Books/Ph.D
Written ideas, stories, experiences and thoughts from Julie Angel.
Published author & Doctorate from Brunel University, UK.
Ph.D
Ciné Parkour:
A Practise Based PhD
Title: Ciné Parkour: a cinematic and theoretical contribution to the understanding of the practice of parkour.
In 2011 Julie successfully completed an Audio Visual PhD at Brunel University’s Screen Media Research Centre.She has presented her work at various festivals and exhibitions all over the world as well as participating in academic conferences.
Title: Ciné Parkour: a cinematic and theoretical contribution to the understanding of the practice of parkour.
Supervisors: Professor Michael Wayne, Dr. Alisa Lebow
The project involved submission of a written thesis and dvd of select films. Both of which are available to buy here:
amazon/cineparkour
Many of the research films are available to view on my YouTube channel:
youtube.com/slamcamspam
Research interests included: collaborative filmmaking processes, participant observation, shared cinema, activism, creativity, space, place, identity, phenomenology, mediatisation, sportification, body cultures.
Location: Brunel University’s Screen Media Research Centre, UK: Completion: 2011
Due to her research she was invited to be part of an international consultation committee for the United Nations Article 31 General Comment on Article 31, the Child’s Right. Jan. – Dec. 2012.
Research interests have included: collaborative filmmaking processes, participant observation, shared cinema, activism, creativity, space, place, identity, phenomenology, mediatisation, sportification, body cultures.
The completed PhD involved the production of a DVD as well as the written thesis.
Published by Quarto
Breaking the Jump
Publisher: The Quarto Group
REVIEWS
What they say
Christopher McDougall
Best Selling Author 'Born to Run'
“Julie Angel’s brilliant insight into Parkour is the reason it first began to fascinate me. I’ve devoured her films, and it made me hungry for a book about the origins of this strange, secret art. I couldn’t understand why no one had written it — and then I realized it could only be done by someone with Julie Angel’s personal access and penetrating intelligence. I can’t wait to plunge into it.”
Mike Christie
TV & Film Director- Jump London
“Julie takes a scalpel to the possibility of Parkour, its place in time and history, and her own initial resistance (and ultimate submission) to the discipline, slices it clean down the middle and exposes the nerve that connects mind to body to soul to world. This personal account of her own journey of discovery made even me want to try the freedom enjoyed in the movement of others I’ve observed for so long -and perhaps thanks to Julie I might just finally do that…“
John Sharkey
Clinical Anatomist & Neuromuscular Therapist
“One of the pleasures of Julie Angel’s storytelling is that each sentence has oxygen fueling a narrative born out of a love for the beauty that is Parkour. The reader will be surprised that the form and structure of Parkour are not limited to motion, strength, agility or even being brave. On reading this book it becomes apparent that Parkour is a way of life. Parkour helps each human to build a foundation upon which they can contribute and share in a meaningful way to family and community and do so with love and goodwill. Angel in her effortlessly eloquent prose demonstrates a verve and panache that informs the reader that this is a book about the story of living, about human and personal evolution. Elsewhere Angel combine’s accurate, here before untold, history of Parkour, personal knowledge of the key players and first-hand experience of same placing her in a unique position to tell this story. Breaking the jump is a triumph.”
Amazon rating
4.6 Stars on 119 ratings: 79% 5* reviews
This is the Parkour book I've been waiting for. It deals with the most interesting, and least well-documented, period of Parkour's history and does a great job balancing the historical narrative with fun and inspiring anecdotes from the founders' training. It also tells a very different story from the one many people know, and covers the separation of David, Seb, and the Yamak like nothing else ever has. It's a seriously invaluable resource for anyone that is interested in the story behind Parkour.
I've never read a book that tempted me to get up in the middle of the night and go train the way this one did. The spirit, passion, and strength of character that the original practitioners had shines through in this book at a time when we as a community definitely need a reminder of it. No cameras, no bulls***, no fancy cross-training programs...just a bunch of friends pushing themselves as hard as they could every single day.
The book does a good job avoiding the pitfall of nostalgia, which is always hard to do in Parkour. It also felt like a VERY accessible read, even to non-practitioners or practitioners who may not align themselves with the values of the original group.
If you've been wavering over whether or not you should purchase this book, stop now. Anyone who feels passionately about Parkour, freerunning, or Art Du Déplacement should consider this an absolutely essential read. It's the first "real" (in that it isn't a guide or handbook but delves into the history, psychology, and culture of the movement and individuals who created it) Parkour book to me, so go check it out. It's an amazing contribution to the community and overall body of Parkour knowledge available.
-Max Henry
Choreographic Dwellings-Kinaesthetic Topologies
Publisher: Palgrave
I contributed a chapter on parkour to the publication:
Choreographic Dwellings is a part of New World Choreographies Series (launched 2014)
“The series NEW WORLD CHOREOGRAPHIES presents advanced yet accessible studies of a rich field of new choreographic work which is embedded in the global, transnational and intermedial context of the present. It introduces artists, companies and scholars who contribute to the conceptual and technological rethinking of what constitutes movement, blurring old boundaries between dance, theatre and performance. The series considers new aesthetics and new contexts of production and presentation, and discusses the multi-sensory, collaborative and transformative potential of these new world choreographies.”
why we do it
Ciné Parkour
Ciné Parkour is a cinematic and theoretical contribution to the understanding of the practice of parkour. It is the result of Julie Angel's six-year PhD film and research adventures into the exciting, challenging, fascinating and at times contradictory world of parkour. Its aim is to understand the essence of the everyday of parkour as experienced by those who were involved in creating it.
Self Published 2011
pricing