Review Of "On Stage Alone: Soloists And The Modern Dance Canon" Edited By C. Gitelman And B. Palfy

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

1-1-2013

Published In

Choice

Abstract

This is the final collection edited by American modern dancer, professor, and writer Claudia Gitelman (who died as this book was going to press) and Palfry, noted dance editor and distinguished librarian at the dance division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The breadth and depth of the editors' experiences is evident. After clearly establishing scope and priorities in the introduction, they provide eight essays that approach this subject from a variety of perspectives, geographic locales, and aesthetic orientations. Contributors explore solo dances and the artists who created and performed them from the late-19th century through the early 21st. Issues of gender, national, and racial difference are addressed in essays that focus on dancers from Asia, eastern and western Europe, South America, and the US. The common thread is the premise that solo dance artists can and have shaped cultural attitudes. Contributors include six established and two rising dance scholars; most are from the US, with one each from South America and the UK. As a whole, the collection addresses substantive questions and illuminates the ongoing significance of solo dance as an aspect of modern dance history. Summing Up: 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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