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Classes in Classical Ballet (Paperback) by Asaf Messerer
A companion guide to one of the bestselling Limelight Edition titles, this book by Asaf Messerer, a founder of what has become known as the Bolshoi School, is one of the most celebrated manuals of classic dance instruction in the world. Messerer has gained an international reputation for his classes in classical technique-models of invention and well-rounded exercise, stressing both precision and fluid artistic control. Nearly 500 photographs of principal Bolshoi dancers illustrate the positions and steps indicated, and an introductory section by Messerer outlines his basic plan and philosophy of teaching.
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In Classic Style: The Splendor of American Ballet Theatre
This oversized, deluxe volume celebrating the exquisite spectacle that embodies the excellence of American Ballet Theatre, recognized by Congress as "America’s national ballet company," presents the unfolding beauty, grace, agility, and sheer force of its most recent productions. Distinguished photographer Nancy Ellison depicts such enduring ballet classics as La Bayadère, Othello, The Sleeping Beauty, Manon, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, and Giselle, and captures the virtuosity of such unforgettable dancers as Angel Corella, Nina Ananiashvili, Alessandra Ferri, Julio Bocca, and Ethan Stiefel. ABT’s artistic director, Kevin McKenzie, has written an illuminating essay about this preeminent company. The combination of dynamic bravura dancing in dreamlike settings will be a sheer delight to ballet lovers everywhere.
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The Pointe Book: Shoes, Training & Technique
This guide provides a thorough examination of the pointe technique and pointe shoes. Dancers tired of their pointe shoes wearing out too quickly benefit from research that illuminates the shoemaking process and tips that show how to best fit, care for, and custom order their shoes. Interviews with ballet stars Martine van Hamel and Darci Kistler reveal their highly evolved but proven methods of caring for pointe shoes. The basics of the pointe technique, different pointe methods, and the history of pointe are discussed. A handy reference on pointe-related injuries and their remedies is included. This new edition offers the latest information on contemporary designs, materials, products, and suppliers. A sampling of pointe technique schools around the country offers an authoritative syllabus for teachers and students alike.
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Vera Volkova: A Biography (Hardcover) by Alexander Meinertz
Vera Volkova was central to the European ballet world for almost four decades as advisor, friend and, above all, teacher to iconic figures from dancers Margot Fonteyn, Erik Bruhn and Rudolf Nureyev to choreographers Sir Frederick Ashton and John Neumeier. Having inspired British ballet in its early years with her profound understanding of classical ballet, she revived and transformed the moribund Royal Danish ballet, working with that company for almost 25 years. Invitations to teach in the U.S.A, Canada, Australia and South Africa further extended her influence. But, enigmatic, self-effacing and intensely private, her life remained a well-kept secret. Now this biography, hugely praised on its first publication in Danish, reveals Volkova's life and legacy. rought up in Imperial St Petersburg, Volkova was one of the students upon whom Agrippina Vaganova developed her famous system. She was the chosen protégée of the controversial Russian philosopher and critic Akim Volynsky whose ideals she carried with her when she fled to the West, escaping the horrors of the Russian Revolution and the struggle to survive in its aftermath. This dramatic account of Volkova's extraordinary life includes her escape to Shanghai, an unusual marriage and a great love. Combining the first account of that life with a detailed examination of Volkova's teaching methods, this biography will be compelling and illuminating for both interested and expert readers.
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In the Company of Stars: The Paris Opera Ballet
For sheer beauty, "In the Company of Stars," a book of 125 photo gems, by Gerard Uferas, is a collector's dream. He is the recipient of many awards and his work has appeared in European collections and galleries. He sees movement in a spontaneous reaction to the emotions, concentration and restful moments of his subjects. All the delicacy and elegance of the French school in the artists of the Ballet de Opera de Paris backstage, onstage, in the wings, in rehearsal and on tour in Japan have been brought together as a tapestry of the company's repertoire since 2003. He has a painter's eye, not a sport journalist's "right moment" reaction. His photos are composed , balanced. Uferas is also part choreographer as he seems to dance, delight and become engaged in the commitment of his subjects.
