Review Of "Anthropology And The Dance: Ten Lectures, Second Edition" By D. Williams

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

1-1-2005

Published In

Choice

Abstract

Williams wrote the first edition (Ten Lectures on Theories of the Dance, 1991) of this dense work for use in her graduate courses in human movement studies at New York University (1979-84) and at Sydney University in Australia (1986-90). That volume has been out of print since 1997. The increase in discourse concerning dance and anthropology, particularly in graduate programs, makes this second edition timely. Williams examines how various authors "have attempted to understand and account for dances and dancing and for the beliefs and practices of those who dance." Each chapter approaches this basic theme from a different perspective, e.g., intellectualistic and literary explanations, functional explanations. References to and examples from a wealth of sources are included. In an appendix, Williams revisits and critiques some of her earlier work, and this material will be valuable for beginning scholars. Equally useful are a chapter on bibliographic controls, the glossary, and Williams' extensive notes, both for the information they contain and for the forms they suggest as models. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduates and above in the fields of anthropology and dance.

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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