Contemporary Dance Lighting: The Poetry and the Nitty-gritty

Contemporary Dance Lighting: The Poetry and the Nitty-Gritty dynamically guides students toward aesthetically, creatively, and skillfully becoming lighting designers for dance in the 21st century.

The book is organized in three parts, covering everything from the aesthetic considerations of lighting for dance to the tools and technology designers use to create compelling artistry. Part I, "Beginnings" establishes context, explaining the structure of the book and illuminating the history of contemporary dance and lighting. Part II, "The Poetry" elaborates on the key artistic and aesthetic elements of contemporary dance lighting: visual narrative; controllable functions and qualities of light; use of space, color, and time; importance and intricacies of collaboration; and continual effects and evolution of technology. Part III, "The Nitty-Gritty" steers students through the technical knowledge and skills necessary to design lighting, including understanding your tools and positioning instruments; creating layered light plots; organizing extensive paperwork; and archiving. The dance Artifice, choreographed by Jerry Pearson, is sequentially explored throughout the book to convey key concepts. "Further Reflections" conclude each chapter, written by a diverse group of renowned professionals, inviting young designers directly into the world of lighting design.

This textbook is for use in Lighting Design and Design for Dance Lighting courses at the university level, along with professional training programs.

Carol M. Press, EdD earned her doctorate from Columbia Teachers College in Dance Education and Clinical Psychology. Dr. Press is a choreographer, performer, scholar, writer, and teacher whose choreographies have been shown internationally. She is the author of The Dancing Self: Creativity, Modern Dance, Self Psychology and Transformative Education, and co-editor with Dr. Edward Warburton of Creating Dance: A Traveler’s Guide. Currently, Dr. Press teaches Dance History and Dance Education in the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Vickie J. Scott earned graduate degrees in Lighting Design and Technical Direction at the School of Theater, Film and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles. She creates lighting and scenic designs for dance and theater throughout the US and abroad, and she is the resident lighting designer and production coordinator for the Ojai Playwrights Conference, the chairperson of the Advisory Board for The California Arts Project (TCAP), a member of the United Scenic Artists local 829, and the founding director of the Initiative for New and Reimagined Work in the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she currently teaches and works as a designer.