Dance
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The Ancient English Morris Dance
The idea that morris dancing captures the essence of ancient Englishness, inherently carefree and merry, has been present for over 400 years. The Ancient English Morris Dance traces the history of those attitudes, from the dance’s introduction to England in the fifteenth century, through the contention of the Reformation and Civil War, during which morris dancing and maypoles became potent symbols of the older ways of living. Thereafter it developed and diversified, neglected and disdained, until antiquaries began to take an interest in its history, leading to its re-invention as emblematic of Victorian concepts of Merrie England in the nineteenth century. The quest for authentic understanding of what that meant led to its revival at the beginning of the twentieth century, but that was predicated on the perception of it as part of England’s declining rural past, to the neglect of the one area (the industrial north-west) where it continued to flourish. The revival led in turn to its further evolution into the multitude of forms and styles in which it may be encountered today.Read more
£26.20£28.50The Ancient English Morris Dance
£26.20£28.50 -
The Ballroom Blitz: The escapist and romantic new novel from the nation’s favourite entertainer
The stunning new Buckingham novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Anton Du Beke.
September 1940. As the skies split apart and bombs rain down on London, it’s all the staff at the famed Buckingham Hotel can do to keep their guests in the luxury they’re accustomed to, and evoke the magic of the Grand ballroom for them each night.
Home on leave and still reeling from the tragic events at Dunkirk, the dashing Raymond de Guise struggles to define his role in this new world, and to do his duty both to his country, and his beloved wife Nancy- who needs him now more than ever.
With profiteers skulking the London streets, and devious rivals plotting the Buckingham’s downfall, the hotel staff must all hold onto what matters most- and decide where their loyalties truly lie.
As the bombing intensifies and Christmas fast approaches, somehow the show must go on…
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£6.80£8.50 -
The Best Dance Moves in the World … Ever!: 100 New and Classic Moves and How to Bust Them
Dance is a universal language, spoken and understood by all. It knows no barriers and traverses time and space. Dance moves are like building blocks that can either enliven a simple side-to-side shuffle, or be joined up to create a dazzling night-long display.Starting with the basics, THE BEST DANCE MOVES IN THE WORLD … EVER! gives you the lowdown on the history of dance, pioneers of dance and what you should know before you hit the dance floor. Then it takes you on a tour of the 100 dance moves that you need to know, including:
SIMPLE MOVES such as Finger Bopping, The Swim and The Smooch
SLICK MOVES like The Grapevine, The Madison and The Charleston
CLASSIC MOVES including The Twist, Vogue, Thriller and The Time Warp
MOVIE MOVES inspired by Saturday Night Fever, Pulp Fiction, Napoleon Dynamite
and many more
Covering dances suitable for every taste in music, from funk, disco and soul, through RnB and rock ‘n’ roll, to pop, punk and even rave and partnered with clear step-by-step instructions with easily understood illustrations, readers’ health, self-confidence and ability to have a good time are all given a thorough workout.
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£2.70 -
The Dance Cure: The surprising secret to being smarter, stronger, happier
“Peter has brilliantly put into words what I have felt my whole dancing life: that the power of dance can liberate and change all our lives.” Darcey BussellHumans are born to dance. And in today’s sedentary world, we would all benefit from doing more of it. Science shows that just ten minutes of dancing provides a thorough work out for the body and brain, raising the heartbeat to cause a release of feel-good endorphins, connecting us to our emotions and reducing our stress levels. Dancing quite simply makes us feel more alive.Dr Peter Lovatt, a former professional dancer turned dance psychologist, has spent the past two decades studying why we dance and what it does for us, and is on a personal mission to make dancing as natural an activity in our daily lives as walking or drinking coffee.Filled with fascinating case studies from his research as well as great stories from dance history, The Dance Cure will inspire even those who think they “can’t dance” to turn the music on, get up on the floor and dance themselves happy.Read more
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The Dancers’ Study Guide: A dance guidebook of dance history, health and fitness, performance lessons, tips and advice
The Dancers’ Study Guide will help you become a professional performer. This detailed guide looks at what it really means to be a dancer with a strong emphasis on health and nutrition and maintaining your fitness given the high physical demands.It also covers learning to dance, coping with auditions and the psychology and mindset of success. It has everything you need to know about being a successful dancer and performer. This well-researched and insightful book is for anyone interested in dance from its origins to its evolution, stretching, technique, dance vocabulary and ballet basics including a comprehensive timeline of dance history. Based on solid scientific fact, lessons, tips and advice, world-famous dancer and choreographer Anthony King shares knowledge gained from over fifteen years as a dance teacher at Covent Garden’s Pineapple Dance Studios.Read more
£16.10 -
The Dancers’ Study Guide: A dance guidebook of dance history, health and fitness, performance lessons, tips and advice
The Dancers’ Study Guide will help you become a professional performer. This detailed guide looks at what it really means to be a dancer with a strong emphasis on health and nutrition and maintaining your fitness given the high physical demands.It also covers learning to dance, coping with auditions and the psychology and mindset of success. It has everything you need to know about being a successful dancer and performer. This well-researched and insightful book is for anyone interested in dance from its origins to its evolution, stretching, technique, dance vocabulary and ballet basics including a comprehensive timeline of dance history. Based on solid scientific fact, lessons, tips and advice, world-famous dancer and choreographer Anthony King shares knowledge gained from over fifteen years as a dance teacher at Covent Garden’s Pineapple Dance Studios.Read more
£16.10 -
The Ecstasy of Being: Mythology and Dance (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell)
Joseph Campbell’s collected writings on dance and art, edited and introduced by Nancy Allison, CMA, the founder of Jean Erdman Dance, and including Campbell’s unpublished manuscript “Mythology and Form in the Performing and Visual Arts,” the book he was working on when he died.Dance was one of mythologist Joseph Campbell’s wide-ranging passions. His wife, Jean Erdman, was a leading figure in modern dance who worked with Martha Graham and had Merce Cunningham in her first company. When Campbell retired from teaching in 1972, he and Erdman formed the Theater of the Open Eye, where for nearly fifteen years they presented a wide array of dance and theater productions, lectures, and performance pieces.
The Ecstasy of Being brings together seven of Campbell’s previously uncollected articles on dance, along with “Mythology and Form in the Performing and Visual Arts,” the treatise that he was working on when he died, published here for the first time.
In this new collection Campbell explores the rise of modern art and dance in the twentieth century; delves into the work and philosophy of Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and others; and, as always, probes the idea of art as “the funnel through which spirit is poured into life.” This book offers the reader an accessible, yet profound and provocative, insight into Campbell’s lifelong fascination with the relationship of myth to aesthetic form and human psychology.
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£8.50 -
The Essential Guide to Contemporary Dance Techniques
The Essential Guide to Contemporary Dance Techniques explores the multifaceted learning processes and underlying principles behind the technical skills and abilities of a contemporary dancer. The depth and complexity of this challenging sensorial, intellectual, reflective and creative process is presented with clarity, to support every training dancer in achieving the most from their learning experiences. Insights into three major technical forms: Graham technique, Cunningham technique and Release-based technique, reveal the distinct approaches, processes and experiences possible in contemporary dance training. Essential technical and performance considerations are covered, including: breath; alignment; core activation; connectivity; dynamic qualities of motion; use of the body; use of space; action and finally, relationships to the audience. With personal contributions from respected teachers at top dance institutions, this practical guide offers a unique insight into the expectations and processes of professional training classes as well as the success you can achieve with them. With images from real-life technique classes and dynamic performances, this is an essential companion for all contemporary dance students.Read more
£16.10 -
The Essential Guide to Jazz Dance
Jazz dance and its inherent music is recognized as one of the original and most potent art forms of the last two centuries. From its African roots to our present-day global dance community, the jazz idiom has afforded a cross-fertilization with all other artistic, cultural and social representations within the arts industry, providing an accessible dance platform for dancers, teachers and creatives to enjoy both recreationally and professionally. The Essential Guide to Jazz Dance offers a practical and uncomplicated overview to the multi-layered history, practices and development of jazz dance as a creative and artistic dance form. It covers the incredible history and lineage of jazz dance; the innovators, choreographers and dance creatives of the genre; specifics of jazz aesthetic, steps and styles; a detailed breakdown of a practical jazz dance warm-up and technical exercises; creative frameworks to support development of jazz dance expression and aesthetic; performance and improvisation; jazz music and musical interpretation, and finally, choreographing and creating jazz works. With over 230 colour photos and a wealth of tips and advice, this new book will be an ideal reading companion for dancers of all abilities, dance teachers, choreographers as well as all jazz dance enthusiasts.Read more
£17.30£19.00The Essential Guide to Jazz Dance
£17.30£19.00 -
The Essential Guide to Tap Dance
From the propulsive rhythm of the African dancer, to the swinging ragtime of the American jazz age, tap dancing has evolved into a unique blend of cultural expression, improvisation and creativity, open to all ages and abilities. With clear step-by-step instructions, The Essential Guide to Tap Dance covers basic steps such as the shuffle, pick up and paddle, before building these into traditional combinations such as the time step and shim sham. Additional material includes the history and development of tap dancing; rhythm and musicality; learning the language of tap dancing; the role of improvisation and choreography and finally, the basic steps to advanced techniques. This is the perfect companion to instruct the beginner tap dancer and expand the more experienced dancer’s technique, offering full-colour pictures, helpful instruction and essential notes on this vibrant and accessible dance form.Read more
£16.90£19.00The Essential Guide to Tap Dance
£16.90£19.00 -
The Oxford Dictionary of Dance
Over the last twenty years the boundaries of dance have been radically redrawn. There has been an explosion of new activity within traditional forms like ballet, a stream of new dance languages invented by fresh generations of choreographers, and there is a growing appreciation in the West of dance forms from the rest of the world. Fans today are likely to attend performances in classical ballet, Spanish flamenco, Indian Bharata Natyam, Japanese Butoh, jazz, modern and post-modern dance. In classical ballet they may see companies as varied as the New York City Ballet, Bolshoi, or Paris Opera. In modern dance they may see work that stems from the Graham or the Cunningham schools of movement; while in post-modern dance they may be watching choreographers who mix influences as varied as folk dance, T’ai Chi, Balanchine, and Mary Wigman, or who may be practitioners of Eurocrash, minimalism, contact improvisation or release. This new dictionary by two leading and authoritative writers on dance will provide the information necessary for dance fans to navigate the diverse modern dance scene. With an emphasis on performance the dance we see in theatres today – readers will find both fact and analysis on a wide range of subjects from dancers and choreographers to dance styles and technical terms.Read more
£33.20 -
The Place of Dance: A Somatic Guide to Dancing and Dance Making
The Place of Dance is written for the general reader as well as for dancers. It reminds us that dancing is our nature, available to all as well as refined for the stage. Andrea Olsen is an internationally known choreographer and educator who combines the science of body with creative practice. This workbook integrates experiential anatomy with the process of moving and dancing, with a particular focus on the creative journey involved in choreographing, improvising, and performing for the stage. Each of the chapters, or “days,” introduces a particular theme and features a dance photograph, information on the topic, movement and writing investigations, personal anecdotes, and studio notes from professional artists and educators for further insight. The third in a trilogy of works about the body, including Bodystories: A Guide to Experiential Anatomy and Body and Earth: An Experiential Guide, The Place of Dance will help each reader understand his/her dancing body through somatic work, create a dance, and have a full journal clarifying aesthetic views on his or her practice. It is well suited for anyone interested in engaging embodied intelligence and living more consciously.Read more
£21.80£22.70 -
The Royal Ballet Wall Calendar 2024 (Art Calendar)
An exquisite calendar featuring incredible photography of some of the most vibrant and visually stunning performances from The Royal Ballet to grace London’s Royal Opera House. It showcases the elegant poise of dancers in recent productions such as Cesar Corrales as Lescaut in Manon and Fumi Kaneko in The Weathering. Informative text accompanies each work and the datepad features previous and next month’s views. Printed on FSC-certified paper, with plastic-free packaging.
