ABSTRACT

This introduction to world dance charts the diverse histories and stories of dancers and artists through ten key moments that have shaped the vast spectrum of different forms and genres that we see today.

Designed for weekly use in dance history courses, ten chosen milestones move chronologically from the earliest indigenous rituals and the dance crazes of Eastern trade routes, to the social justice performance and evolving online platforms of modern times. This clear, dynamic framework uses the idea of migrations to chart the shifting currents of influence and innovation in dance from an inclusive set of perspectives that acknowledge the enduring cultural legacies on display in every dance form.

Milestones are a range of accessible textbooks, breaking down the need-to-know moments in the social, cultural, political, and artistic development of foundational subject areas.

chapter Chapter 1|36 pages

Indigenous Dances

Lakota Bodies and Lands on and as the Frontlines

chapter Chapter 2|23 pages

Silk Road

Commerce, Conquest, and College

chapter Chapter 3|26 pages

Asé! in Action

Dance in the American African Diaspora

chapter Chapter 4|22 pages

Ballet

From Louis XIV to Misty Copeland

chapter Chapter 5|26 pages

Modern and Postmodern Dance

War and Choreography in the 20th and 21st Centuries

chapter Chapter 6|25 pages

Dance and Social Justice

Retracing the Steps of Michio Itō

chapter Chapter 7|21 pages

Dance as Healing

Unearthing Therapeutic Modalities

chapter Chapter 8|26 pages

Dance on Film

From Busby Berkeley to Bollywood

chapter Chapter 9|23 pages

Intersecting Body and Machine

Tracing the Emergence of Dance Technology

chapter Chapter 10|20 pages

The Future of Dance

Moving Through Time and Space