Understanding Dance

Different Ways of Seeing, Feeling, and Sensing Dance

By: Sarah McCormick

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

About The Author

Sarah McCormick received her BA in World Arts & Culture from UCLA and her MFA from SUNY Brockport. She is currently Assistant Professor of Dance in the Department of Visual & Theatre Arts at The University of Tennessee at Martin (2008-present). As Director of UT at Martin's Dance Ensemble she has brought her philosophy of dance as education into action. Dance Ensemble student members have taught and performed at Huntingdon Primary, Dyersburg High School, Martin Primary, and Martin Elementary. Her choreography embodies a World-dance approach, as she combines her intensive Western modern dance-theater training with her explorations in Indian, Balinese, Japanese, and African movements. As Artistic Director of her own company Tyndale/Sarah Pogostin she produced works in New York and abroad from 1989-1995 in such venues as Movement Research, DIA Art Foundation, Cunningham Studio, St. Mark's Church and DTW, in addition to performances in Barcelona and Vienna. Her work has also been highlighted at various Universities, Festivals, and Conferences. She has also presented papers at NDEO (National Dance Education Organization)m CORD (Conference on Research in Dance), National Women's Studies Organization, and at the Dyersburg Book Festival in Dyersburg, TN. Mrs. McCormick is a board member of TAD (Tennessee Association of Dance) and a member of NDEO (National Dance Education Organization).

About The Book

Understanding Dance: Different Ways of Seeing, Feeling, and Sensing Dance is an overview of various dance styles from a diversity of cultures, including our own Euro-American culture. Created for a general survey course of dance, this textbook utilizes a variety of perspectives, including historical, theoretical, practical, and cultural viewpoints. The book is designed to give all students an opportunity to investigate various World and Western Dance principles, styles, and aesthetics. There are twelve chapters to further students' awareness of dance in our culture and how dance has played and still plays an important role in our society. In the end, this textbook should provide students with a strong sense of understanding and realizing the power and purpose of dance within a global perspective.