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Nureyev: The Life (Hardcover) by Julie Kavanagh
Rudolf Nureyev (1938–1993) made headlines when he defected from Russia in 1961. His onstage partnership with the Royal Ballet's ballerina assoluta Margot Fonteyn received legendary acclaim. Formerly a Kirov star, trained by the famed ballet teacher Alexander Pushkin and inspired by Nijinsky and Stanislavsky, he shocked and seduced the West with his charismatic stage presence and his passionate, sometimes rough-edged dancing. British ballet critic Kavanagh (Secret Muses: The Life of Frederick Ashton) captures his phenomenal work ethic, his hunger for new dance experiences (with Jerome Robbins, Martha Graham and Paul Taylor) and his flamboyant life. Her writing style is both readable and sophisticated, showing Nureyev's wit and generosity alongside his carelessness and cruelty. She dissects ballet arcana like the Bournonville and Vaganova techniques — but doesn't stint on celebrity dish. Nureyev's affair with the celebrated Danish dancer Erik Bruhn, his desperate need to dance for George Balanchine and his competition with the younger ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov are detailed, alongside his relationships with Jackie Kennedy, Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger.
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Irina: Ballet, Life And Love - Story of Irina Baronova
Irina Baronova's life story is as enchanting as her dancing. Born in St. Petersburg in 1919 and narrowly evading the Russian Revolution, Baronova and her parents escaped to Bucharest, where she learned ballet using the kitchen table as a barre. Spotted by legendary choreographer George Balanchine at the Paris Opéra, she became, at age 13, one of his three famous "baby ballerinas" with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. There she worked with dance legends Léonide Massine, Michel Fokine and Bronislava Nijinska, as well as artists Picasso, Dalí and Matisse. As an actress in Hollywood (often portraying dancers), and then as a star with American Ballet Theatre, Baronova continued to work and play with luminaries Yul Brynner, Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. But beyond tales of the personalities she knew, Baronova's prose is a testament to the woman she is: passionate, vivacious and overwhelmingly optimistic, even in the face of divorce, family strife and war. To read her memoir, with its warm personal asides to the reader, is to feel as though one were sitting down with the legend for a glass of champagne—so glamorous and delightful is her story. This is a must-read for lovers of ballet and theater. 84 b&w photos.
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Ballet School of the Bolshoi Theatre by Yelena Bocharnikova
This is the first book about the Ballet School of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Its authors, Yelena Bocharnikova, the school's principal, and Mikhail Gabovich, art director, graduated from the school in the twenties and after successful careers on the Bolshoi Theatre stage returned to their alma mater to train new generations of ballet dancers. Yelena Bocharnikova appeared as soloist in character parts. An inquisitive mind and unflagging interest in her art prompted her to receive a higher theatrical education. She completed her theses on the history and aesthetics of ballet and was an active instructor.
People's Artiste of the R.S.F.S.R. Mikhail Gabovich was closely associated with Soviet Ballet: for thirty years he danced on the Bolshoi stage and it would be hard to name a leading part in the classical repertoire in which he did not appear. He created a gallery of most varied characters, such as Albert in Giselle, Waclaw in The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, Prince in Cinderella, and Mato in Salammbo. The mention of his name evokes the image of Juliet's passionate lover Romeo.
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The Ballet Companion : A Dancer's Guide to the Technique, Traditions, and Joys of Ballet (Hardcover) by Eliza Gaynor Minden
The Ballet Companion is a fresh, comprehensive, and thoroughly up-to-date reference book for the dancer. With 150 stunning photographs of ballet stars Maria Riccetto and Benjamin Millepied demonstrating perfect execution of positions and steps, this elegant volume brims with everything today's dance student needs, including: Practical advice for getting started, such as selecting a school, making the most of class, and studio etiquette. Explanations of ballet fundamentals and major training systems. An illustrated guide through ballet class -- warm-up, barre, and center floor. Guidelines for safe, healthy dancing through a sensible diet, injury prevention, and cross-training with yoga and Pilates. Descriptions of must-see ballets and glossaries of dance, music, and theater terms. Along the way you'll find technique secrets from stars of American Ballet Theatre, lavishly illustrated sidebars on ballet history, and tips on everything from styling a ballet bun to stage makeup to performing the perfect pirouette. Whether a budding ballerina, serious student, or adult returning to ballet, dancers will find a lively mix of ballet's time-honored traditions and essential new information.
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Put Your Best Foot Forward: A Young Dancer's Guide to Life (Hardcover) by Suki Schorer
An inspirational gift book for any girl who ever took dance classes and dreamed of being a ballerina, The Ballet School of Life is a unique collection of wisdom and illustration, of life lessons set against a backdrop of dramatic full-color photographs of young dancers and whimsical, theatrical watercolors of butterfly wings and fairy-tale castles, tiaras, and stage settings. Written by Suki Schorer with the assistance of the School of American Ballet, the lessons are simple and motivating and reveal that dancers in training learn much more than how to plié or stand on pointe: Your body is your instrument. Even Sugar Plum Fairies sew their own ribbons. It takes strong wings to fly high. Do something extraordinary just because you can. Never miss a beat. And, to remember always, When storms rage and waters rise, glide like the swan.
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Margot Fonteyn: A Life by Meredith Daneman
The legend of Margot Fonteyn has touched every ballet dancer who has come after her, and her genius endures in the memory of anyone who saw her dance. Yet until now, the complete story of her life has remained untold. Meredith Daneman, a novelist and former dancer, reveals the fascinating story of Peggy Hookham, a little girl from suburban England, who grew up to become a Dame of the British Empire and the most famous ballerina in the world.
This completely riveting and definitive biography chronicles Fonteyn's early years and her intense connection to her mother, the "Black Queen"; her loves in bohemian thirties and forties London; her relationship with her balletic Svengali, Frederick Ashton; her conquest of New York with the Sadler's Wells Ballet; and her final years in Panama with her husband, Roberto Arias. Daneman reflects on Fonteyn's "lyricism and limpid purity of line, so potent with theatrical moment that even film cannot capture it" and the world of ballet from the birth of the British Royal Ballet to Rudolf Nureyev, her final partner and rumored lover. Balletomanes and readers of biography alike will applaud Daneman's vivid, insightful, and highly entertaining work. Based on more than ten years of research and lavishly illustrated with beautiful and evocative photographs, Margot Fonteyn is an exquisite biography that is supremely worthy of its alluring subject.
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Leonide Massine and the 20th Century Ballet by Leslie Norton
This work provides a biography of Massine and a detailed analysis of his major ballets, including those for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and American Ballet Theatre. The work integrates biographical study with an examination of Massine's works from an array of perspectives. By examining the music and composers, set design, and literary sources, it places the work in the larger context of the dance, opera, major visual art movements, literature, and theater of the period. Analyses of ballets include synopses, scenery and costumes, music, choreography, critical survey, and summary. The work concludes with an epilogue summarizing Massine's impact on the development of ballet in the twentieth century, and includes both informal and performance photographs.
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DVD: The Video Dictionary of Classical Ballet
Now on DVD! The essential video dictionary of all classical ballet movements performed by some of the greatest names in American Ballet. Teachers and students alike find the Video Dictionary of Classical Ballet the most innovative and dynamic tool ever developed for learning and studying the movements of ballet. 4 1/2 hours on two DVDs, this set includes over 800 variations in Russian, French, and Cecchetti styles. Many of the movements are shown in slow motion with multiple camera angles and voice-over narrative description. This engaging program demonstrates the complete language of ballet: Positions and Directions, Barre, Linking Steps, Center Practice, Pirouettes, Adage, Allegro, Batterie, Pointe, Musical Enchainements. For easy reference, a printed index of all the movements and variations performed is included. This comprehensive guide is demonstrated by four of the most outstanding figures in American Ballet: Kevin McKenzie (Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre, former principal dancer, ABT), Georgina Parkinson (Ballet Mistress of ABT; former principal dancer, Royal Ballet), Merrill Ashley (former principal dancer, New York City Ballet), Denise Jackson (former principal dancer, Joffrey Ballet)
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Getting Closer: A Dancer's Perspective by Rosalie O'Connor
Former American Ballet Theatre dancer Rosalie O'Connor gives us an intimate look at one of America's greatest dance companies, a glimpse of unforgettable moments both behind the curtain and onstage during her 15 years with the company. O'Connor's black-and-white images capture the emotions of dancers and choreographers at their most unguarded - intense, vulnerable, exhilarated, and exhausted. Because of her position with the company, O'Connor had unlimited access to her colleagues and an unrestricted view from the wings. Her photos record the dancers' rigorous daily routines in rehearsal studios and their pre-performance preparations. The images reflect the trust and familiarity between O'Connor and her fellow dancers. And they catch breath-taking moments in performance as a dancer attains the height of a leap or executes a perfect arabesque. This book documents the company from 1996 to 2002. O'Connor provides the story behind each photo and quotes from the dancers themselves. Dance luminaries also offer brief comments and insights: Natalia Makarova on how she passes on the tradition of classical ballet through coaching; Mark Morris about his approach to restaging his own work; Susan Jaffe on the final bow of her career; and Alessandra Ferri on dancing opposite Julio Bocca's Romeo.
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100 Lessons in Classical Ballet : The Eight-Year Program of Leningrad's Vaganova Choreographic School (Paperback)
by Vera S. Kostrovitskaya
