethnic terrain to uncover how its various cultures have evolved through their dances. Her coast-to-coast journey takes her to Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, where she witnesses the seldom seen animist dances of the islands’ First Nation people. In the Arctic, Henry partakes in Inuit drum dancing, kept alive by a new generation of Nunavut youth. And in Cape Breton, she uncovers the ancient “step dance” of the once culturally oppressed Gaels of Nova Scotia. During her travels, Henry discovers that dance helps to break down barriers and encourage cooperation between people with a history of injustice. Dance, she finds, can provide key insight into what people value most as a culture, which is often more similar than it seems. It is this kind of understanding that goes beyond our divisive histories and gives us compassion for one another.