Turning Pointe

Turning Pointe

Author: Chloe Angyal

Publisher: Bold Type Books

Published: 2021-05-04

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1645036723

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A reckoning with one of our most beloved art forms, whose past and present are shaped by gender, racial, and class inequities—and a look inside the fight for its future Every day, in dance studios all across America, legions of little children line up at the barre to take ballet class. This time in the studio shapes their lives, instilling lessons about gender, power, bodies, and their place in the world both in and outside of dance. In Turning Pointe, journalist Chloe Angyal captures the intense love for ballet that so many dancers feel, while also grappling with its devastating shortcomings: the power imbalance of an art form performed mostly by women, but dominated by men; the impossible standards of beauty and thinness; and the racism that keeps so many people of color out of ballet. As the rigid traditions of ballet grow increasingly out of step with the modern world, a new generation of dancers is confronting these issues head on, in the studio and on stage. For ballet to survive the twenty-first century and forge a path into a more socially just future, this reckoning is essential.


The Ballet Companion

The Ballet Companion

Author: Eliza Gaynor Minden

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2007-11-01

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 1416595716

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A New Classic for Today's Dancer 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.


Ballet Shoes

Ballet Shoes

Author: Noel Streatfeild

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Published: 2018-11-06

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 0525578633

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Three orphan girls. A pair of pink slippers. A lifetime in the spotlight. Read the classic that has captivated generations! Pauline, Petrova, and Posy love their quiet life together. They are orphans who have been raised as sisters, and when their new family needs money, the girls want to help. They decide to join the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training to earn their keep. Each girl works hard following her dream. Pauline is destined for the movies. Posy is a born dancer. And Petrova? She finds she'd rather be a pilot than perform a pirouette. This beautiful children's classic is perfect for girls who love to dream about ballet, friendship, and finding their own special talents. Adult readers may remember them as the "Shoes" books from You've Got Mail!


Ballet Class

Ballet Class

Author: Melissa R. Klapper

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 0190908688

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A pathbreaking social history that takes seriously the experiences of the countless everyday people who pursued recreational ballet, Ballet Class: An American History explores the growth of this now quintessential extracurricular activity as it became an integral part of American childhood across borders of gender, class, race, and sexuality.


My Ballet Book

My Ballet Book

Author: Kate Castle

Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780789434326

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Introduces the world of ballet and presents its notable stories, dancers, techniques, and routines.


Reworking the Ballet

Reworking the Ballet

Author: Vida L. Midgelow

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2007-11-13

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 1135922403

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Challenging and unsettling their predecessors, modern choreographers such as Matthew Bourne, Mark Morris and Masaki Iwana have courted controversy and notoriety by reimagining the most canonical of Classical and Romantic ballets. In this book, Vida L. Midgelow illustrates the ways in which these contemporary reworkings destroy and recreate their source material, turning ballet from a classical performance to a vital exploration of gender, sexuality and cultural difference. Reworking the Ballet: Counter Narratives and Alternative Bodies articulates the ways that audiences and critics can experience these new versions, viewing them from both practical and theoretical perspectives, including: eroticism and the politics of touch performing gender cross-casting and cross-dressing reworkings and intertextuality cultural exchange and hybridity.


Ballet For Dummies

Ballet For Dummies

Author: Scott Speck

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-05-04

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1118068807

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Whether you want to participate in ballet or just watch it, the ballet experience can excite and inspire you. Ballet is among the most beautiful forms of expression ever devised: an exquisite mix of sight and sound, stunning, aesthetics, and awesome technique. Ballet For Dummies is for anyone who wants to enjoy all that the dance forms offers – as an onlooker who wants to get a leg up on the forms you're likely to see or as an exercise enthusiast who understands that the practice of ballet can help you gain More strength Greater flexibility Better body alignment Confidence in movement Comfort through stress reduction Infinite grace – for life From covering the basics of classical ballet to sharing safe and sensible ways to try your hand (and toes) at moving through the actual dance steps, this expert reference shows you how to Build your appreciation for ballet from the ground up. Choose the best practice space and equipment. Warm up to your leap into the movements. Locate musical options for each exercise. Look for certain lifts in a stage performance. Tell a story with gestures. Picture a day in the life of a professional ballet dancer. Identify best-loved classic and contemporary ballets. Speak the language of ballet. Today you can find a ballet company in almost every major city on earth. Many companies have their own ballet schools – some for training future professionals, and others for interested amateurs. As you fine-tune your classical ballet technique – or even if you just like to read about it – you'll become better equipped to fully appreciate the great choreography and many styles of the dance. Ballet For Dummies raises the curtain on a world of beauty, grace, poise, and possibility!


The Ballet Lover's Companion

The Ballet Lover's Companion

Author: Zoe Anderson

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2015-05-29

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0300154291

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This engaging book is a welcome guide to the most successful and loved ballets seen on the stage today. Dance writer and critic Zoe Anderson focuses on 140 ballets, a core international repertory that encompasses works from the ethereal world of romantic ballet to the edgy, muscular works of modern choreographers. She provides a wealth of facts and insights, including information familiar only to dance world insiders, and considers such recent works as Alexei Ramansky's Shostakovich Trilogy and Christopher Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale as well as older ballets once forgotten but now returned to the repertory, such as Sylvia. To enhance enjoyment of each ballet, Anderson also offers tips on what to look for during a performance. Each chapter introduces a period of ballet history and provides an overview of innovations and advancement in the art form. In the individual entries that follow, Anderson includes essential facts about each ballet’s themes, plot, composers, choreographers, dance style, and music. The author also addresses the circumstances of each ballet’s creation and its effect in the theater, and she recounts anecdotes that illuminate performance history and reception. Reliable, accessible, and fully up to date, this book will delight anyone who attends the ballet, participates in ballet, or simply loves ballet and wants to know much more about it.