Dance in Musical Theatre

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From Oklahoma! to West Side Story, Once to Hamilton, dance remains one of the most important and key factors in musical theatre. Through the invention of integrated song and dance in the 'dream ballets' of Agnes De Mille through to the contemporary movement of John Tiffany, via the roles of Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse, the history of the body in movement is one that begs study and appreciation. Dance in Musical Theatre offers guidelines in how to read this movement by analysing it in terms of composition and movement vocabulary whilst simultaneously situating it both historically and critically. Bringing together musical theatre and dance scholars, choreographers and practitioners, this edited collection highlights musical theatre case studies that employ dance in a dramaturgically essential manner, tracking the emergence of the dancer as a key figure in the genre, and connecting past and present choreographers. Through a selection of essays, divided by concept, this book conceptualizes the function of dance in musical theatre in multiple ways: how it functions diegetically as a part of the story or non-diegetically as an amplification of emotion, as well as how the dancing body works to reveal character psychology by expressing an unspoken aspect of the libretto, embodying emotions or ideas through metaphor or abstraction. This book makes dance language accessible for instructors, students, and musical theatre enthusiasts, providing the tools to critically engage with the work of important choreographers from the beginning of the twentieth century to today. It acknowledges milestones of musical theatre dance history, whilst also explaining in clear, yet critical terms, how the legacies of previous choreographers are saluted in homage today, while also problematizing the genre in terms of current social, cultural, and political issues.