Vangeline
New York: New York Butoh Institute, 2020.

“Approaching the avant-garde Japanese performance art form of butoh from a cross-cultural, gender studies, and scientific perspective, award-winning artist and teacher Vangeline brings a fresh look at this postmodern dance form. Butoh, a performance art form that grew out of the Japanese avant-garde scene of the 1950s, has traveled from east to west over the last 60 years, growing in popularity as it evolves. With origins in modern dance, French mime, and the surrealist movement, this fascinating postmodern dance genre is often thought of as mysterious and is frequently misunderstood. Through twenty years of research, interviews with some of the world’s top practitioners, historical documents, and rare photographs, Vangeline shines a light on this “dance of darkness.” New revelations include the under-represented role of women in the development of the form, the connection between butoh and neuroscience, and the cross-cultural perspective of international influences on the evolution of the dance. Butoh: Cradling Empty Space will appeal to dance students, teachers, performance art scholars, movers, and anyone interested in choreography, theater, and Japanese history, culture and art. The book includes rare photographs, helpful graphics, a detailed bibliography and footnotes, and resources for additional information.” (publisher’s blurb)

Ann Hutchinson Guest; Toby Bennett
Alton: Dance Books, 2007.

“The Cecchetti Legacy provides a more detailed account of the Cecchetti Method than has hitherto been available. Based largely on Ann Hutchinson Guest’s notations from the 1950’s and 60’s, this is a complete record of all of the enchainements recorded in the manuals including some, which although not ‘original’, reflect important principles of the Method. This book will be of great use to anyone making an in-depth study of Cecchetti’s enchainements as well as those interested in a more general study of their style and technique. It contains an extensive, discursive analysis of the Cecchetti style and technique using word descriptions and Labanotation examples. In addition all of the exercises and enchainements are notated fully in Labanotation, providing a detailed account including some alternative versions taught by early teachers of the work.” (publisher’s blurb)