I've always felt like an outsider, trapped in a world where I didn't belong. Until the Summer Solstice, I didn't know how true that was. When four mysterious fae males corner me in the street, they bring terrifying news: I'm not human. I'm a changeling, a fae swapped at birth. Under their powerful yet infuriating guidance, I return to Otherworld to train at their academy and determine to which of the four faerie courts I belong. But there's something much more dangerous than the four fae vying for my attention. A strange dark magic looms on the horizon, the bloodthirsty courts are plotting for power, and changelings are dying. My only choice is to fight back and try not to lose my life...or my heart.

In Butoh Ethan Hoffman creates virtually a new genre of photographic theater and gives us an invaluable contribution to the literature of contemporary dance and theater. 100 full-color photographs.

Butoh, also known as "dance of darkness," is a postmodern dance form that began in Japan as an effort to recover the primal body or "the body that has not been robbed," as butoh founder Tatsumi Hijikata put it. Butoh has become increasingly popular in the United States and throughout the world, diversifying its aesthetic while at the same time asserting the power of its spiritual foundations. Dancing into Darkness is Sondra Horton Fraleigh's chronological diary of her deepening understanding of and appreciation for this art form as she moves from a position of aesthetic response as an audience member to that of assimilation as a student of Zen and butoh. Fraleigh witnesses her own artistic and personal transformation through essays, poems, interviews, and reflections spanning twelve years of study, much of it in Japan. Numerous performance photographs and original calligraphy by Fraleigh's Zen teacher, Shodo Akane, illuminate her words.

Time had not died. It was still flowing like her blood. Her mind had become what it had endured and more; for now, with the dust, she saw butterflies floating in her room – here, there, everywhere. Infused with lyricism and the romantic aura of pre-colonial India, The Dance of Darkness is a story about a bewildered town with only women, girls and hijras. Raised as dancers and lovers, the girls Surma, Parveen, and Dilchasp traverse through their usual routines until the presence of one man triggers all that the town has ever wished for – LOVE AND FREEDOM.

The Description of ‘The Dance Of Darkness’ ‘The Dance Of Darkness’ has been authored by Muhammad Shanazar, an internationally recognized poet, who has got several awards and recognition. A poet writes but it is the critic who explores the world created by him. ‘The Dance Of Darkness’ is a poem which has been suggested for the title and in the title poem images of horror and devastation have been recreated and depicted, the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki went through during the use of nuclear bombs, in August 1945. The poem ‘The Dance Of Darkness’ concludes with the lines: ‘Who are these who move like ghosts, Charred bony figures with hanging shreds, Lamenting upon the horrible deed And despised nature sighs and sobs That who knows when time takes turn, Who knows moments of calm and peace, Might contain the centuries of sorrows.’ ‘The Dance Of Darkness’ in general consists of majority of the poems which refer to cupidity, recklessness, injustice, callousness of international organizations, terrorism and horrors of war, in fact these all collectively cast Darkness and it dances around the world. The book is not merely a book of poetry but it contains cries of the poet who admonishes the leading heads humanity about the unheeded perils which humanity may confront with the total annihilation of human existence on the planet. The poems from serial No. 69 to 133 deal with the theme of peace and war, rather they are poems against war, they preach for the world free of violence, weapons and wars. In ‘The Dance Of Darkness’ some poems pertain to nostalgia, in these poems the poet expressed mixed sentiments and memories sweet and sour through which he lived in. Poem from serial No. 07 to 29 are nostalgic ones. The most striking feature of ‘The Dance Of Darkness, is the expression of some mind baffling spiritual experiences that the poet underwent. There had been time in his life when he went through very mystical experiences and he kept them concealed lest he should be branded lunatic, in these poems he share the same experiences with intellectuals of the world. The readers may find apt substance regarding human soul, body and mind and their relationship with the cosmos. What often happened to him, while he was lying on the bed, he felt something departing from his physical existence, then that began to fly with the incredible speed with all senses and went higher and higher farther than the distances of many light years, whatever he saw, he expressed in some of his poems without exaggeration. (See poems from the Suspended Mountain to Omnipresence Of Breeze). ‘The Dance Of Darkness’ also contains poems on patriotism, love, social and political issues and these poems have awesome endings. Critical study of these poems imparts the students of literature maturity and a sense of amplification to their minds; it has a vast diction and crystal clear imagery replete with similes metaphors. Thorough study of the book certainly improves the reader’s taste, intellect, and understanding of poetry as well.

