A comprehensive book that covers all aspects of choreography from the most fundamental techniques to highly sophisticated artistic concerns. The Intimate Act of Choreography presents the what and how of choreography in a workable format that begins with basics- - time; space; force -- and moves on to the more complex issues faced by the intermediate and advanced choreographer -- form; style; abstraction; compositional structures; and choreographic devices.The format of the book evolved from the idea that improvisation is a good way to learn choreography. This approach is in harmony with widely accepted dance philosophies that value the unique quality of each individualrsquo;s creativity. After discussing a concept; the authors provide improvisations; and choreographic studies that give the student a physical experience of that concept. The language is stimulating an innovative; rich in visual images that will challenge the choreographer to explore new directions in movement.The book is for serious dance students and professionals who are interested in both the practical and theoretical aspects of the art; dancers who are just starting to choreograph; and teachers who are seeking fresh ideas and new approaches to use with young choreographers. (A Teacherrsquo;s Addendum offers suggestions on how to use the material in the classroom.) It is a guide; a text; and an extensive resource of every choreographic concept central to the art form.
#174999 in eBooks 2012-04-30 2012-04-02File Name: B00ED6LGS2
Review
6550 of 6736 people found the following review helpful. Change your relationship with stuff and finally kick the clutter habit!By ebI will admit to having a tortured relationship with stuff. I grew up in a cluttered house and married the King of Clutter (hes the type of person wholl open a credit card bill; pay it online; and then just leave the empty envelope; inserts; and bill itself randomly strewn on whatever surface happens to be nearby). I dont like the disorder of clutter; but dealing with it is such a soul-sucking experience that I havent gotten very far. Many days I semi-wish the whole place would burn down and save me from having to deal with it.Typically Ill catch an episode of Hoarders; fear that Im one incapacitating injury away from being the focus of an episode (if I cant clean up all those strewn papers; theyll just pile up to the rafters; after all!); and then go through a stack of junk in a fit of unhappiness. Not the best way to deal with it all.Marie Kondos book is the opposite of that. Its a breath of fresh air and positive energy that brings real joy to the process of "tidying up."I was only about halfway through before I tackled my clothes. Shes right to begin there. My clothes are all mine (which also means that theyre in nowhere near as terrible a state as other things in my house); so going through them affects only me and involves only my own feelings. Her advice may sound silly at first; but if your belongings inspire feelings of unhappiness; guilt; etc.; her anthropomorphism of them can really help you change your viewpoint in a positive direction. I finished up with three bags for Goodwill and one for the garbage man. My drawers and closet; which were never very messy; are now exactly as I want them; and I feel fantastic!My one quibble with her instructions has to do with folding. Ive always disliked rolls of items. Instead; I fold so I can line things up like files. This makes it easy to pull things out without everything falling over. For my five-year-old; I fold his t-shirts so the front image is visible on the fold; then file them in the drawer so he can see exactly which shirt is which. (Heres an example: [...]) This works well for socks as well as t-shirts; pajamas; etc.Most of her advice and content is really focused on a Japanese audience. There are many things in the book that wont translate as well culturally for a Western/American readership. For example; she suggests that you greet your home much as you would a Shinto shrine. That is likely to carry a different level of meaning for someone in Japan than in the U.S. Other references to spiritual practice and feng-shui are not likely to resonate the same way for an American audience. I even wonder if the preference for rolling clothes is cultural; since I have such a strong reaction against it and instead prefer folding and filing!The examples in the book also tend toward the childless female. There is a lot of discussion of travel toiletries; but very little about kitchen utensils; toys; or other items found most often in a family home. The home workshop; which is a particular problem in my home; gets no mention at all. Dont Japanese people own countless drills; boxes of screws; and electrical tape?But the reason for reading this book is not the specific advice about t-shirts and cupboards. Its about changing your relationship with the stuff you own. The tone of her book is so upbeat and positive; its infectious. Its hard to keep reading it to the end; because you want to jump up and start using her methods immediately. I had little trouble adjusting her suggestions to match my own cultural perspective and physical home.In the book