The right moves

View larger image Joshua Legg holds up a couple of copies of his book, “Introduction to Modern Dance Techniques,” that are on sale locally. Legg is a graduate of Musselman High School in Inwood, W.Va., and was born in Winchester. — Dennis Grundman/Daily

Choreographer writes book discussing modern dance styles

By Josette Keelor -- jkeelor@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- It sounds like every writer's dream.

After writing a table of contents for his first book, Winchester resident Joshua Legg contacted Princeton Book Company, which he calls the largest publication of dance-related titles in the country, and the Princeton, N.J., company snatched up his book in little more than an instant.

Really, the process was more involved than that, but basically that's how it happened.
"The whole process took really about two years, and we really wrapped up the whole editing process in August," Legg said.

The idea for the book had been long in coming for the freelance dance instructor, writer and former Harvard University instructor, but Legg has long wanted to write a book about the basics of modern dance.

"[It was] through dialog with the publisher that we came to this idea," he said. All along, however, he knew what he wanted in the book.

He wanted it to be an all encompassing explanation of modern dance, and he wanted it to be easy for the reader to follow. What he might not have expected was for schools across the country to snatch it up as well.

"Introduction to Modern Dance Techniques" was published in October, and ever since then it's been making the rounds among dance schools with programs for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, Legg said.

The feedback already has been exciting.

"It's a pretty broad relationship [with schools], and I'm thrilled with the interest," Legg said.
He wrote the book in a way that would allow readers to learn from it without needing to take classes that teach from the book.

"High school age or older would themselves be able to read it and get something from it," he said. "Because it is an introductory book ... there's accessibility to it."

"[There's] a flexibility in that regard," he said.

"[People who] want to know more about dance, modern dance in particular, I think they would get a lot out of the book," he said.

Born in Winchester, Legg attended Musselman High School in Inwood, W.Va., and later earned a bachelor's and master's degree in dance from Shenandoah University.

He's taught at Harvard and at Suffolk University in Boston and was a visiting artist in Louisiana at Northwestern State University. He also has written articles for "Dance Teacher" and "Dance Spirit" magazines.

He's considering writing another book and said he already has enough material from researching the first one for maybe two more books. He'd like to write an introduction to ballet and an introduction to choreography.

"Introduction to Modern Dance" is 252 pages and is available at the Winchester Book Gallery on the Loudoun Street Pedestrian Mall, and online through Amazon.com. It covers nine techniques and styles of modern dance, he said.

The first eight units focus on techniques that are designed to be systems of training; the last one is based on an interview given by a former member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company in New York City, "the last living member of the pantheon that created America's indigenous art of modern dance," according to the website for the company.

There are no books out there like his book, Legg said, which is what makes the venture so exciting for him.

"What's unique about this particular book is that it looks at so many techniques and styles," he said. "[It's a] compare and contrast."

In each chapter, he shows two or three choreographers working at the same time and shows the similarity of the principles they were using to demonstrate his point.

He includes examples of famed choreographers like Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, who, he said, came up with new ways of moving based on breathing.

He also includes demonstrations by Shenandoah University professors, Ting-Yu Chen, Elijah Gibson and Erica Helm.

Time frame, politics and gender all "had impact on how artists were able to work, where they could work," he said. "[It] impacted the movement vocabulary they developed.

"It's different in that it does include so many techniques, as opposed to one singular technique," he said.

"Some books written on some of these techniques are now out of print," he said.

He said he feels fortunate to have been able to talk with experts who worked directly with the choreographers who defined dance styles he included in his book.

"I really feel blessed ... with the reception," he said. "I'm really excited that there was still the kind of interest that there seems to be for these class forms of dance training."

For information about "Introduction to Modern Dance Techniques," visit Joshua Legg's website, joshualegg.com.