Making an Entrance

This second edition of Making an Entrance is a practical and thought-provoking introduction to teaching dance with disabled and non-disabled students, updated with expanded coverage, new and revised exercises, and chapters that cover post-pandemic and online practice, diversity and inclusivity. With improvisation as his central concern Benjamin covers an extensive range of topics, including new autoethnographic writing, mental health, performance, feedback, and The Dancers' Forest, and interrogates what we mean when we talk about 'inclusive' and 'integrated dance.' There are over 50 stimulating and challenging exercises purposefully designed for dance students of all levels accompanied by teaching notes, and examples drawn from the author's experience as a teacher, performer, and dance maker. Useful hints are provided on the practicalities of setting up workshops covering issues such as class sizes, the safety aspects of wheelchairs and accessibility. An essential read for both students and teachers of improvisation who are seeking ways to engage with issues of diversity, written to be accessible whilst offering areas of increasing complexity and challenge for more experienced practitioners.

Adam Benjamin is one of the pioneers of integrated dance. Co-founder and former Artistic Director of Candoco Dance Company, he is an award-winning choreographer, a National Teaching Fellow, and a workshop leader with a world-wide reputation for inclusive practice.

Part 1: Thoughts 1. Finding It When You Get There 2. Improv, Access and Training 3. Just Movement - Ethical Considerations 4. An Evolution in Practice 5. The Dancers' Forest 6. I'd Rather be Snow - on Language, Impairment, Integration and Inclusivity 7. The Simpson Board and Lisa's Journey 8. The Great Mistake - Response-ability, Grace and Clues to Practice 9. Tension Seekers - a Poet/Hunter's Guide to Improvisation 10. Demons and Dragons - On Feeling Artistically Blocked 11. Life on the Edge - Dance and Mental Health 12. Is it Therapy? Part 2: Practice 13. An Unruly Location 14. An Introduction to the Improvisations 15. The Opening Circle 16. Getting Started 17. Listening Through Touch 18. Making an Entrance in Time and Space 19. Space, Time, Resting and Centre 20. A to B Scores 21. Talking Heads - Finding Voice in Dance Improvisation 22. Speed and Timing 23. Weight Sharing 24. Counterbalances and Chair Tilts: Dicing with Newtonian Physics 25. Frames, Eyes, Escaping the Screen 26. Live Music 27. Art and Dance 28. Improvisation, Choreography, Performance Part 3: Outside (the box) 29. Building Connections 30. Excerpts from an African Diary 31. The Fool's Journey and Poisonous Mushrooms