Contemporary Dance Lighting: The Poetry and the Nitty-Gritty

Carol M. Press, EdD earned her doctorate from Columbia Teachers College in Dance Education and Clinical Psychology. Dr. Press is a choreographer, performer, scholar, writer, and teacher whose choreographies have been shown internationally. She is the author of The Dancing Self: Creativity, Modern Dance, Self Psychology and Transformative Education, and co-editor with Dr. Edward Warburton of Creating Dance: A Traveler's Guide. Currently, Dr. Press teaches Dance History and Dance Education in the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Vickie J. Scott earned graduate degrees in Lighting Design and Technical Direction at the School of Theater, Film and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles. She creates lighting and scenic designs for dance and theater throughout the US and abroad, and she is the resident lighting designer and production coordinator for the Ojai Playwrights Conference, the chairperson of the Advisory Board for The California Arts Project (TCAP), a member of the United Scenic Artists local 829, and the founding director of the Initiative for New and Reimagined Work in the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she currently teaches and works as a designer.

Title: Contemporary Dance Lighting: The Poetry and the Nitty-Gritty

Author:

ISBN: 9781032130453

Binding:

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Publication Date: 2022-09-23

Number of Pages: 248

Weight: 0.4719 kg

To many who make their lives on the stage, lighting remains a mystery. Talking about lighting is even more of a mystery. Contemporary Dance Lighting: The Poetry and the Nitty-Gritty reveals how lighting for dance is a masterful duet of visual storytelling between lighting designer and choreographer. It lays the foundation of common terminology and the basis for all communication between collaborators. The use of the first-person narrative invites the reader in and makes it much less intimidating to students new to lighting. From the step-by-step realized process between the designer and choreographer to the further reflections by professionals, this book will be an important addition to any lighting class, lighting designer or choreographers' library. The authors showcase the value of collaboration at the core of making art.

Jennifer Read, Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance, Los Angeles Valley College

Far from your ordinary dry textbook, Contemporary Dance Lighting: The Poetry and the Nitty-Gritty is both personable and informative. A must-have resource for teachers and their students: future designers and choreographers, who are often the same person looking to illuminate the possibilities of the human form. The text allows you to shift between sections as your inspiration propels you.

Angelia Leung, Interim Chair, Department of World Arts and Culture/Dance, University of California, Los Angeles

Contemporary Dance Lighting: The Poetry and the Nitty-Gritty illuminates the under discussed world of lighting for dance. The authors, a designer and a choreographer, combine their talents to shine light on how a student can grow into lighting dance creatively, effectively, and-most importantly-vibrantly.

Ilana Morgan, Associate Professor, Department of Dance, Texas Woman's University

Contemporary Dance Lighting: The Poetry and the Nitty-Gritty is a rare textbook in the arts that can interweave conceptual ideas with technical details. This very useful and interactive guide for students, designers, and choreographers, brings those two realms together in order to focus on the importance of collaboration and the necessity of connecting seeing with feeling - whether you are onstage or behind the lights.

Jen Groseth, Lighting and Sound Designer, Youth Performing Arts School, Louisville, KY, Collaborator, with Ann Cooper Albright, on Dancing with Light, https://www.wesleyan.edu/wespress/tracesoflight/

Contemporary Dance Lighting: The Poetry and the Nitty-Gritty shakes up learning about lighting design with not only breadth and depth, but humor. The authors' artistic passions shine through in the text, providing clarity toward the tools and processes of lighting design for dance.

Noah J. Files, Assistant Professor, Department of Art & Theatre, Northern State University