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DK Eyewitness Books
Dance
From the American Indian sun dance to the Zulu marriage dance, from the ballets of Ballanchine to the disco craze--dance is a part of almost every culture of the world. As ritual, as celebration, and as art, dance is both exotic and traditional, primitive and modern. This stunning exploration of this most visual of art forms is brimming over with richly detailed sets and costumes and photos of memorable performers and their techniques. A 75th Eyewitness volume with truly universal appeal.
- GenresNonfictionArtLiterature
64 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1960
2 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Andree Grau
10 books3 followersDr. Andree Grau is the Professor of the Anthropology of Dance at Roehampton University, London.
Andrée Grau trained in dance in her native Switzerland and in London. She graduated from the Benesh Institute in 1976 and was awarded an MA in Social-Anthropology (Ethnomusicology/Ethnochoreology) and PhD in Social-Anthropology from The Queen's University of Belfast, respectively in 1979 and 1983. She has carried out fieldwork in Southern Africa, among the Venda; Aboriginal Australia, among the Tiwi of Melville and Bathurst Islands; India (Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka,Gujarat) and London, looking at performance from cross-cultural and interdisciplinary
perspectives.
She has published - in English as well as French - in academic as well as professional journals within the fields of dance, music, visual anthropology and social anthropology. She has contributed to a number of encyclopedias, writing entries for Australian Aboriginal dance and Eastern and Southern African dance.
She regularly presents her work at conferences in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America and acts as consultant for television, radio, and publishers in the UK and overseas.
She directed the Leverhulme project 'South Asian Dance in Britain: Negotiating cultural identity through dance' (1998-2001) and was assistant director of the AHRB (Arts and
Humanities Research Board) Centre for Cross-Cultural Music and Dance Performance (2002-2007), a collaboration between SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, London University), UniS (University of Surrey Guildford) and Roehampton.
Andrée Grau trained in dance in her native Switzerland and in London. She graduated from the Benesh Institute in 1976 and was awarded an MA in Social-Anthropology (Ethnomusicology/Ethnochoreology) and PhD in Social-Anthropology from The Queen's University of Belfast, respectively in 1979 and 1983. She has carried out fieldwork in Southern Africa, among the Venda; Aboriginal Australia, among the Tiwi of Melville and Bathurst Islands; India (Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka,Gujarat) and London, looking at performance from cross-cultural and interdisciplinary
perspectives.
She has published - in English as well as French - in academic as well as professional journals within the fields of dance, music, visual anthropology and social anthropology. She has contributed to a number of encyclopedias, writing entries for Australian Aboriginal dance and Eastern and Southern African dance.
She regularly presents her work at conferences in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America and acts as consultant for television, radio, and publishers in the UK and overseas.
She directed the Leverhulme project 'South Asian Dance in Britain: Negotiating cultural identity through dance' (1998-2001) and was assistant director of the AHRB (Arts and
Humanities Research Board) Centre for Cross-Cultural Music and Dance Performance (2002-2007), a collaboration between SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, London University), UniS (University of Surrey Guildford) and Roehampton.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 6, 2023
In ancient Greece, dance was seen as a gift. Dance is simply a series of movements performed in patterns and set to music. Every human society has some form of dance. It is a way to pass on history, exercise and express yourself in a way words can't.
In this colorful guide, the magic and beauty of dance is shown in step-by-step sequences and full-color photographs. The costumes are spectacular and children can see the costumes, learn the stories of the great classical ballets and discover why Javanese dancers "flow like water."
Dances include:
Ballet
Tonga - poetry interpreted in dance in the Pacific Island of Tonga
Flamenco - Spanish
Ghost Dance - Native American
Morris Dance - England
Gharata Natya - Classic Indian Dance (if you enjoy this - watch Lagaan)
Orissi, Eastern India - originally performed by temple dancers
Georgian Ballet - the costumes are amazing!
Modern Ballet
Ballroom Dancing
and many more...
There is a section on footwear and they show how a ballet shoe is made. They explain the process of creating costumes all the way from the drawings to the finished product. Makeup and set design is briefly discussed.
A section on famous dancers and choreography shows what it takes. Finally, they discuss dance crazes through time.
A trip around the world in dance!
In this colorful guide, the magic and beauty of dance is shown in step-by-step sequences and full-color photographs. The costumes are spectacular and children can see the costumes, learn the stories of the great classical ballets and discover why Javanese dancers "flow like water."
Dances include:
Ballet
Tonga - poetry interpreted in dance in the Pacific Island of Tonga
Flamenco - Spanish
Ghost Dance - Native American
Morris Dance - England
Gharata Natya - Classic Indian Dance (if you enjoy this - watch Lagaan)
Orissi, Eastern India - originally performed by temple dancers
Georgian Ballet - the costumes are amazing!
Modern Ballet
Ballroom Dancing
and many more...
There is a section on footwear and they show how a ballet shoe is made. They explain the process of creating costumes all the way from the drawings to the finished product. Makeup and set design is briefly discussed.
