Lighting Dance

<p><em>Lighting Dance</em> pioneers the discussion of the ability of lighting design to foreground shadow in dance performances.</p><p>Through a series of experiments integrating light shadow and improvised dance movement it highlights and analyses what it advances as an innovative expression of shadow in dance as an alternative to more conventional approaches to lighting design. Different art forms such as painting film and dance pieces from Loie Fuller the Russell Maliphant Dance Company Elevenplay Pilobolus and the Tao Dance Theater served to inspire and contextualise the study. From lighting to psychology from reviews to academic books shadows are examined as a symbolic and manipulative entity. The book also presents the dance solo <em>Sombreiro</em> which was created to echo the experiments with light shadow and movement aligned to an interpretation of cultural shadow (Jung 1954 in Samuels Shorter and Plaut 1986; Casement 2006; Ramos 2004; Stein 2004; and others). </p><p>The historical development of lighting within dance practices is also outlined providing a valuable resource for lighting designers dance practitioners and theatre goers interested in the visuality of dance performances.</p>