There seem to be more than a few new ballet books coming our way in 2013.
Dancing on Water: A Life in Ballet, from the Kirov to the ABT
Elena Tchernichova, Joel Lobenthal, Joseph Brodsky
Scheduled for release in May and can be pre-ordered at Amazon with a discount.
The book is the personal story of Elena Tchernichova, the Kirov ballerina who devoted twelve years to coaching ABT's artists including Gelsey Kirkland, Cynthia Gregory, Natalia Makarova, and Alexander Godunov (the guy in the mirror):
The French School of Classical Ballet: The First Year of Training
Vanina Wilson
Scheduled for release in August and can be pre-ordered at Amazon with a discount.
This is a thirty-three week training manual that covers the syllabus of "the French school" without claiming an association with POB, except for the mention that the author studied with masters of POB and its school.
Dancers: Artists of The Royal Ballet
Andrej Uspenski
Scheduled for release in September and can be pre-ordered at Amazon with a discount.
This is photography book, and the images have been captured by a First Artist of the company. There seems to be a slight difference in the title on the jacket and Amazon's title record, but they'll figure it all out for you if you place a pre-order.
The Making of Markova: Diaghilev's Baby Ballerina to Groundbreaking Icon
Tina Sutton
Scheduled for release in August and can be pre-ordered at Amazon with a discount.
The author had unprecedented access to Dame Alicia Markova's intimate journals and correspondence. The book has 60 photographs.
Balanchine and the Lost Muse: Revolution and the Making of a Choreographer
Elizabeth Kendall
Scheduled for release in July and can be pre-ordered at Amazon with a discount.
This book is described as the first dual biography of the early lives of two key figures
in Russian ballet: famed choreographer George Balanchine and his close
childhood friend and extraordinary ballerina Liidia (Lidochka) Ivanova.
Anna Pavlova: Twentieth Century Ballerina
Jane Pritchard and Caroline Hamilton
Scheduled to be released on March 12th but is still at this moment available at Amazon as a pre-order with a discount.
Additionally, there are new books about Daria Klimentova of the English National Ballet, the Birmingham Royal Ballet, a new International Dictionary of Ballet coming out in April for $375, The Green Table: Labanotation, Music, History, and Photographs by Ann Hutchinson Guest, and a new children's book When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky: Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot by Lauren Stringer.
14 responses to “Books”
Thanks for telling us about these forthcoming books, Haglund. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they are an indication of a ballet revival such as that in the 60s and 70s when all those Russians were defecting and suddenly ballet dancers became celebrities. (Of course, speaking of Russian ballet celebrities, there can be too much of a good thing.)
A distinct difference between now and then is that hundreds of colleges and universities now have ballet departments, whereas back in the day modern was considered the only kind of dance worthy of academia, probably because of its connection to Greek mythology, via Martha Graham.
Additionally, it is not only acceptable, but virtually a given that ballet dancers will marry and have families, unlike the then-prevailing climate that was portrayed so tragically in The Red Shoes.
Thanks for telling us about these forthcoming books, Haglund. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they are an indication of a ballet revival such as that in the 60s and 70s when all those Russians were defecting and suddenly ballet dancers became celebrities. (Of course, speaking of Russian ballet celebrities, there can be too much of a good thing.)
A distinct difference between now and then is that hundreds of colleges and universities now have ballet departments, whereas back in the day modern was considered the only kind of dance worthy of academia, probably because of its connection to Greek mythology, via Martha Graham.
Additionally, it is not only acceptable, but virtually a given that ballet dancers will marry and have families, unlike the then-prevailing climate that was portrayed so tragically in The Red Shoes.
Never heard of Ivanova and I thought I knew about all of Mr. B’s muses. The years in the early Soviet state are quite cloudy. He was apparently an artistic revolutionary, according to something I read in I REMEMBER BALANCHINE. Interesting, given his rep. of being “conservative.”
BTW, I discovered something interesting about Tamara Geva. Her father was an apostate Muslim, who made a lot of money doing something in pre-rev. St. Petersburg, before the Revolution. Apostate or no, she was considered a non-Christian and thus could not go to the Imperial school until after the Revolution, when the school was nationalized & opened to minorities.
So, without the Revolution, Mr. B. would never have met Geva. Life is strange.
Never heard of Ivanova and I thought I knew about all of Mr. B’s muses. The years in the early Soviet state are quite cloudy. He was apparently an artistic revolutionary, according to something I read in I REMEMBER BALANCHINE. Interesting, given his rep. of being “conservative.”
BTW, I discovered something interesting about Tamara Geva. Her father was an apostate Muslim, who made a lot of money doing something in pre-rev. St. Petersburg, before the Revolution. Apostate or no, she was considered a non-Christian and thus could not go to the Imperial school until after the Revolution, when the school was nationalized & opened to minorities.
So, without the Revolution, Mr. B. would never have met Geva. Life is strange.
Thanks for compiling the list. There are 2-3 on it that I’ll be definitely buying. Wasn’t Lidia Ivanova the one who drowned and Balanchine blamed her death on nefarious Russian officials?
Thanks for compiling the list. There are 2-3 on it that I’ll be definitely buying. Wasn’t Lidia Ivanova the one who drowned and Balanchine blamed her death on nefarious Russian officials?
I believe you’re correct, Genna. The description on the Amazon site mentions her “mysterious” death just before she and Balanchine were to leave Russia.
I just ordered the Pavlova book based on the incredible beauty of the cover. I may rip it off and put it in a picture frame.
I believe you’re correct, Genna. The description on the Amazon site mentions her “mysterious” death just before she and Balanchine were to leave Russia.
I just ordered the Pavlova book based on the incredible beauty of the cover. I may rip it off and put it in a picture frame.
The Balanchine one looks really interesting.
The Balanchine one looks really interesting.
Agree about the Pavlova cover. Just gorgeous.
Here’s another book that might be of interest that is coming out soon: “Facts and Fancies”, a book of essays by Paul Taylor that the company mentioned yesterday on Twitter.
http://www.delphiniumbooks.com/factsandfancies.html
Agree about the Pavlova cover. Just gorgeous.
Here’s another book that might be of interest that is coming out soon: “Facts and Fancies”, a book of essays by Paul Taylor that the company mentioned yesterday on Twitter.
http://www.delphiniumbooks.com/factsandfancies.html
Thanks Catchip. Mr. Taylor is a very entertaining writer, and the price of his new book is pretty good. Maybe the book will be available for purchase during the PTDC Spring Season at Lincoln Center which starts in 12 days.
Thanks Catchip. Mr. Taylor is a very entertaining writer, and the price of his new book is pretty good. Maybe the book will be available for purchase during the PTDC Spring Season at Lincoln Center which starts in 12 days.