The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance - Lloyd, Margaret (New York Knopf, 1949)
What is "modern dance" and how does it differ from ballet and other forms of theatrical dancing-who made it what it is? These questions and their answers are the subjects around which Margaret Lloyd has written a unique and endlessly entertaining book.Originally published in 1949, The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance captures the beginnings of modern dance history fresh from its inception. Margaret Lloyd creates a detailed, witty and insightful overview of the art form in its early stages. The book is organized by individuals and then branches into documentation of important subcategories of dance (subsidizing; humanizing dance; forms of documentation).The seminal choreographers, teachers and dance groups of the first half of the twentieth century are all included: Isadora Duncan, Mary Wigman, Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, Helen Tamiris, Hanya Holm, The New Dance Group, JosÃ© LimÃ³n, Anna Sokolow, Esther Junger, Sybil Shearer, Katherine Dunham, Valerie Bettis, Pearl Primus, Lester Horton and Eleanor King.Lloyd describes the importance of each of these individuals through personal anecdotes, performance recounts and creative analysis. When there is a story, Lloyd tells it. When a choreographic invention or effect is important, she describes it.The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance deals with a range of aspects of the art form to show that modern dance is a question of attitude, a way of expression, social perceptions and sociological thrusts. It is the personality of modern dance, captured in words. Includes 49 illustrations.