A section on famous dancers and choreography shows what it takes. Finally, they discuss dance crazes through time.
A trip around the world in dance!
May 22, 2009
Eyewitness Books, from DK Publishing, is a wonderful resource for young readers. This particular volume focuses on dance. Each topic covers about two pages, providing a basic perspective and then some examples. This book begins by defining the subject (Page 8): "Dance is a series of movements performed in patterns and set to an accompaniment. Every human society practices dance, which may be performed solo, in couples, or in groups."
Some of the more specific subjects? On pages 22-23, we see a discussion of beauty and strength. The text notes that what one society sees as beautiful dance may be defined as ugly in another (teaching the rader to understand the culture specific definitions as to what is beautiful).
Another subject is "Behind a Mask" (pages 32-33). The text speaks of the use of masks in dance in many cultures, and there are illustrations to suggest the variations in use of masks.
Finally, on pages 54-55, there are examples of famous dancers--from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to Vaslav Nijinsky to Rukmini Devi.
All in all, a nice resource for young readers who might be interested in learning more about dance.
Some of the more specific subjects? On pages 22-23, we see a discussion of beauty and strength. The text notes that what one society sees as beautiful dance may be defined as ugly in another (teaching the rader to understand the culture specific definitions as to what is beautiful).
Another subject is "Behind a Mask" (pages 32-33). The text speaks of the use of masks in dance in many cultures, and there are illustrations to suggest the variations in use of masks.
Finally, on pages 54-55, there are examples of famous dancers--from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to Vaslav Nijinsky to Rukmini Devi.
All in all, a nice resource for young readers who might be interested in learning more about dance.
February 19, 2012
Dance
By Andree Grau
Another juvenile non-fiction from the DK Eyewitness series. I love the series but it always takes me so long to read one of their books. Again there are lots of beautiful pictures and some really high quality information. I picked up this book with a general background in things dance related some interest in ballet and a lot of interest and experience in ballroom dancing. There were a couple of things about the ballroom I didn't really agree with as it was a poor choice of wording but overall I found the book interesting. I definitely learned some new things and I was happy to see so many images and blurbs relating to Asian dance forms I was less familiar with. I would love to see this series branch out and do more specific books towards ballet/tap/jazz, ballroom, folk dances and Asian dance forms. I may need to do some more research and see if I can find other books that may be better.
By Andree Grau
Another juvenile non-fiction from the DK Eyewitness series. I love the series but it always takes me so long to read one of their books. Again there are lots of beautiful pictures and some really high quality information. I picked up this book with a general background in things dance related some interest in ballet and a lot of interest and experience in ballroom dancing. There were a couple of things about the ballroom I didn't really agree with as it was a poor choice of wording but overall I found the book interesting. I definitely learned some new things and I was happy to see so many images and blurbs relating to Asian dance forms I was less familiar with. I would love to see this series branch out and do more specific books towards ballet/tap/jazz, ballroom, folk dances and Asian dance forms. I may need to do some more research and see if I can find other books that may be better.
July 22, 2012
Dance
By Andree Grau
Another juvenile non-fiction from the DK Eyewitness series. I love the series but it always takes me so long to read one of their books. Again there are lots of beautiful pictures and some really high quality information. I picked up this book with a general background in things dance related some interest in ballet and a lot of interest and experience in ballroom dancing. There were a couple of things about the ballroom I didn't really agree with as it was a poor choice of wording but overall I found the book interesting. I definitely learned some new things and I was happy to see so many images and blurbs relating to Asian dance forms I was less familiar with. I would love to see this series branch out and do more specific books towards ballet/tap/jazz, ballroom, folk dances and Asian dance forms. I may need to do some more research and see if I can find other books that may be better.
By Andree Grau
Another juvenile non-fiction from the DK Eyewitness series. I love the series but it always takes me so long to read one of their books. Again there are lots of beautiful pictures and some really high quality information. I picked up this book with a general background in things dance related some interest in ballet and a lot of interest and experience in ballroom dancing. There were a couple of things about the ballroom I didn't really agree with as it was a poor choice of wording but overall I found the book interesting. I definitely learned some new things and I was happy to see so many images and blurbs relating to Asian dance forms I was less familiar with. I would love to see this series branch out and do more specific books towards ballet/tap/jazz, ballroom, folk dances and Asian dance forms. I may need to do some more research and see if I can find other books that may be better.
November 9, 2009
This was the first Eyewitness Book I have read, although I know that they are pretty popular with the kids.
I enjoyed the detailed information and the wide variety of types of dance that were covered.
It appears that the Eyewitness series is a great place to go to learn some pretty comprehensive information.
I enjoyed the detailed information and the wide variety of types of dance that were covered.
It appears that the Eyewitness series is a great place to go to learn some pretty comprehensive information.
May 29, 2013
Good nonfiction book. Went through the basics and aspects of dance. A book I recommend reading if you want to learn more about dance
February 6, 2017
amazing selection
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews