Zurich Dada had a profound impact on twentieth-century dance, bringing new possibilities to a rapidly changing field. The Dadaist performance ideas were mainly drawn from pre-World War I artistic movements—Futurism, Expressionism and Cubism. Coming together during World War I in Zurich, the artists and writers who made up the group found themselves loosely unified in a desire to destroy traditional forms of expression and build a society based on a purer vision encompassed in new artistic forms. The intensity of time and place—a small city far from the immediate battles of the war—allowed for an exchange of ideas that reactivated, integrated and reshaped the pre-World War I manifestoes and experiments of the various art movements.

Most individuals who spend serious time with children recognize that children are not simply small versions of adults. Not only are their bodies different, but they also think differently. The dance educator, just like other educators, must attempt to see the world from the child's point of view if the teaching-learning process is to be successful.

One framework for conceiving the world from the child's point of view comes from Jean Piaget, a scientist who was interested in the development of cognitive skills used in science—ordering, classifying, inferring, thinking in propositions, and hypothesizing. Such skills are important not only in science, but in any logical use of the intellect. Inasmuch as dance educators claim interest in the child's intellectual as well as emotional and physical self, an understanding of Piaget's theories may generate valuable insight. Yet neither Piaget nor his many followers who have applied his theories to specific areas of education have examined dance education through this lens.

In recent years, dance, in its broadest sense, has been used in many general conditioning and exercise programs. Aerobic dance and, more recently, “jazzercise” have become increasingly popular in programs sponsored by YMCAs and recreation departments. In addition, the more traditional or established forms of dance, such as ballet, modern, square, social, and folk dance continue to provide recreational activity for people of all ages.

Although there is considerable interest in dance in its many forms, little research has been conducted on the physiological effects of participation in various types of dance programs. The energy cost of some dance styles, such as aerobic dance (Igbanugo & Gutin, 1978) and tap dance (Noble & Howley, 1979), have been reported. In addition, the heart rate response of college students enrolled in modern dance classes and the beneficial effect of modern dance on sedentary college females have also been investigated (deGuzman, 1979). Recently reported (Rosentswieg & Tate, 1979) was the volumetric determination of the body composition of female dance majors (25.4% fat), professional dancers (21.4% fat), and dance educators (18.3% fat). Also reported in this study was a breakdown of the percent of fat of the professional dancers by style of dance performed: jazz dancers were 23% fat; modern dancers were 19.8% fat; and ballet dancers were 16.4% fat. Rimmer (1981) reported a mean body density (Db) of 1.0529 and percent fat of 20.13 for a small group of highly trained female dance majors.

Concentration is an important process in building a dancer's foundation for performance—a learned process. One must be able to focus attention to a purpose, a motive, or an intent and simultaneously remove what is nonessential. To a dancer, concentration is the discovering of a personal awareness of movement, a kinesthetic awareness of the human body (internal focus). This kinesthetic awareness is focused on the conscious use of the center that controls movement, i.e., the center of mass (center of gravity). When the body performs in equilibrium, e.g., in balancing activities, it is necessary to sense energy going from that center and returning to that center. It is the control of the center that provides freedom in the use of the arms and legs, which gives the dancer an effortless carriage of the head, free of tension in the neck and shoulders. Bonsignore (1983) believes that balance is a dynamic concept in dance. The dancer must constantly be kinesthetically aware of the direction of energy as it flows through the body. Muscles are continuously responsive to the center of the body, making minute changes that will be reflected to the distal parts of the body (Hays, 1981).

In the first decades of the twentieth century Cecil Sharp ushered in a revival of ceremonial dance in England through his own teaching of the dances and through published manuals such as The Morris Book and The Sword Dances of Northern England. Sharp's lead was followed almost immediately by a number of collectors. The demand for dance manuals has never slackened, so that now the literature on how to dance the English ceremonial dances is substantial. Publishing manuals on how to perform these dances has had the obviously salutary effect of preserving them for posterity, but it has also had a deleterious effect on the traditions as living, growing, aesthetic phenomena. At the outset I should stress that I am not naively claiming that “folk process” and “oral transmission” are synonymous phrases, nor am I making the simple assertion that folk materials cease to be “folk” when they are written down. The complex relationship between the broadside ballads and the oral singing tradition in England is well known. Certainly no folklorist today should be so romantic as to assert that writing is the curse of the folk classes. However, the evolution of English dancing has undeniably been radically affected by written manuals.

John Forrest's essay, “Here We Come A-Fossiling,” is a refreshing and rare effort by a folklorist to articulate an aesthetic distinction between dancing in the folk tradition and dancing in the folk revival. Since neither “tradition” nor “revival” are clearly defined within the discussion, however, Dr. Forrest's argument may seem a little obscure to any but a folklorist or a folk dance enthusiast. At least to this “revivalist,” it also seems a little harsh to claim that there is a wide chasm rather than at most a delicate line between two types of people who both dance the Morris for the love of it.

There is considerable tension between those who engage in formal study of folklife and those who love to sing or dance the materials collected by the field worker. Perhaps one of the most divisive and unwelcome trends emerging out of the development of folklore as an academic discipline has been the quasi-deification of certain performers as “traditional” and a vigorous denigration of “revivalists” or “interpreters.”

The lack of bibliographic indexing services devoted exclusively to the field of dance has allowed a large body of literature to remain virtually inaccessible to the scholar and interested reader. Indexes and current bibliographies are sorely needed in this field.

This selected bibliography, covering 1979, is a continuation of the effort begun in 1978 by those who attended the ADG-CORD Dance Conference in Hawaii. Discussions on the need for bibliographic tools led to the compilation of the first “Annual International Bibliography on Dance History: The Western Tradition” (DRJ 12(2), Spring/Summer 1980), compiled by Nancy Chalfa Ruyter.

The 1979 bibliography has been compiled in much the same way as the 1978 one. An additional category has been added for references to materials on music as it relates to dance. There are thirteen categories in total. The seven indexes guide the reader to materials by time, geographic location, and subject matter; to individuals, dance works, and companies or schools named in titles; and to authors, editors or translators of materials.