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£9.60£10.40 -
The Royal Ballet: 75 Years
This book is a perceptive and critical account of the first 75 years of The Royal Ballet, tracing the company’s growth, and its great cultural importance – an indispensable book for all lovers of ballet.
In 1931, Ninette de Valois started a ballet company with just six dancers. Within twenty years, The Royal Ballet – as it became – was established as one of the world’s great companies. It has produced celebrated dancers, from Margot Fonteyn to Darcey Bussell, and one of the richest repertoires in ballet.
The company danced through the Blitz, won an international reputation in a single New York performance and added to the glamour of London’s Swinging Sixties. It has established a distinctive English school of ballet, a pure classical style that could do justice to the 19th-century repertory and to new British classics.
Leading dance critic, Zoë Anderson, vividly portrays the extraordinary personalities who created the company and the dancers who made such an impact on their audiences. She looks at the bad times as well as the good, examining the controversial directorships of Norman Morrice and Ross Stretton and the criticism fired at the company as the Royal Opera House closed for redevelopment.
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£14.20The Royal Ballet: 75 Years
£14.20 -
The Ultimate Dance Business Planner: Dated 2023/2024, Keep Focus, Make Goals, Evaluate and Build your Dance School with Purpose
The Ultimate Dance Business Planner is not just any planner it is a planner for dance business owners who like to keep focused, make goals, evaluate their business and feel purposeful and motivated to build their schools.
The dance planner is created by dance business expert and multi-passionate dancepreneur Deborah Laws. Deborah is on a mission to help dance school owners see themselves as business owners/ founders and company directors and not just dance teachers.
Through Deborah’s cleverly designed planner, not only will you have a new desk organiser to keep everything in one place, but you will be prompted to create strategies to grow your school, be mindful of keeping on track with your goals and stay focussed with guided to-do lists. This planner is fully dated and runs from August 2023 – July 2024.
It’s like having your very own business mentor by your desk!
Day-per-page diary, including goals and to-do lists
Create monthly strategies to work savvy and balanced in your business using Deborah’s special S.T.A.R.S systemMap out your yearly events and campaigns for retention and attraction
Evaluate specific dance business-related criteria each month and track growthBe inspired by weekly motivational quotesNot only do you get all of the above but you now get Deborah’s exclusive monthly mini pieces of training and tips on growing and managing your school via the QR codes at the start of each month. Your book is now packed full of fabulous content that makes it so much more than just a business planner. Enjoy!
This year could be your most organised, successful and profitable year yet with your Ultimate Dance Business Planner by your side!
This 394 page Planner is 8″ x 10″, paperback and full colour throughout
Printed on bold white paper and with a book industry-perfect binding and a beautiful matt cover, the crisp white paper has a quality that minimises ink bleed-through.
This book is suitable for pen or pencil.
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£33.30 -
Welcome to the Arts: Dance
Brilliantly curated and beautifully illustrated, the Welcome to the Arts series offers all-hours admission to some of the world’s most wondrous performances.From Swan Lake to Riverdance, flamenco to tap, Dance features some of the most iconic performances and popular dances from around the world. Learn about the history, culture, evolution and technique of each dance, while also discovering the stars of past and present, including Fred Astaire, Carlos Acosta, Martha Graham and much more. Exclusive backstage access also allows you to see what goes on behind the theatre doors, including prop and costume design.
Expertly written by Sir Alistair Spalding and published in conjunction with Sadler’s Wells, this beautifully illustrated book is also a large format, so the whole family can be immersed in the wonderful world of dance.
The perfect gift for any Strictly fan, musical lover or budding dancer.
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£19.30£23.80Welcome to the Arts: Dance
£19.30£23.80
