America dancing : from the cakewalk to the moonwalk
(Book)
Author
Published
New Haven [Connecticut] : Yale University Press, [2015].
ISBN
9780300201314, 0300201311
Physical Desc
xii, 398 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 25 cm
Status
Copies
Location | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Brookline - Adult | 792.8 Pugh 2015 | On Shelf |
Cambridge - Adult | 793.3197 Pugh | On Shelf |
Concord - Adult | 792.809 Pugh | On Shelf |
Newton - Adult | 792.8 P96A 2015 | On Shelf |
More Details
Published
New Haven [Connecticut] : Yale University Press, [2015].
Format
Book
Language
English
ISBN
9780300201314, 0300201311
Notes
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 315-376), filmography (pages 315-319), and index.
Description
"The history of American dance reflects the nation's tangled culture. Dancers from wildly different backgrounds watched, imitated, and stole from one another. Audiences everywhere embraced the result as deeply American. Chronicling dance from the minstrel stage to the music video, Megan Pugh shows how freedom--that nebulous, contested American ideal--emerged as a genre-defining aesthetic. Ballerinas mingled with slumming thrill-seekers, and hoedowns showed up on elite opera-house stages. Steps invented by slaves captivated the British royalty and the Parisian avant-garde. Dances were better boundary crossers than their dancers, however, and the racism and class conflicts that haunt everyday life shadow American dance as well. Center stage in America Dancing is a cast of performers who slide, glide, stomp, and swing their way through history. At the nadir of U.S. race relations, cakewalkers embraced the rhythms of black America. On the heels of the Harlem Renaissance, Bill Robinson tap-danced to stardom. At the height of the Great Depression, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers unified highbrow and popular art. In the midst of 1940s patriotism, Agnes de Mille brought jazz and square dance to ballet, then took it all to Broadway. In the decades to come, the choreographer Paul Taylor turned pedestrian movements into modern masterpiecds, and Michael Jackson moonwalked his way to otherworldly stardom. These artists both celebrated and criticized the country, all while inspiring others to get moving. For it is partly by pretending to be other people, Pugh argues, that Americans discover themselves ... America Dancing demonstrates the centrality of dance in American art, life, and identity, taking us to watershed moments when the nation worked out a sense of itself through public movement"--Publisher's description.
Subjects
LC Subjects
African American dance -- History.
African American dancers -- History.
Dance -- Social aspects -- United States -- History.
Dance -- United States -- History.
Dance in motion pictures, television, etc. -- United States -- History.
Jazz dance -- United States -- History.
Popular culture -- United States -- History.
Tap dancing -- United States -- History.
African American dancers -- History.
Dance -- Social aspects -- United States -- History.
Dance -- United States -- History.
Dance in motion pictures, television, etc. -- United States -- History.
Jazz dance -- United States -- History.
Popular culture -- United States -- History.
Tap dancing -- United States -- History.
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Citations
APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)
Pugh, M. (2015). America dancing: from the cakewalk to the moonwalk . Yale University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Pugh, Megan, 1982-. 2015. America Dancing: From the Cakewalk to the Moonwalk. Yale University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Pugh, Megan, 1982-. America Dancing: From the Cakewalk to the Moonwalk Yale University Press, 2015.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Pugh, Megan. America Dancing: From the Cakewalk to the Moonwalk Yale University Press, 2015.
Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.
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