Virtually everyone working in dance today uses electronic media technology in some way. Increasingly, people have their first contact with dance on television and film. Dance films and videos are no longer considered a substitute for live action. Instead, they are a primary means of viewing dance and a critical way the public has come to appreciate this art form. Interdisciplinary collaborations between the moving-image makers and dance makers have only a one-hundred-year history. Advancements in technology coupled with revolutionary changes in dance performance provide a stirring history of human creativity and invention. Envisioning Dance on Film and Video will chronicle this history and give readers new tools with which to understand the embodied art of dance as it exploits the technical art of the moving image.

Despite the rich field of activity of the past hundred years, surprisingly little is written about the historic, aesthetic, and technical concerns of dance, film, and video. Envisioning Dance on Film and Video will survey a broad range of film/video works from the perspective of their creators - dance and media artists. Their professional insights will show the rich range of collaborative approaches from the big budget to the economical production, from formal stage events to studio "work tapes", from the work of established masters to experimental artists. The diverse strategies deployed by dance and film makers are indicative of the creative use of this 20th-century art form. The unprecedented companion DVD will provide examples that will bring the commentary to life.