Behind the Scenes at the Ballet: Rehearsing and Performing the Sleeping Beauty [Paperback]

Leslie E. Spatt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1997

For more than a hundred years, The Sleeping Beauty has been one of the worlds best-loved ballets, creating magic onstage. But what happens offstage? This comprehensive backstage tour takes you from the studio to the dressing room, from rehearsal to the final curtain call. Dynamic, full-color photographs capture the hard work of preparation and the splendor of the performance. "A fine introduction to this ballet." -- Booklist A longtime ballet photographer, Leslie E. Spatt divides her time between ballet companies in England, Germany, and Amsterdam, including the Birmingham Royal Ballet (England), whose performance is the basis for this book.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6. Spatt, a dance photographer, offers a fully illustrated backstage tour of The Sleeping Beauty as performed by the Birmingham Royal Ballet. After retelling the story and introducing the principal characters, the text focuses on dancers taking classes and attending rehearsals as well as warming up, making up, and dressing for a performance. The camera switches from backstage to the audience's view for dozens of well-captioned photos showing highlights of the ballet itself, with the text describing the action and sidebars offering commentary on such aspects of the performance as mime and the "Rose Adagio." Full-color photographs on every page of the book show dancers and even the technical crew in action. A short history of The Sleeping Beauty and a glossary of ballet terms are appended. For older children, a fine introduction to this ballet. Carolyn Phelan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (December 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140559051
• ISBN-13: 978-0140559057
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,770,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Not-To-Be-Missed Treat, June 28, 2000

By 

"narya58" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Behind the Scenes at the Ballet: Rehearsing and Performing the Sleeping Beauty (Paperback)

Behind The Scenes At the Ballet is a truly fascinating book that does exactly what it advertises. It takes the reader backstage to see the rehearsal and performance process involved in putting on the ballet Sleeping Beauty. This is one of the best of the ballet books for children that I have read. It is sure to fascinate many young people, even those who claim ballet is "boring". The book begins with a quick retelling of the ballet story of Sleeping Beauty. The first thing that readers will notice is that this version is decidedly different from the Disney version! It then starts with dance class and rehearsal and shows how the ballet is staged. From costumes and shoes to getting dressed and getting ready to perform; from preparing the stage to waiting in the wings for an entrance. Included are step by step illustrations of putting on make-up and pantomiming a scene.Then the book gives a detailed retelling of the story, complete with lavish pictures. The photographs throughout this book are wonderful, and add a great deal to the wealth of information included in the text. From basic ballet terms, to amusing details (do you know what pig's ears are?) this book covers it all.