Dance and the Specific Image: Improvisation

Rating:
Summary: A master collection of performance-quality improvisations.
Review:

An important book by an important dancer and choreographer.

Thumb through "Dance and the Specific Image: Improvisation" and you will envision yourself performing improvisations onstage. Daniel Nagrin's exercises, games and structures (EGAS, he calls them) work behind closed doors or in front of live audiences. They are clear and have a beginning, middle and end, and yet offer rich unpredictable results.

Nagrin's instructions are set apart from the rest of the text, so it's easy to graze through the book. But the greatest rewards come from reading the book from cover to cover, because the narrative reveals every step of the creative process to which Nagrin committed himself. It's an enjoyable read. It's very generous in its sharing. It makes you want to dance in a whole new way -- particularly in group sessions like the ones he directed.

Reading and re-reading this book is the next best thing to having Mr. Nagrin in residence.

A surprising application: At George Mason University this book is required reading for graduate courses in 3D human animation!

Rating:
Summary: Depth and beauty
Review: I've never come across such an intelligent and holistic dance artist as Mr Nagrin, nor one with such integrity.

He is sublimely articulate about his working methods, honest, and interesting to read. I can't wait to try some of the improvisations he describes with my tertiary students.