Physics and the Art of Dance: Understanding Movement
by Kenneth Laws
Our Price: $142.30
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $16.00 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Kenneth LawsPhotographer: Martha Swope
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-03-31
ISBN: 0195149165
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of Physics and the Art of Dance: Understanding Movement
Book Review: As Much Science As The Dancer Ever Should Need.
Summary: 5 Stars
The question of how a knowledge of the science behind the movement of the human body helps students of dance learn to dance better is always discussed. Like the author, I too am both a physicist and a ballet dancer. I have found that the most important thing to learn in ballet is the imagery that works for you, and sometimes science can actually get in the way. Take walking for example: if we had to analyze ever movement in walking we would never be able to move. I should also point out that science still does not thoroughly understand walking, let alone dancing! Still, it is helpful in some places to understand, at least a little, what is happening in a movement or static pose. This book does a surprisingly fine job of covering most of the pertinent topics and some topics you would not have thought of asking about. I liked the fact that the author does not over simplify some topics, which is often done in elementary explanations. Science usually tries to abstract and simplify in order to explain phenomena, but this can lead to problems. Take, for example, the case of static balance on a point. If you approximate the human body as a rigid body, it is impossible to explain stable equilibrium on a point. Rigid bodies can only achieve unstable equilibrium over a point. But human beings are not rigid! In ballet, we can achieve stable balance over a point for an indefinite period of time(it is very difficult and rarely seen in performance but often in ballet class). This book actually mentions this and explains how it is done. It even includes a discussion of how much a cushioned floor will reduce shock to the dancer's joints. Many illustrations and photos are also included. This is the best book available on this subject, and for those who want to explore this topic further, this is the best place to start.
Summary of Physics and the Art of Dance: Understanding Movement
Written by a physicist with professional dance training, Physics and the Art of Dance explains how dancers can achieve better, safer performances through an understanding of physics in motion. Using simple, non-technical terms, Kenneth Laws combines his knowledge of both physics and dance to describe how the laws of gravity, momentum, and energy affect dancing bodies. The book explores the natural laws that govern the subtleties of balance, the techniques of leaps and pirouettes, and the impressive lifts and turns executed by ballet partners. Finally, Laws offers insight into two current discussions in the dance world--the effect of body size on ballet technique, and the relationship between science and the art of dance.Beautiful, original stop-action photographs by Martha Swope, along with clear diagrams, illustrate the concepts described in the text. Plus, an intriguing "puzzler" at the beginning of each chapter provides an engaging entr�e into the topics presented. For those who want a more advanced understanding of the physics, extensive appendices are provided.
This new book combines the best features of Laws's widely acclaimed The Physics of Dance and Physics, Dance, and the Pas de Deux by Laws and Cynthia Harvey. Its expert application of the basic principles of physics to the art of dance will be an invaluable resource for dancers and dance instructors and will open a new level of appreciation for lovers of the form. It will also appeal to physicists who seek to include the arts in their scientific pursuits.
Dance Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Dance Books
Rasa: Performing the Divine in Indiaby Susan L. Schwartz
Columbia University Press; Published: 2004-08-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $21.41
Price in other shops:
The Dancer Defects: The Struggle for Cultural Supremacy during the Cold Warby David Caute
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2003-08-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $94.17
Dance and Drama in Baliby De Zoete
Oxford University Press,South East Asia; Published: 1986-12; Hardcover; Book
Second Skin: Josephine Baker & the Modern Surfaceby Anne Anlin Cheng
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2011-01-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.16
Price in other shops:
Physics and the Art of Dance: Understanding Movementby Kenneth Laws
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2005-03-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $142.30
Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Showby Rachel Shteir
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2004-11-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.04
Price in other shops:
Dance Anecdotes: Stories from the Worlds of Ballet, Broadway, the Ballroom, and Modern DanceOxford University Press, USA; Published: 2006-05-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.14
Price in other shops:
Isadora Duncan: The Russian Years,by Il'Ia Il'Ich. ShneIder
Harcourt; Published: 1969-06; Hardcover; Book
Physics of Danceby Kenneth Laws
Schirmer Books; Published: 1984-08; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
Dance a Whileby Jane A. Harris, Marlys S. Waller, Anne M. Pittman
Prentice Hall; Published: 1988-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $23.93
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
100 Lessons in Classical Ballet: The Eight-Year Program of Leningrad's Vaganova Choreographic Schoolby Vera S. Kostrovitskaya
Limelight Editions; Limelight Editions; Published: 2004-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.32
Price in other shops:
Dance Kinesiologyby Sally Sevey Fitt
Schirmer; Published: 1996-10-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $95.17
Price in other shops:
Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Balletby Gail Grant
BN Publishing; Published: 2009-01-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.12
Price in other shops:
Classical Ballet Techniqueby Gretchen W. Warren
University Press of Florida; Published: 1989-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $25.91
Price in other shops:
Inside Ballet Technique: Separating Anatomical Fact from Fiction in the Ballet Classby Valerie Grieg
Princeton Book Company; Published: 1994-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.00
Price in other shops:
Ballet Pedagogy: The Art of Teachingby Rory Foster
University Press of Florida; Published: 2010-03-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $23.40
Price in other shops:
Dance Imagery for Technique and Performanceby Eric Franklin
Human Kinetics; Published: 1996-05-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.95
Price in other shops:
Conditioning for Danceby Eric Franklin
Human Kinetics; Published: 2003-09-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.50
Price in other shops:
Dance anatomy and kinesiologyby Karen Sue Clippinger
Human Kinetics; Published: 2006-12-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $56.91
Price in other shops:
Dance Anatomy (Sports Anatomy)by Jacqui Haas
Human Kinetics; Human Kinetics; Published: 2010-03-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.29
Price in other shops: