This thought-provoking volume is an edited collection of papers and presentations from the conference Ballet, Why and How? Illuminating the role of ballet in the vocational education and the professional life of today’s dancer, held in Holland in 2012. In her introduction Gaby Allard of the editorial board movingly describes her own experience as a dancer transitioning from ballet to contemporary dance, her realisation of being “locked in” to her balletic bodily practice, and her search for new knowledge and approaches. The conference addressed the need she perceives for the on-going work of research and innovation in “best practice” that is integral to dance culture to be shared in dialogue, here specifically considering “the position and value of classical technique for the dancer today” (Allard in Brown & Vos edit. 2014, p.20). A wide range of speakers with differing perspectives including historians, pedagogues, psychologists, practitioners and dance scientists contributed, to build a revealing picture of the current state of the art. (more…)
April 4, 2015
Ballet, Why and How? On the role of classical ballet in dance education, edited by Derrick Brown and Minke Vos, 2014 – Susie Crow reviews
Posted by susiecrow under Dance and Academia, reviews | Tags: Amy Raymond, Anna Aalten, ArtEZ Academia, ArtEZ Press, Ballet Why and How?, Charlotta Öfverholm, Derrick Brown, Elizabeth McPherson, Eva Karczag, Gaby Allard, Karen Wood, Larry Rhodes, Leda Meredith, Maaike Bleeker, Matt Wyon, Minke Vos, Mirjam Sögner, Niklas Fransson, Rachel Tova Winer, Robin Lakes, Sanna Nordin-Bates, Susan Leigh Foster, Susie Crow, Thom Hecht, Toby Bennett, Wil Boom |1 Comment