Dance education is at a critical juncture in the United States. Even though it has gained wide acceptance as a valuable educational discipline and has achieved such victories as inclusion in the National Education Goals, its future remains uncertain. Educational reform, budget cuts, and conflicting views on the relevance of arts education all bring into question how—and if—dance should be taught in our schools.

In Partnering Dance and Education, Dr. Judith Lynne Hanna presents a compelling argument for making dance central to every student’s education. She examines current trends and issues in education to show how dance can be successfully justified and taught in today’s changing educational environment.

Choreography: A Basic Approach Using Improvisation is the complete guide to understanding the entire process of choreography, from concept to stage production. Thousands of dancers and dance instructors have used the first two editions of this book to solve common challenges in choreography, improvise movement phrases, expand movements into dances, and organize dances into complete productions and concerts.

This updated edition includes examples of how today’s multimedia technology can be used to enhance choreography with special lighting effects, slide and PowerPoint projections, virtual dance performances, video conferencing, and motion capture. Each chapter contains movement exploration exercises, review and reflection questions, and application challenges that will help readers develop a better understanding of the choreographic concepts provided. And more than 70 high-quality photos provide a visual frame of reference and clarify key concepts.

Choreography: A Basic Approach Using Improvisation bridges the theoretical and practical aspects of the choreographic process. It is an excellent reference for serious dancers, choreographers, dance instructors, and teachers who want to understand the creative process of transforming movement into dance.