Why Dance Matters

A passionate and moving tribute to the captivating power of dance, not just as an art form but as a language that transcends barriers

"[A] smart, bracing book of reflection, analysis, memoir and history."--Willard Spiegelman, Wall Street Journal

"A veritable master class."--Anne Doventry, Booklist

Mindy Aloff, a journalist, an essayist, and a dance critic, analyzes dance as the ultimate expression of human energy and feeling. From her personal anecdotes, her engaging collection of stories about dance from around the world, or her description of the captivating photograph by Helen Levitt of two children dancing, which she sees as one embodiment of the mystery and joy that dancing can evoke, Aloff's exploration of the aesthetic, social, and spiritual impacts of dance will prove spellbinding.

Aloff takes us on a journey through various forms of dance--rituals, religious observances, storytelling, musical interpretations--to show why dance matters to human beings. Interlaced with personal experiences, this book builds on analysis to reveal the intimate relationship we have with dance--personal, spiritual, soul-searching, medicinal, and entertaining. The ideas speak to both specialist and general readers.

ISBN-13: 9780300204520

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Yale University Press

Publication Date: 01-17-2023

Pages: 280

Product Dimensions: 5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.20(d)

Series: Why X Matters Series

Mindy Aloff’s writing on cultural topics has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Threepenny Review. She is the editor of the anthology Dance in America and the author of Hippo in a Tutu: Dancing in Disney Animation.

Table of Contents

1 Child's Play 1

2 Walking and Dancing 47

3 Steps 87

4 Floatings 107

5 A Florilegium 127

6 Battles, Without and Within 167

7 Lessons 203

Epilogue 217

Acknowledgments 237

Credits 245

Index 247

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