Written by a diverse group of authors from across the globe, Dance Cultures Around the World offers students a rich and in-depth look at 25 different cultures of dance. Through a dynamic collaboration with the chapter authors, editors Lynn E. Frederiksen and Shih-Ming Li Chang have carefully created a unique multimedia resource that includes vetted links to dance videos, images, and other materials. The text, suitable for high school and undergraduate general education and dance courses, addresses cross-cultural dynamics, colonialism, diaspora, politics, and more as critical factors in learning about cultures of dance around the world.
As stated in the preface, "Every culture has some form of dance. However, why people dance--and further, how they define and create dance--are the difficult questions at the core of this text. Once you understand why dance exists and examine the factors that explain particular dance forms, you can engage more fully with many cultures of dance, including your own."
Written by cultural insiders, the chapters illuminate contexts and histories of dances often misinterpreted through the notion of dance as a universal language. "Just as you would not expect to understand a foreign language simply because it is human speech, you cannot expect to understand foreign dance without some 'translation.' The multiple layers of meaning and history in foreign dances are often left unrevealed, and therefore the opportunity for true cross-cultural understanding is missed." To ensure rich cross-cultural engagement, the insiders "translate" their dance cultures, showing how influential forces affect both the qualities of the dance and its place in society.
Dance Cultures Around the World offers a wealth of information:
- It explores dance cultures in nine geopolitical regions.
- It reveals patterns that operate in each region, adjusting for historical, political, and geographical differences.
- It enriches the reader's experience of their own culture, as well as those of others, as they learn what dance is in various cultures, who dances, and why they dance.
Each chapter begins with a vignette describing a signature dance or dance-related feature of the culture, followed by an introduction to its history and geography. Significant events, people, and qualities of the dance culture are highlighted throughout the chapters.
Instructors and students have access to online resources through HK
Propel. Instructor resources include a sample syllabus, chapter summaries, and suggested answers for chapter discussion questions; a presentation package with PowerPoint slides; a test package with over 700 multiple-choice, true-false, and fill-in-the-blank questions; and ready-made chapter quizzes. Student resources include links to videos, articles, and websites for further learning; key terms and definitions; references and resources; an application activity for each chapter; and chapter quizzes.
Dance Cultures Around the World gives readers an overview of dance cultures and provides an insider's perspective on how dance develops and evolves around the world. Together with the online resources in HKPropel, the book gives students and instructors a well-crafted gateway to dance cultures across the globe.
Note: A code for accessing HK
Propel is included with all print books.
Lynn E. Frederiksen is a hard-of-hearing modern dancer, choreographer, educator, and author from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. She holds a BA in biology and an MA in environmental affairs from Clark University, and she has an MFA in dance from Smith College. Frederiksen was on the drama and dance faculty at Tufts University and is currently an adjunct professor of theater arts at Clark University, where she teaches African Inspirations: A Dance Collaboration, a course based on the dances Fanga and Buschasche, which she learned from Dr. Pearl Primus. Over the years, Frederiksen has presented her research on rhythms of bipedalism in the dance of language at various conferences, touting our facility for learning as a legacy of the human body in motion. Having danced a variety of forms beyond modern dance--including Caribbean, odissi, and Korean drum-dance--Frederiksen currently performs in Massachusetts with Lynn & Paul Dance, The 4:30 Collective, and Jen Lin Dance. Her choreography has been presented in New England and the Virgin Islands. In addition to her collaborations with Shih-Ming Li Chang, Frederiksen has also published poetry and prose in The Caribbean Writer. She received the 2016 Marvin E. Williams Literary Prize for her poem "The Courage of Egrets" and the 2020 Worcester County Poetry Association award for "Flowers."
Shih-Ming Li Chang is a choreographer, performer, educator, author, and emeritus associate professor of dance at Wittenberg University. She earned her BA in dance at the University of Chinese Culture in Taiwan and her MFA in dance at Smith College. At Wittenberg Ms. Chang taught ballet, modern, jazz, Chinese classical and folk dance, and dance composition and dance ethnology, and she directed Wittenberg's annual dance concert. While serving as chair of the theater and dance department, Chang hosted the 2019 ACDA East-Central conference at Wittenberg, and throughout her career she developed cultural festivals both on and off campus. Over the years Chang has given lectures and demonstrations on Chinese dance and culture in numerous universities, festivals, and conferences in Taiwan, Poland, and the United States. As a performer, Chang danced with Van Pelt Dance and also presented her own solo works in many venues. Chang served on the boards of directors of OhioDance, the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, and American College Dance Festival Association. She also was executive director for Weaving Pine--a nonprofit organization promoting Chinese Culture and performing arts in Ohio.
Chang and Frederiksen coauthored the book
Chinese Dance: In the Vast Land and Beyond (Wesleyan University Press, 2016) as well as an article on Chinese dance in
Encyclopedia of Modern China (2009) and "Dance Is the Prism: A Collaborative Journey Through Chinese Dance" in
Taking a Bite of the Big Apple: Exploring Resources to Promote Best Practices (NDEO 2009 Conference Proceedings).
