Can You Really Annotate Dance?

Working Thesis (A really, really rough thesis): Dance as an art form is something that contains a significant amount of awe in the audience. But is that awe conveyed through the emotion of the dancers? Or is it conveyed because the audience has an understanding of the art form, outside of what the dancers bring to it?

Chaiklin, Sharon, and Hilda Wengrower. The Art and Science of Dance/Movement Therapy: Life Is Dance. New York: Routledge, 2009. Print.

This book contains a collection of articles written by experienced dance/movement therapists. The topics covered are intrinsic to many areas of dance/movemment therapy and each offers a theoretical perspective followed by case studies which emphasize the techniques used in varied settings.

Ellfeldt, Lois. Dance, From Magic to Art. Dubuque, IA: W.C. Brown, 1976. Print.

Again, I don't have this book yet, but I am really excited about what this book could offer me. It seems like it's going to really explore how the creative expression of the body is an art form, and how that process of transformation happens.

Hanna, Judith Lynne. "The Language of Dance." Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 72.4 (2001): 40-45. Print.

This article discusses how dance and body movement not only resembles verbal language, but can have a deep literary impact. The author explores the impact that dance is having on schools, and the way that they approach learning in the classroom, as more classrooms are starting to have a movement based curriculum.

Hanna, Judith Lynne. The Performer-audience Connection: Emotion to Metaphor in Dance and Society. Austin: University of Texas, 1983. Print.

This books looks into the major puzzles of human communication: the communication of emotion in dance. It attempts to systematically investigate what performers wish to convey and what audiences perceive in the performance of dance. This books asks and answers the question: How did dancer and audience interact at the emotional level on occasions of a performance? Through interviews of both spectators and dancers, Judith Lynne Hanna explores the performers' ways of imparting emotion through movement and audience members' expectations and responses. In doing so she casts new light on important issues of cultural identity, sex role, historic attitudes toward dance, and even marketing the arts today.

Hanna, Judith Lynne. To Dance Is Human: A Theory of Nonverbal Communication. Austin: University of Texas, 1979. Print.

Exploring dance from the rural villages of Africa to the stages of Lincoln Center, Judith Lynne Hanna shows that it is as human to dance as it is to learn, to build, or to fight. Dance is human thought and feeling expressed through the body: it is at once organized physical movement, language, and a system of rules appropriate in different social situations. The author offers a theory of dance, drawing on work in anthropology, semiotics, sociology, communications, folklore, political science, religion, and psychology as well as the visual and performing arts.

Knapp, Debra Wright. "One Choreographer's Tale of Dance Making." Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 82.9 (2011): 16-18. Print.

In this article, the author discusses how her gifts and talents as a choreographer can influence and add to dance. The author talks about the many different ways that she finds inspiration in what she choreographs, saying that sometimes it's found in a poem or song, and other times it's what the dancer needs, and then there are times when the choreographer needs to express something for themselves.

Kraus, Richard G. History of the Dance in Art and Education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969. Print.

This author discusses how one of the most striking aspects of the cultural scene in the United States today has been the rapid growth of dance, both as a performing art and as a form of creative education. This book depicts that growth in detail and presents an accurate picture of dance in American culture today. This book examines the history and current status of dance as a performing art and also its other important functions in society. This book is especially pertinent to performers seeking to explore and learn more about their art.

Royce, Anya Peterson. The Anthropology of Dance. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1977. Print.

This book talks about how dance has evolved throughout the years, and the impact that it has on us as a society and as members of the human race. It explores the ways in which our bodies move, and how that is an expression of humanity in and of itself.

Taylor, Margaret Fisk. A Time to Dance; Symbolic Movement in Worship. Philadelphia: United Church, 1967. Print.

I think that this book is interesting because it explores the way that dance and religion can be used concurrently. I didn't even think to go this direction until I found this book as a reccomendation.

Wigman, Mary. The Language of Dance. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 1966. Print.

I don't actually have and annotation for this book yet, because I haven't gotten it from the library, but I anticipate that it will bring an interesting perspective beyond what I've already found, because the author is German, and her perspective is going to be slightly different and unique.