Tisch Dance is pleased to announce the recent publication of faculty member Patricia Beaman’s World Dance Cultures: From Ritual to Spectacle (Routledge Press, 2017). This textbook is based upon the global dance courses she has taught at NYU since 2000, and investigates dance as a pivotal component in healing, fertility, and religious rituals, death ceremonies and ancestor worship, as well as in theatrical entertainment. World Dance Cultures examines how constellations of history, politics, economics, and societal/religious values have impacted dance, and focuses upon the fragility and resilience of cultural traditions.
World Dance Cultures celebrated its launch at Tisch Dance, which featured readings from the book and performances of dance from around the world. The performers were Caren Calder (Gumbay song), Hari Krishnan (bharatanatyam), Toshinora Hamada (noh theater), Carlos Fittante (Balinese terunajaya), and Yloy Ybarra (flamenco). The readers were Patricia Beaman, Karina Ikezoe, Donald C. Shorter, and Edmund McCarthy.
