DANC 2202 Fundamentals of Dance: Print Books for Fundamentals of Dance

Since its inception fifty years ago the New York City Ballet has been a vital force in American dance and an essential component of American cultural life. As the vehicle for the development and expression of George Balanchine's immensely influential artistic vision -- as well as that of other eminent choreographers -- the company has created a vast and significant body of work. Its dancers, choreographers, and artistic directors have seeded new dance companies around the nation, disseminating both the NYCB's repertory and its lofty standards of virtuosity. The company's numerous close ties with the overlapping New York artistic and intellectual worlds have played an important part in the foundation of many of the artistic movements of the twentieth century. Exploring these and other achievements with critical acumen, Dance for a City -- produced in conjunction with a major exhibition at the New-York Historical Society -- examines the rich history, cultural significance, and continuing accomplishments of America's premier ballet company.

Brief career biographies of over one hundred important modern choreographers, from Maud Allan to Batya Zamir, are accompanied by descriptive analyses of their outstanding works

Ethan Mordden has been hailed as "a sharp-eared listener and a discerning critic," by Opera News, which compares his books to "dinner with a knowledgeable, garrulous companion." The "preeminent historian of the American musical" (New York Times), he "brings boundless energy and enthusiasm buttressed by an arsenal of smart anecdotes" (Wall Street Journal). Now Mordden offers an entirely fresh and infectiously delightful history of American musical theatre. Anything Goes stages a grand revue of the musical from the 1700s through to the present day, narrated in Mordden's famously witty, scholarly, and conversational style. He places us in a bare rehearsal room as the cast of Oklahoma! changes history by psychoanalyzing the plot in the greatest of the musical's many Dream Ballets. And he gives us tickets for orchestra seats on opening night-raising the curtain on the pleasures of Victor Herbert's The Red Mill and the thrill of Porgy and Bess. Mordden examines the music, of course, but also more neglected elements. Dance was once considered as crucial as song; he follows it from the nineteenth century's zany hoofing to tap "combinations" of the 1920s, from the injection of ballet and modern dance in the 1930s and '40s to the innovations of Bob Fosse. He also explores the changing structure of musical comedy and operetta, and the evolution of the role of the star. Fred Stone, the avuncular Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, seldom varied his acting from part to part; but the versatile Ethel Merman turned the headlining role inside out in Gypsy, playing a character who was selfish, fierce, and destructive. From "ballad opera" to burlesque, from Fiddler on the Roof to Rent, the history and lore of the musical unfolds here in a performance worthy of a standing ovation [Publisher description]
Offers a history of American musical theater from the 1920s through to the 1970s, and includes such famous works as "Oklahoma!," "The Red Mill," and "Porgy and Bess."