Dance Leadership

Theory Into Practice

Jane M. Alexandre

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781137575913
• eBook ISBN: 9781137575920
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Dance

This "what is"—rather than "how to"— volume proposes a theoretical framework for understanding dance leadership for dancers, leaders, and students of both domains, illustrated by portraits of leaders in action in India, South Africa, UK, US, Brazil and Canada. What is dance leadership? Who practices it, in what setting, and why? Through performance, choreography, teaching, writing, organizing and directing, the dance leaders portrayed herein instigate change and forward movement. Illustrating all that is unique about leading in dance, and by extension the other arts, readers can engage with such wide-ranging issues as: Does the practice of leading require followers? How does one individual's dance movement act on others in a group? What does 'social engagement' mean for artists? Is the pursuit of art and culture a human right?

Table of contents

• Acknowledgements
• List of Credit Lines
• Contents
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Toward a Theoretical View of Dance Leadership
• Chapter 3: “We Think Differently in the Landscape of Dance”: T. Lang
• Chapter 4: “I Wanted to Be a Dance Company and Not a Social Project”: Sonia Destri
• Chapter 5: “The Outcome Will Be Exciting if the Process Is Exciting”: Urmimala Sarkar Munsi
• Chapter 6: “We Found There Were Issues We Had to Address”: Jay Hirabayashi
• Chapter 7: “I Want to Ask Questions That Are Normally Swept Under the Carpet”: Dada Masilo
• Chapter 8: “Dance Points Us into Life”: Adam Benjamin
• Chapter 9: Circling Back, Moving Forward
• Chapter 10: Enhancing the Theory
• Chapter 11: Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index