A guide to the art’s rich history – and complex present.

‘Immediately readable and impressively panoramic…with a wealth of illustrations and newly-researched detail’ – Times Literary Supplement.

Susan Au’s text covers the whole subject, vividly describing the great performers and performances of the past as well as exploring in detail the dance world of today. A generous selection of illustrations completes the picture, taking the reader from the palaces of the Medici to the lofts of Manhattan, from the dancing of Louis XIV to the experimental choreography of Twyla Tharp and Pina Bausch.

Jim Rutter’s new introduction and revised and expanded final chapter set the book firmly in the new millennium, featuring leading choreographers and performers including Jérôme Bel, Christopher Wheeldon, Chunky Move and the ‘Ballet Boyz’ alongside such styles and influences as Krumping and Parkour. He also charts developments across onstage technology, new media and reality television, encompassing motion-responsive lasers, YouTube and So You Think You Can Dance to portray a vibrant, technologically attuned and expressively evolving medium.