Review Of "The Oxford Handbook Of Improvisation In Dance" Edited By V. L. Midgelow

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

2-1-2020

Published In

Choice

Abstract

This volume joins the "Oxford Handbooks" series, which seeks to present commanding surveys of "current thinking and research" on given topics. Midgelow (Middlesex Univ., UK), who coedits (with Jane Bacon) the journal Choreographic Practices, commissioned essays that offer perspectives on the practice and theory of dance improvisation, a topic about which critical discourse and inquiry has developed significantly in the past 20 years. The essays cover a wide variety of dance styles and interdisciplinary contexts, and they are written by dancers, choreographers, and academics in dance along with historians, linguists, musicians, and philosophers, among others. Most contributors are from the US, the UK, and Continental Europe, and they range from young scholars to scholars with years of experience. This range makes the volume useful for a broad audience. The fairly consistent and approachable length of each essay (15–20 pages) will encourage comparative readings. Well-sourced references accompany each piece, and a helpful index is included. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

Comments

This work is freely available courtesy of Choice Reviews. The review has been reproduced in full in the abstract field.

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