The Art of Teaching Ballet: Ten 20th-Century Masters [Hardcover]

Gretchen Ward Warren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1996

From Christiane Vaussard in Paris, to David Howard in New York City and Larisa Sklyanskaya in San Francisco, Gretchen Warren profiles ten world-renowned master ballet teachers to capture their philosophies, training methods, and the classroom presence that makes their instruction magical.

Based on extensive interviews and classroom observation, each profile is an entertaining and enlightening mix of personal anecdotes and details about teaching techniques, class content and organization. Warren also includes a section of signature exercises drawn from each teacher. Because of the master teachers' diversity of styles and methods, as well as their occasional disputes with traditional wisdom, the book offers a brisk stimulant for reflecting on the values of developing and holding true to one's own style and beliefs.

Warren combines her years of experience as a dancer and master ballet teacher and her engaging writing style to create a living history of 20th-century classical ballet training. Like their legions of students, readers will appreciate not only these teachers' philosophies, their endless curiosity, and their devotion to ballet, but also what distinguishes them. As Warren observes, "A great teacher, like a great chef, is a master at presentation, at making something--even something as painstakingly difficult as the study of classical ballet--so palatable that students swallow without hesitation. And do so joyfully!"

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Warren (dance, Univ. of South Florida) is an arts commentator, a former soloist with the Pennsylvania Ballet, and author of the comprehensive Classical Ballet Technique (LJ 1/90). She notes that many books have been written about famous choreographers and dancers but that little has been written about outstanding teachers. Yet the lifeblood of ballet is pedagogy, and the performances in which audiences delight are a result of the dancers' instruction. To better understand the magical transfer of information and artistry, Warren interviewed ten exceptional teachers. They represent different artistic lineages, employ distinctive classroom techniques, and structure a range of varying exercises. Each profile is stimulating, combining philosophical discussion and anecdotal history with sample representative classroom exercises. Ballet teachers will value this addition to the dance literature, and the larger audience of balletomanes will also find it engrossing.
Joan Stahl, National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"[No one] has covered such broad spectrum of teachers throughout the world...in such a lively, thorough, and engaging fashion." -- Judith Chazin-Bennahum, Society of Dance History Scholars --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Florida (December 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081301459X
• ISBN-13: 978-0813014593
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,436,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspiring Book!, January 10, 2001

By 

Dee Piccolo (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Teaching Ballet: Ten Twentieth-Century Masters (Paperback)

Every ballet teacher must own this book. You will gain enormous insight into how 10 master teachers pass on the art of ballet to their students. You may not be drawn to the teaching styles of each teacher but you will learn something from everybody. Each chapter begins with a short essay in which Ms. Warren weaves what she learned from interviewing the master teachers about how they developed their method of teaching with specific accounts of what she observed in their classes. Each chapter concludes with "Classroom Quotes," the order of exercises in a technique class, and the pedagogical lineage of the master teacher. At the end of the book, Ms. Warren includes several exercises constructed by each of the master teachers. For non-teachers, this book will give you renewed appreciation for the work that goes into making a dancer.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, July 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of Teaching Ballet: Ten 20th-Century Masters (Hardcover)

Two years ago, we purchased this book for our son for his 16th birthday for several reasons. The major two were that his own ballet teacher -- Larry Long -- was one of the teachers written about in the book. Also, he had taken classes with the author one summer, loved her as a teacher, and continually referred to her previous book -- Classical Ballet Technique. After we purchased the book, he discovered that several teachers with whom he had either taken classes or about whom he had heard were also covered in the book. He enjoyed the book because of the biographies of each of the teachers and because of the descriptions of their techniques and classes. He assumes that if he ever teaches he will enjoy rereading the book to see the information from a different perspective. We, his parents, have enjoyed it because we have little knowledge of the world of ballet and it gave us more insight into it. Of course, our favorite chapter was the one about his teacher as we learned more of his background, many of the people we knew were mentioned, it gave us greater insight into his teaching style, and the pictures were great. However, the other chapters were very informative and helpful to parents of a serious ballet student. (Since we had no background in ballet, it helped us understand the field a little more.)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Dancers Are Students And Teachers!, November 16, 2005

By 

J. M WILINSKY (teaneck, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Art of Teaching Ballet: Ten Twentieth-Century Masters (Paperback)

This is a wonderful addition to the literature on ballet. The auther makes her apologies in the beginning for not being able to include some noteworthiy teachers, but the ones she was able to cover are great. The information provided gives us valuable insight into the aesthetic principles of these great dancers and teachers. This should be useful to all dancers, whether they teach or not. Some very esoteric facts can be found here as well, such as why Balanchine likes the fingers and hands held the way he does and why many don't like it that way. I had taken some classes with a Mr. Schabel and discovered his claim to fame in these pages. The Great Jean Babilee is even discused. You might also get some good ideas for further reading in this book as I did.