Ballet and Modern Dance (Second Edition, Revised) (World of Art) [Paperback]

Susan Au (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 2002 | Series: World of Art

Whether as performers or as spectators, more people enjoy dance today than ever before. Its extraordinary range extends from classical ballet and baroque court spectacles to avant-garde modern dance, tap, and ethnic dancing.

Anyone with an interest in dance has felt the need for a guide to the art's rich history and complex present state. Susan Au's lucid text covers the entire spectrum of dance, vividly describing the great performers and performances of the past as well as exploring in detail the dance world of today. A generous selection of illustrations completes the picture, taking the reader from the palaces of the Medici to the lofts of Manhattan, from the dancing of Louis XIV to the experimental choreography of Twyla Tharp and Pina Bausch. A completely new final chapter documents the work of the chief dancers and choreographers from the 1980s to the present, covering offshoots of modern dance such as Tanztheater and Butoh, and recent developments such as performance art and site-specific choreography. The author discusses the upsurge in the popularity of dances of the past, among them ballroom dancing and the Argentine tango, and notes the revival of tap dancing as well as the successful adaptation of Irish stepdancing to the theater. In addition, she records the uses dance and dancers have made of recent technological advances, including cinedance and videodance, CD-ROMs, and the Internet. 145 illustrations and photographs (25 in color)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A marvelous book for all those who love dance history. -- Choice, November 2002

Will be of benefit to all dance lovers. -- Backstage

About the Author

Susan Au is a freelance writer and dance historian. She is a contributor to The International Encyclopedia of Dance and was the American consultant for The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ballet.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; Second Edition, Revised edition (June 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500203520
• ISBN-13: 978-0500203521
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Modern

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good overview, November 13, 2000

By 

Markús Már Sigurðsson (Reykjavik, ICELAND) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ballet and Modern Dance (World of Art) (Paperback)

I use this book in my ballet history course and it's a very good book for that purpose, that is, for a basic overview on the history of dance. You won't find many details on special subjects, such as specific ballets, but it's great if you want to understand the developement of ballet through the ages and know something about the people who put their marks on the ballet. Lot's of colour photgraphs. Au's use of words is sometimes a bit complicated, at least for someone who doesn't have English for a first language. But a great book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Choose this as a reliable text or source book., June 20, 2001

By 

Libby Smigel (Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ballet and Modern Dance (World of Art) (Paperback)

Susan Au's history of ballet & modern dance is intelligent and authoritative. Where other narrative treatments often choose details seemingly randomly, Susan Au builds the narrative from the details she proffers. Nor does she lapse into odd anecdotes often found in other narrative treatments. This book corrects some errors that have been perpetuated in earlier encyclopedic volumes. I wish she had included a short section on antiquity, as I believe that some of the inspiration for and concepts in "classical" ballet and in early modern dance derive from the rediscovery of antiquity -- but this is just quibbling. If you are going to teach 19th and 20th century Western dance history, this is a reliable way to go.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, February 7, 2010

By 

Felicia (Virginia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ballet and Modern Dance (Second Edition, Revised) (World of Art) (Paperback)

This book is great. It is in good condition and it shipped in the allotted time given. The cost was cheaper than if I had bought it at my school's bookstore, shipping costs inlcuded.