This pioneering study is one of the major publications in the increasingly popular and largely undocumented area of circus studies.Through photographs and illustrations; Peta Tait presents an extraordinary survey of 140 years of trapeze acts and the socially changing ideas of muscular action in relation to our understanding of gender and sexuality. She questions how spectators see and enjoy aerial actions; and what cultural identities are presented by bodies in fast; physical aerial movement.Adeptly locating aerial performance within the wider cultural history of bodies and their identities; Circus Bodies explores this subject through a range of films such as Trapeze (1956) and Wings of Desire (1987) and Tait also examines live performances including:* the first trapeze performers: Leacute;otard and the Hanlon Brothers* female celebrities; Azella; Sanyeah; black French aerialist LaLa; the infamous Leona Dare; and the female human cannonballs* twentieth-century gender benders; Barbette and Luisita Leers* the Codonas; Concellos; Gaonas; Vazquez and Pages troupes* imaginative aerial acts in Cirque de Soleil and Circus Oz productions.This book will prove an invaluable resource for all students and scholars interested in this fascinating field.
#2077403 in eBooks 2005-11-16 2005-11-16File Name: B000OI0ZM6
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. IncompleteBy Jason HussongThe reader has too rely too much on the implied expertise of the authors; since there is no biography page; to believe what they state in Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate About the Benefits of the Arts. Their argument would have been better served; and maybe even proven; had they been more thorough in their presentation by offering statistics through the use of charts and graphs; comparisons to other for-profit areas where similar benefits to the person and public can be gained; as well as simple autobiographical information to show the reader they are experts who are qualified to write such a study based on the analysis of other experts. As it is; none of this was done; leaving their argument thin or incomplete throughout. The lacking definition in the Gifts of the Muse of which arts the authors are writing about; is the most detrimental point to their argument. Without a distinct explanation of what they are attempting to analyze and advocate for; the reader cannot completely comprehend what benefits are gained by the authorrsquo;s arguments. I tried; wondering if playing video games would keep me from joining a gang or staying off drugs; as referenced; just as questioning if there is true economic benefit in terms of tourism when it comes to having art museums. None of this is analyzed; compared; or contrasted in Gifts of the Muse ndash; not only in a hyper-local look at a specific city or state; but on a more national or global scale ndash; and so the authorrsquo;s reasoning is ultimately deficient in its factual proof.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. FantasticBy multiple intelligencesThis provides a whole new look at how the arts community can describe our impact on young musicians. Every arts grant writer should read and keep a copy near the computer.