Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance

I LOVE this book!! Eric has written great books and this one is among them. Every piece of information opens the dancers' mind and body into a realm of excellence and joy that is LONG OVERDUE!!! It is a must have in every personal library of everyone in dance. A neccessary textbook in pedagogy, technique, and conditioning classes everywhere.

To make our bodies do all of the incredible things that we ask of them we use images, and since our bodies are always changing and feeling different sensations, we often need to find new images to keep pushing our performance further and further. This book is a collection of hundreds of interesting suggestions for images that all dancers should find useful. Some you may already be familiar with and some will be new to you. In dance class, images are constantly being taught to dancers, so this is also an excellent resource for teachers as well as students and seasoned professionals. Maybe you will find just the right image for that tricky pirouette or jump here! This book is recommended for dancers of all levels, from beginner to professional.

As a dancer and a beginner I was struggling with jazz technique for a long time. The imagery approach has helped me greatly to improve my plies and turns, posture and interaction with space. The essence of the imagery approach is to identify yourself with an image. As an example the one that inspired me was "a growing root". I keep coming to this book again and again, when I need to recupirate and find inspiration. It also developed my imagery and gave me another prospective on relationships, energy and dancing. The book has helpful illustrations and photos. A must!