she mentions that itll take 6 months to fully tidy your home so that everything left inspires joy. Im now a week in; and 6 months seems like hardly enough time to tackle all the junk in my house; but I can fully see how this can be a life-changing process.2471 of 2566 people found the following review helpful. True account of someone who thought she was tidy alreadyBy CustomerMarie Kondo says something to the effect of: If you read this book and feel as though it is you; then it is meant to be. Not a direct quote; but something that resignates with me as I read some of the negative reviews. This book spoke to me; it was truly magic. When I moved 9 months ago; I took approx 3 car loads of belongings to goodwill; thinking that I had done a darn good job of getting rid of unnecessary items. Yet still; my home continued to be rather cluttered and storage spaces felt messy no matter how much I tried to organize. I have read a multitude of books and articles; searched on Pinterest and other sites about organization. Read things on minimalism that were just unrealistic to me. I wanted to be more minimalist; but just couldnt get myself to only own 12 items in my kitchen. Nothing was quite right. Marie addresses all of these problems in her book and why they may or may not work. When I started reading I thought that I might be able to find a few things to discard and some new ways to organize the clutter I currently have. This was definitely; not the case. I purchased this book on Friday and have only tackled the category of clothing and 1 "catch all " bedroom I had because I had a guest coming to stay. Im not even finished with those 2 places in my home and I have 2 large sized black garbage bags full; 4 smaller trash bags full; 1 medium sized box; and 3 of those reusable sized shopping bags and a pile of clothes still on the floor; all ready to leave my house. If you had asked me yesterday how many pairs of shoes I owned; I would have answered "maybe 20-25". When I took EVERY SINGLE shoe in my house and laid it out on the floor - not missing a single pair - it was eye opening; this is the magic of it. Taking a single category of item and laying it all out for you to truly see it. 59 pairs of shoes in all laid in front of me when I did this; some that I dont even remember purchasing or owning. Which is sad because I organized them all 9 months ago... I am happy to say I am down to 26 pairs right now. I even put 2 pairs that I had chosen to keep in the discard pile this morning after thinking "they are still new and cute" and then remembering why I never wore them after attempting to wear them to work (we didnt even make it out of the house before they were discarded). This book is definitely life changing magic. It helped me get past a ton of my emotions and just basic thoughts about my things and why I "needed" them or should just "keep" them whether I needed them or not; and gave me the permission I needed to discard them. If it speaks to you; enjoy it. If it does not speak to you; return it or donate it to someone it will speak to.101 of 102 people found the following review helpful. Life-changing book - best $10 Ive ever spent EVERBy Laura I.Im somewhat of a self-help book addict. I was browsing Pinterest one day and stumbled upon the "konmari method" and was intrigued; so I bought this book for kindle and read it in about an hour. I always thought I was a very organized person (because everything I owned had a designated; labelled place and my house was always super clean); but after reading this book I realized I was nothing more than a skilled hoarder. I locked myself in my house for 6 straight weeks (seriously; only came out for absolute necessary obligations and appointments) and decluttered the ever-living hell out of my house. The only thing that slowed me down was waiting for every Tuesday to roll around when the big donation truck would come and haul off all my unwanted items; or waiting for every Monday for the trash collection. I probably discarded well over 100 bags of clutter in that 6 weeks and earned over $400 selling the big-ticket items via social media; which I used to make my house prettier. I also donated an entire trunk full of books; CDs; and DVDs to my local library. My homes available storage used to be completely maxed out; and now I have empty drawers everywhere! I also have no less than 40 completely empty plastic storage bins in my garage that were previously full of clutter (and the storage bins are the next thing that will be sold!). Reading this book was life-changing. While I didnt follow it to the T (I do not thank my socks for their service every day LOL); it is the best feeling in the world to look around a room and realize you love every single item in said room. I no longer feel weighed down by "stuff". I still have a few odds and ends to finish up in my house; but Im about 90% done at this point and loving it. I never knew getting rid of things could be so addicting. I also never thought I was the kind of person who could ever throw away a photo; but by the time I got to the sentimental items category; I discarded an entire garage can full of photos without hesitation and it felt great!