Dance

Dance writer Deborah Jowitt. In her new book, Time and the Dancing Image, Jowitt approaches dance as an anthropologist, trying to reconnect dance to history by placing dance's major developments in the context of the culture that spawned it. Jowitt, a former dancer and choreographer, is the principal dance critic of The Village Voice.

Dancer and choreographer Mark Morris. Before forming his own company in 1980, Morris performed with a wide assortment of dance troupes, including the Lar Lubovich Dance Company, Laura Dean Dancers, and the Eliot Feld Ballet. He has choreographed for the Boston Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet, and recently completed the choreography for the opera "Nixon in China."

New York based post-modern dancer and choreographer Bebe Miller. Her choreography stands out for its energetic, aggressive physicality and for its themes of family and relationships. Miller is the winner of the prestigious "Bessie" New York Dance and Performance Award. In 1984, Miller formed her own company, Bebe Miller and Company.

Pierre Dulaine and Yvonne Marceau, artistic directors of the American Ballroom Theater. In 1984, they formed the American Ballroom Theater to perform and preserve the tradition of ballroom dancing.

Part II of an interview with filmmaker and writer John Waters.

Choreographer Alwin Nikolais. For over forty years he has been considered a revolutionary figure in modern dance. His choreographic vision included the use of visual arts and electronic music long before it became popular.

Choreographer Lar Lubovitch. Lubovitch choreographed the new Stephen Sondheim musical "Into the Woods." Along with choreographers like Laura Dean, Elliot Feld and Mark Morris, Lubovitch is helping re-shape dance in the post-Balanchine era.

Film director Emile Ardolino. He's made of career of bringing dance to the screen in films like "He Made Me Feel Like Dancing." He's also directed PBS dance specials like "Baryshnikov at the White House." His newest work - the film "Dirty Dancing" - is also about dancing, but the style of dance is quite a departure.

Unlike most professional dancers, Paul Taylor didn't pursue the craft until he was 22. After a celebrated career under the tutelage of Martha Graham, he became a choreographer. His new autobiography, Private Domain, details his experiences.

Merce Cunningham is an influential choreographer and dancer. He began studying tap as a child before moving on to modern dance, and he joined the Martha Graham Company in 1939. He eventually formed his own company in 1953, and his work has rejected certain dance conventions such as story, emotion, and choreographing to coincide to the music. Cunningham often works with composer John Cage as well as modern artists. Cunningham says he is interested in movement for its own sake.