Approaching the avant-garde Japanese performance art form of butoh from a cross-cultural, gender studies, and scientific perspective, award-winning artist and teacher Vangeline brings a fresh look at this postmodern dance form.Butoh, a performance art form that grew out of the Japanese avant-garde scene of the 1950s, has traveled from east to west over the last 60 years, growing in popularity as it evolves. With origins in modern dance, French mime, and the surrealist movement, this fascinating postmodern dance genre is often thought of as mysterious and is frequently misunderstood. Through twenty years of research, interviews with some of the world's top practitioners, historical documents, and rare photographs, Vangeline shines light on this "dance of darkness." New revelations include the under-represented role of women in the development of the form, the connection between butoh and neuroscience, and the cross-cultural perspective of international influences on the evolution of the dance. Butoh: Cradling Empty Space will appeal to dance students, teachers, performance art scholars, somatic healers, and anyone interested in choreography, theater, and Japanese history, culture and art.The book includes rare photographs, helpful graphics, a detailed bibliography and footnotes, and resources for additional information."[A] handbook for the butoh practitioner, the (art) historian, the dance critic, and the curious reader. Encompassing, and reconciling, problems of movement, gender, race and universality, Cradling Empty Space guides the reader through the many possibilities of butoh."-Alice Baldock, Faculty of History, University of Oxford, from the ForewordPraise for Vangeline's choreography and dance work:"Captivating." -New York Times "[She] moves with the clockwork deliberation of a practiced Japanese Butoh artist."-Los Angeles Times

Zarek's Point of View: Dark-Hunter: A soulless guardian who stands between mankind and those who would see mankind destroyed. Yeah, right. The only part of that Code of Honor I got was eternity and solitude. Insanity: A condition many say I suffer from after being alone for so long. But I don't suffer from my insanity-I enjoy every minute of it. Trust: I can't trust anyone...not even myself. The only thing I trust in is my ability to do the wrong thing in any situation and to hurt anyone who gets in my way. Truth: I endured a lifetime as a Roman slave, and 900 years as an exiled Dark-Hunter. Now I'm tired of enduring. I want the truth about what happened the night I was exiled-I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Astrid (Greek, meaning star): An exceptional woman who can see straight to the truth. Brave and strong, she is a point of light in the darkness. She touches me and I tremble. She smiles and my cold heart shatters. Zarek: They say even the most damned man can be forgiven. I never believed that until the night Astrid opened her door to me and made this feral beast want to be human again. Made me want to love and be loved. But how can an ex-slave whose soul is owned by a Greek goddess ever dream of touching, let alone holding, a fiery star?

A brief introduction to the history, philosophy, and techniques of the Japanese avant-garde dance movement, Ankoku Buto. Evoking images of grotesque beauty, revelling in the seamy underside of human behavior, Buto dance groups such as Sankai Juku and Dai Rakuda-kan have performed to wide critical and popular acclaim, making Buto one of the most influential new forces in the dance world today. The monograph traces the development of Buto from its birth in the bleak post-war landscape of 1950s Japan, and then addresses the question of Buto as a post-modern phenomenon, before going on to examine the influence of traditional Japanese performance on Buto techniques. The last chapter analyzes a specific dance (Niwa - The Garden) by Muteki-sha, to show how these techniques are used concretely. Includes translations of four essays on Butō by contemporary Japanese dance critics.

An alien force is attempting to take over the world, employing a cadre of followers to spread an infection that would convert all of humanity into his servants.