GIA's score reading programs teach the vital skills of choral conducting: the ability to analyze scores and then detect errors in performance. Ideal for... undergraduate and graduate students, and even experienced conductors, these are challenging, sequential programs that really teach. Here ís how: Performances of a diverse selection of choral music are recorded with errors built in. Students listen to the performance and evaluate the tempo, balance, tone quality, and intonation (among other characteristics) of the performance. They must consider stylistic as well as harmonic relationships. The students are free to make any necessary marks on the scores--the workbooks are theirs to keep--and compare their analyses to those of a panel of experts. Next they will hear a recorded "acceptable" performance of the excerpt. Each choral workbook contains a carefully sequenced set of 60+ exercises--enough to last the semester. All of this in a surprisingly low-priced package.

Continuing the teaching legacy of Frauke Haasemann...First published in German; now available in EnglishWritten in a straightforward and direct manner,... this volume provides an overview of choral vocal technique for choirs at any level of development. There are 94 sequential exercises that can serve as the central part of vocal training for any choir developed by this master teacher.Topics covered include:An overview of the how and why of vocal pedagogyTechniques for teaching posture, breathing, resonance, and relaxationExercises for high range, low range, dynamics, and dictionSuggestions for planning the choral warm-upCanonic exercises for developing voice and ear

Chords and Keys is written especially for group piano instruction. However, it can be used to much advantage in the individual lesson. The students... should have had the equivalent of the Primer Level of the David Carr Glover Piano Library and should be able to play five-finger patterns in most of the Major Keys and Major Triads by memory.

Choreographing Creativity: Teaching as Artistic and Technical within the Curriculum of Composition views teaching as a combination of artistic and... technical elements, similar to a figure skating or dance routine. Dr. Jennifer Bird presents a fictional story founded in factual teaching methods to illustrate this concept. The fifteen teachers in "Cohort for Change" join her on this journey to share snapshots of their classroom experiences and advice for educators who wish to reclaim classroom creativity in the current "teach to the test" culture of education.

The choreographies of Bill T. Jones, Cleveland Ballet Dancing Wheels, Zab Maboungou, David Dorfman, Marie Chouinard, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and others,... have helped establish dance as a crucial discourse of the 90s. These dancers, Ann Cooper Albright argues, are asking the audience to see the body as a source of cultural identity -- a physical presence that moves with and through its gendered, racial, and social meanings.Through her articulate and nuanced analysis of contemporary choreography, Albright shows how the dancing body shifts conventions of representation and provides a critical example of the dialectical relationship between cultures and the bodies that inhabit them. As a dancer, feminist, and philosopher, Albright turns to the material experience of bodies, not just the body as a figure or metaphor, to understand how cultural representation becomes embedded in the body. In arguing for the intelligence of bodies, Choreographing Difference is itself a testimonial, giving voice to some important political, moral, and artistic questions of our time.

The choreographies of Bill T. Jones, Cleveland Ballet Dancing Wheels, Zab Maboungou, David Dorfman, Marie Chouinard, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and others,... have helped establish dance as a crucial discourse of the 90s. These dancers, Ann Cooper Albright argues, are asking the audience to see the body as a source of cultural identity -- a physical presence that moves with and through its gendered, racial, and social meanings.Through her articulate and nuanced analysis of contemporary choreography, Albright shows how the dancing body shifts conventions of representation and provides a critical example of the dialectical relationship between cultures and the bodies that inhabit them. As a dancer, feminist, and philosopher, Albright turns to the material experience of bodies, not just the body as a figure or metaphor, to understand how cultural representation becomes embedded in the body. In arguing for the intelligence of bodies, Choreographing Difference is itself a testimonial, giving voice to some important political, moral, and artistic questions of our time.

"This is an urgently needed book – as the question of choreographing behavior enters into realms outside of the aesthetic domains of theatrical... dance, Susan Foster writes a thoroughly compelling argument." – André Lepecki, New York University "May well prove to be one of Susan Foster’s most important works." – Ramsay Burt, De Montford University, UK What do we feel when we watch dancing? Do we "dance along" inwardly? Do we sense what the dancer’s body is feeling? Do we imagine what it might feel like to perform those same moves? If we do, how do these responses influence how we experience dancing and how we derive significance from it? Choreographing Empathy challenges the idea of a direct psychophysical connection between the body of a dancer and that of their observer. In this groundbreaking investigation, Susan Foster argues that the connection is in fact highly mediated and influenced by ever-changing sociocultural mores. Foster examines the relationships between three central components in the experience of watching a dance – the choreography, the kinesthetic sensations it puts forward, and the empathetic connection that it proposes to viewers. Tracing the changing definitions of choreography, kinesthesia, and empathy from the 1700s to the present day, she shows how the observation, study, and discussion of dance have changed over time. Understanding this development is key to understanding corporeality and its involvement in the body politic.

One school of thought regarding choreography says to teach only the rules of fundamental design and form and have students create from formulas.... Another school of thought eschews the fundamentals and focuses on creativity.   Author Diana Green espouses both theories and blends them beautifully in Choreographing From Within: Developing a Habit of Inquiry as an Artist. Her approach to integrating the art and craft of choreography grounds students in the fundamentals and takes the fear out of creativity.   Green uses an inquiry-based approach to engage students, placing them at the center of the learning and allowing for multiple pathways of learning. Rather than present a cookbook approach with recipes to follow, Green offers a thorough understanding of the medium, provides examples, and allows students to learn, explore, and create based on their own unique styles.   Choreographing From Withinwill help students • learn to create movement that originates from a specific intent, • understand the elements of choreography, • synthesize those elements through a series of exercises in which they are given explicit instruction, and • break formulaic boundaries as they create their own dances.   The text contains assignments that reinforce the concepts the students learn in each chapter (including the elements of energy, space, time, and quality; partnering; transitions; and formulas). Each choreographic concept is explored through warm-up exercises, moves on to improvisations, and then focuses on students’ discovery through reflective questioning, discussions, and short movement studies. The text provides tools for students and their instructors to evaluate and document their progress through class critiques, journal writing, rubrics, digital portfolios, and critical thinking essays. Students can retest their discoveries by completing exercises that focus on breaking the rules they learned. In this way, each student is encouraged to develop a unique creative style to be used in his or her own finished work, be it for solo, duet, or small-group choreography.   Part I focuses on the process of choreography and how to be intentionally creative. Part II introduces students to the elements of movement, helping them to analyze the separate elements before they learn to synthesize them in part III, where music is added. Students also learn how to apply transitions in their work, use formulas to manipulate movement, and explore with props and various numbers of dancers. Finally, in part IV, students begin planning finished pieces of choreography using methods of refining and forming.   The book’s dynamic photos illustrate the concepts covered in the book, helping to shape students’ awareness and inspire them in their own creations. Because the text is designed for use with all dance techniques, the glossary terms clarify communication across various dance styles.   Choreographing From Withinhelps students find the unique artist within themselves. That unique artist springs from the inquiry-based approach that puts students in the driver’s seat and provides numerous pathways and tools for them to develop their abilities to their fullest.

Choreography: A Basic Approach Using Improvisation is the complete guide to understanding the entire process of choreography, from concept to stage... production. Thousands of dancers and dance instructors have used the first two editions of this book to solve common challenges in choreography, improvise movement phrases, expand movements into dances, and organize dances into complete productions and concerts.This updated edition includes examples of how today's multimedia technology can be used to enhance choreography with special lighting effects, slide and PowerPoint projections, virtual dance performances, video conferencing, and motion capture. Each chapter contains movement exploration exercises, review and reflection questions, and application challenges that will help readers develop a better understanding of the choreographic concepts provided. And more than 70 high-quality photos provide a visual frame of reference and clarify key concepts. Choreography: A Basic Approach Using Improvisation bridges the theoretical and practical aspects of the choreographic process. It is an excellent reference for serious dancers, choreographers, dance instructors, and teachers who want to understand the creative process of transforming movement into dance.

Spiced with wit and strong opinions, the third installment in Daniel Nagrin’s trilogy explores the art of choreography through the life’s work of an... important artist. This is the first book to approach choreography through content rather than structure.

Scholars and Guatemalans have characterized eastern Guatemala as "Ladino" or non-Indian. The Ch'orti' do not exhibit the obvious indigenous markers... found among the Mayas of western Guatemala, Chiapas, and the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. Few still speak Ch'orti', most no longer wear distinctive dress, and most community organizations have long been abandoned.During the colonial period, the Ch'orti' region was adjacent to relatively vibrant economic regions of Central America that included major trade routes, mines, and dye plantations. In the twentieth century Ch'orti's directly experienced U.S.-backed dictatorships, a 36-year civil war from start to finish, and Christian evangelization campaigns, all while their population has increased exponentially. These have had tremendous impacts on Ch'orti' identities and cultures.From 1991 to 1993, Brent Metz lived in three Ch'orti' Maya-speaking communities, learning the language, conducting household surveys, and interviewing informants. He found Ch'orti's to be ashamed of their indigeneity, and he was fortunate to be present and involved when many Ch'orti's joined the Maya Movement. He has continued to expand his ethnographic research of the Ch'orti' annually ever since and has witnessed how Ch'orti's are reformulating their history and identity.

Dr. William Dehning has been the head of the Choral Department at University of Southern California since 1992. His choirs have wowed audiences... worldwide and at the ACDA National Convention. Employing his no-nonsense tone, dry wit and deep passion, he tel

The horse Susan Richards chose for rescue wouldn’t be corralled into her waiting trailer. Instead Lay Me Down, a former racehorse with a foal close on... her heels, walked right up that ramp and into Susan’s life. This gentle creature—malnourished, plagued by pneumonia and an eye infection—had endured a rough road, but somehow her heart was still open and generous. It seemed fated that she would come into Susan’s paddock and teach her how to embrace the joys of life despite the dangers of living.An elegant and often heartbreaking tale filled with animal characters as complicated and lively as their human counterparts, this is an inspiring story of courage and hope and the ways in which all love—even an animal’s—has the power to heal.