Dancing Naturally

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

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2. Nature, Force and Variation

   • Rachel Fensham

   Pages 1-15

3. Constructing and Contesting the Natural in British Theatre Dance

   • Alexandra Carter

   Pages 16-30

4. Ideas of Nature, the Natural and the Modern in Early Twentieth-Century Dance Discourse

   • Michael Huxley, Ramsay Burt

   Pages 31-42

5. The Ancient Greeks and the ‘Natural’

   • Fiona Macintosh

   Pages 43-57

6. From the Artificial to the Natural Body: Social Dancing in Britain, 1900–1914

   • Theresa Jill Buckland

   Pages 58-72

7. Dancing Based on Natural Movement

   • Mary A. Johnstone, Madge Atkinson

   Pages 73-81

8. Undressing and Dressing Up: Natural Movement’s Life in Costume

   • Rachel Fensham

   Pages 82-97

9. Nature Moving Naturally in Succession: An Exploration of Doris Humphrey’s Water Study

   • Lesley Main

   Pages 98-109

10. Tensing and Relaxing Naturally: Systematic Approaches to Training the Body

    • Susan Leigh Foster

    Pages 110-123

11. ‘Female Nature’, Body Culture and Plastique

    • Karen Vedel

    Pages 124-138

12. Tethering the Flow: Dialogues between Dance, Physical Culture and Antiquity in Interwar Australia

    • Amanda Card

    Pages 139-154

13. Mining Anatomy: Moving Naturally

    • Libby Worth

    Pages 155-169

14. Back Matter

    Pages 170-179

    PDF

A renewed interest in nature, the ancient Greeks, and the freedom of the body was to transform dance and physical culture in the early twentieth century. The book discusses the creative individuals and developments in science and other art forms that shaped the evolution of modern dance in its international context.

• dance
• dancing
• theatre

'Foregrounding the work of the British 'natural movement' pioneers, whilst enlivening concepts of 'the natural' and 'natural movement' as they exist within a range of contexts, this exciting collection makes an important contribution to the field of dance studies. Intersecting detailed studies of a range of movement practices with historical and contemporary discourse the book is interdisciplinary in approach and will be of interest to a broad range of readers. Thoroughly enjoyable.'- Vida L Midgelow, University of Northampton, UK

• Middlesex University, London, UK

  Alexandra Carter

• University of Surrey, UK

  Rachel Fensham

MADGE ATKINSON formerly choreographer, UK (deceased) THERESA JILL BUCKLAND Professor of Performing Arts, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK RAMSAY BURT Professor of Dance History, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK AMANDA CARD Lecturer in Performance Studies, University of Sydney, Australia SUSAN LEIGH FOSTER Distinguished Professor in the Department of World Arts and Cultures, UCLA, USA MICHAEL HUXLEY Researcher and Teacher, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK FIONA MACINTOSH Reader in Greek and Roman Drama, Fellow of St Hilda's College and Director of the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama, University of Oxford, UK LESLEY MAIN Lecturer in Humphrey Technique and Repertory, Middlesex University, UK KAREN VEDEL Postdoctorate Research Fellow in 'Dance in Nordic Spaces', Tampere University, Finland LIBBY WORTH Senior Lecturer in Theatre Practice, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

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