Bodies of Thought: Twelve Australian Choreographers Ed. by Erin Brannigan and Virginia Baxter (Adelaide: Wakefield Press, 2014)

Abstract

In Bodies of Thought, editors Erin Brannigan and Virginia Baxter have brought together a rich collection of critical writing articulating the wealth and depth of Australian choreographic thinking occurring over many decades of practice. The choreographers included have an indisputable legacy in generating influential sensibilities, logics, studio methods, aesthetics and forms of collaboration across many disciplines. These choreographers are paired with dance writers, philosophers and scholars who clarify the critical terrain activated within the practice of each artist—distilling the critical, philosophical, technological and aesthetic thinking occurring through the studio practice of choreography. Each choreographer’s work is elaborated through a short critical essay and an interview, with high quality photographs distilling a visual translation of each choreographer’s work. Additionally, the authors and publishers have worked together with RealTime arts magazine to create an online archive that accompanies the book (http://www.realtimearts.net/realtimedance). The resource provides an invaluable companion to the book by allowing readers to access photographs and excerpts of the many of the works discussed as well as reviews.