On International Dance Day, we are proud to highlight books that capture the importance of the universal language of movement and expression.

Margaret H’Doubler: The Legacy of America’s Dance Education Pioneer by John Wilson, Thomas Hagood, and Mary Alice Brennan

“An excellent resource on a seminal figure in American dance…Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.” –CHOICE

Perspectives on Contemporary Dance History: Revisiting Impulse, 1950–1970 by Thomas K. Hagood and Luke C. Kahlich

Impulse, A West Coast Annual of Contemporary Dance, initiated by Anna Halprin and Marian Van Tuyl, became a pioneering journal linking dance to broader societal themes. A 2008 project digitized Impulse, preserving its rich contributions to dance scholarship. This collection analyzes these contributions, offering a unique compilation of critical dance studies.

John Durang: Man of the American Stage by Lynn Matluck Brooks

“John Durang was the first native-born American to make his livelihood in European-style theater, and he was primarily known for his dancing. Brooks painstakingly compiles quotes, illustrations, and voluminous documentation of the birth of professional and (more often than not) physical theater in and around
Philadelphia, noting astutely that ‘Durang’s life coincided with the early unfolding of a nation.’” –Thinking Dance

Hybrid Lives of Teaching Artists in Dance and Theatre Arts: A Critical Reader by Mary Elizabeth Anderson and Doug Risner

Over the past fifteen years, the work of teaching artists has received growing professional attention and research: the Association of Teaching Artists (ATA) was founded in 1998 to support, advocate for, strengthen and serve the teaching artist profession. This volume, focused on teaching artists in dance and theatre disciplines, expands this developing area of inquiry and reveals topographies for teaching in and through these arts disciplines that have, until this text, been examined separately.

Legacy in Dance Education: Essays and Interviews on Values, Practices, and People by Thomas K. Hagood

“In reading this book, the existing or aspiring dance educator realizes that our legacy, while strong, is equally fragile. It only exists while those we have mentored are there to pass it along. That makes this book a wonder. It will encourage today’s dance educators to record their work.” –Journal of Dance Education

The Evolution of Aesthetic and Expressive Dance in Boston by Jody Weber

“Although local studies abound in some fields of history, in dance they are few, and of these, none have focused on Boston. Hence the value of this book, which traces the distinctly American form known as modern dance … it is hard to believe that the narrative Weber has constructed, with its focus on elite movement practices and German expressionist influences, is Boston’s only dance narrative.” –The New England Quarterly

For more information, see the Cambria Press website.

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