The Oxford Dictionary of Dance

With over 2,600 entries, the second edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Dance is a unique single volume reference on all aspects of dance performance written by two leading dance writers, Debra Craine and Judith Mackrell. The work covers all aspects of the diverse dance world from classical ballet to modern, from flamenco to hip-hop, from tap to South Asian dance forms and includes detailed entries on technical terms, steps, styles, works and countries, in addition to many biographies of dancers, choreographers, and companies.

During the last thirty years the boundaries of dance have been radically redrawn. There has been an explosion of new activity within traditional forms like ballet, a stream of new dance languages invented by fresh generations of choreographers, and there is a growing appreciation of cultural dance forms from around the world. Fans today are likely to attend performances as varied as Spanish flamenco, Indian bharata natyam, Japanese butoh, classical ballet, and post-modern dance. With an emphasis on performance - the dance we see in our theatres today - readers will find both fact and analysis on a wide range of subjects, from styles of dance and the history of dance companies and their productions, to dancers, choreographers, and technical terms.

With 150 new entries, this new edition charts developments that have occurred over the last ten years, including the rise of new digital technology in the creation and staging of dance and the move to the mainstream of formerly fringe genres such as hip-hop, as well as the arrival of a new generation of dancers and choreographers to the scene.


About the Author
Debra Craine is Chief Dance critic of The Times. She has studied ballet, modern dance, jazz, and dance notation. Debra has contributed to several leading reference books on dance including The International Dictionary of Ballet (1993) and has also worked as a theatre critic. She has been writing about dance for almost thirty years for publications in Great Britain and North America, and has appeared many times on radio as a dance critic.

Judith Mackrell is Chief Dance critic of The Guardian. She studied English and Philosophy at the University of York and the University of Oxford. From 1981-1986, she was a part-time lecturer in English and Dance at the University of Oxford, Oxford Polytechnic, and the Roehampton Institute, and has been a freelance dance writer and arts broadcaster since 1986. Judith was also made an Honorary Fellow of the Laban Centre for Dance in 1986. Her previous books include Out of Line (1992), Reading Dance (1997), Life in Dance: Darcey Bussell (1998), and the Costa Book Award short-listed Bloomsbury Ballerina: A Life of Lydia Lopokova (2008).