Modern Dance

Modern dance was a movement that began at the turn of the 20th century when American dancers Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, and Ruth St. Denis broke from formal dance traditions with their own personal vision of movement. Soon, their visions evolved through Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman, who would all go on to teach their methods and present modern dance as a serious art form.

In 1930, dancer and choreographer Martha Graham proclaimed the arrival of "dance as an art of and from America". Dancers such as Doris Humphrey, Ted Shawn, Katherine Dunham, and Helen Tamiris joined Graham in creating a new form of dance, and, like other modernists, they experimented with and argued over their aesthetic innovations, to which they assigned great meaning.Their innovations, however, went beyond aesthetics.

New York Times bestselling author Ann Leary offers a “zany, relatable essay collection” (Oprah Daily), told from the perspective of a recovering people pleaser. “Ann Leary is a damn delight...Read this book!” —Glennon Doyle Having arrived at a certain age (her prime), Ann Leary casts a...

A major biography—the first in three decades—of one of the most important artistic forces of the twentieth century, the legendary American dancer and choreographer who upended dance, propelling the art form into the modern age, and whose profound and pioneering influence is still being felt...

A Best Literary Novel of 2025 from ELLE A searing debut novel of envy, longing, and regret across three lives and two countries that asks how far we’ll go for a friendship, a romance, a dream. Ye Lian is thriving in Beijing. She has a well-paid job, a nice boyfriend, and plans to marry and...

“Captivating…equal parts memoir and cultural history, Henry Alford seamlessly interweaves heartwarming and hilarious anecdotes about his deep dive into all things dance” (Misty Copeland, The New York Times Book Review). When Henry Alford wrote about his experience with a Zumba class for...

Explains how ritual can serve as a way to ground yourself, invite in the new, let go of what needs to be shed, and tap into your own inner powers Shares ancient and modern rituals, ceremonies, and practices to connect with the seasons, the lunar cycles, and the five elements, as well as...

The story of modern dance is known to be one of subversion. But it's less widely acknowledged how often its schisms concerned social attitudes towards women and feminist politics. From the late 1800s to the late 1950s, a diverse group of trailblazing women changed the face of dance, and in the...

Anthony Powell's universally acclaimed epic encompasses a four-volume panorama of twentieth century London. Hailed by Time as "brilliant literary comedy as well as a brilliant sketch of the times," A Dance to the Music of Time opens just after World War I. Amid the fever of the 1920s and the first chill of the 1930s, Nick Jenkins and his friends confront sex, society, business, and art.

From the bestselling author of Kafka on the Shore: A magnificent coming-of-age story steeped in nostalgia, “a masterly novel” (The New York Times Book Review) blending the music, the mood, and the ethos that were the sixties with a young man’s hopeless and heroic first love. Now with a new...

Anthony Powell's universally acclaimed epic encompasses a four-volume panorama of twentieth-century London. Hailed by Time as "brilliant literary comedy as well as a brilliant sketch of the times," A Dance to the Music of Time opens just after World War I. Amid the fever of the 1920s and the first chill of the 1930s, Nick Jenkins and his friends confront sex, society, business, and art.

Anthony Powell's universally acclaimed epic encompasses a four-volume panorama of 20th-century London. Hailed by T Time as "brilliant literary comedy as well as a brilliant sketch of the times," A Dance to the Music of Time opens just after World War I. Amid the fever of the 1920s and the first chill of the 1930s, Nick Jenkins and his friends confront sex, society, business, and art.

It all started with a pair of socks… When eleven-year-old Lotti wakes up in her cold dorm room to find warm, rainbow-coloured socks on her feet—socks she’s never seen before—she has no idea her life at Riverside Children’s Home is about to turn upside down. Soon, all twelve girls in the west wing experience strange dreams and an unshakable exhaustion. But what begins as a quirky mystery quickly spirals into a magical secret too big to ignore. With the help of the curious and clever Bobby Gordon—and a suspiciously powerful invisible cloak—Lotti and her friends uncover a world ...

Anthony Powell's universally acclaimed epic encompasses a 4 volume panorama of twentieth century London. Hailed by Time as "brilliant literary comedy as well as a brilliant sketch of the times", A Dance to the Music of Time opens just after World War I. Amid the fever of the 1920s and the first chill of the 1930s, Nick Jenkins and his friends confront sex, society, business, and art.

She wants to dance with somebody who loves her. Five years after her divorce shattered her world, Leah Stahl is still piecing her life back together. Betrayed by her husband's affair and estranged from her children, she's channeled her pain into a new career as a divorce attorney, fighting to...

A Guardian Guide Cultural Book of the Year 2023 An Irish Times Music Book of the Year 2023 'A deep, engrossing history' The Observer 'A fascinating deep dive' Jeremy Deller From the illicit reggae blues dances and acid-rock free festivals of the 1970s, through the ecstasy-fuelled Second Summer...

From the author of the global bestseller The Secret History of the World comes an epic new history of the relationship between spiritual belief and cutting-edge science. Jonathan Black shows that from Marie Curie to today's architects of AI, many of our greatest scientists have been guided by...

The Devil's Last Dance By M. Fenton Deutsch The world is teetering on the edge of chaos. Former leaders are becoming dictators, billionaires are fleeing to Mars as Earth burns, and nuclear powers rattle their weapons. Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than our wisdom can keep up, and environmental systems are crashing. Democracy is crumbling, while mass starvation accelerates, barely mentioned in the media. It’s enough to make even the most optimistic question everything. But what if this moment isn’t the end of the world? What if we’re witnessing the dismantling of the old ...

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, legendary modern dance and ballet choreographer Martha Graham describes for NPR’s This I Believe series what it means to be a dancer, "An Athlete of God". This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to...

Swing into the Rhythm: How to Get Started Listening to Swing Music and Discover the Best of Big Band Jazz Step into the vibrant world of swing with this comprehensive beginner’s guide! How to Get Started Listening to Swing Music is the perfect introduction for anyone curious about the irresistible rhythms, legendary big bands, and lively culture of swing music. Whether you’re new to jazz or rediscovering the sounds of Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, this book offers everything you need to start your swing journey with confidence and joy. Inside, you’ll learn: The history and ...