Customer Reviews

The Book of Ballet: Learning and Appreciating the Secrets of Dance

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The editorial reviews for "The Ballet Book" tout it as telling all about the fascinating world of ballet: "Readers will learn...how to stretch, stand, dance and perform like professional ballerinas", "...a thorough explanation of each step in a dancer's routine...". The reality, however, is a bit different. This is a gorgeously illustrated book with lots and lots of photos by dance photographer Nancy Ellison. We see the dancers of American Ballet Theatre in the studio, in performance, in costume, and even in some hilarious candid shots. But if you're looking for a book that explains the technical side of ballet in depth, you're going to be disappointed. The book touches on some of the basic elements of ballet such as plies and the positions of the body and shows the dancers demonstrating the finished result, but it doesn't explain how to get there; there is almost no discussion of turnout, placement, or anything of that nature. The book also offers extremely brief (think one paragraph) synopses of several famous and less-famous ballets like "Giselle", "La Fille Mal Gardee", "Apollo" and "The Leaves Are Fading" along with carefully posed studio photographs of dancers in the appropriate costumes. There's a brief section on choreography and, unusually, a short chapter on retirement in which recently retired ballerina Susan Jaffe discusses her farewell. All in all this is a lovely coffee-table book, but if you want a technical manual you should probably look elsewhere.

I agree with the other two reviews that you don't buy this book to learn the " secrets of dance ". However, if you're a fan of ABT, this is a must to own. Nancy Ellison always captures the dancers beautifully, be it in still or movements.Though her best portraits of ABT dancers was the ABT book published in 1995.( very hard to get now ).This book can be a nice reference to have autographs from you favorite dances because there are hundreds of excellent photos of all the current principles, soloists and corpes.The only drawback is that they have a very poorly presented Susan Jaffe farewell on a double page. That actually splits her face in half. I heard they will correct that in the second edition.

A beautiful book with photos and some text.
There is no real explanation of how to do anything ballet.
That is OK. Just understand that this is basically a book for decoration, not instruction.

I love everything about the text, photos. I use do ballet, but I didn't know anything about it when I took ballet. So this book is showing and telling about it. Its defintly a keepsake for me and my kids, grandkids, and so on. Thank you.

I received this book last Christmas as a present and was so thrilled to have it that I literally sat down for 2 hours slowly flipping through the pages and forgot about the rest of the presents to open. My husband and father-in-law actually left me with my book to do other things since I wasn't going to budge. I cannot open this book without looking through it entirely.

There are very few vivid and enticing books of ballet. I love seeing dancers, true professionals at the top of their game, performing or posing to evoke emotions from their audience. Since I am a perfectionist, I am looking at their form, their shapes, seeing what I can do better. Books such as this one renew my mind and push me harder in class to create that perfect line, find that correct position. I am one of the few that love ballet as much as breathing, and this book captures my love quite excellently.

If you are looking for an excellent visual reference for technique, get Classical Ballet Technique by Gretchen Ward Warren. This is full of step by step photos of rudimentary and advanced steps.

A comprehensive overview of the workings of a major ballet company,in this case American Ballet Theatre, with detailed insights from administrators, students, staff, and principal dancers. Not only are various levels of experience explored (from corps to principals) but also some of the training involved and differences between styles of performance: Virtuoso/bravura, Lyrical/Adagio, Allegro. In short, what makes a dancer great or a performance work. There are also explanations of rehearsal scheduling, tech/dress rehearsals, and why time is money too.

The section on the details of partnering--especially lifts and preventing mistakes in timing or perception--was interesting because this is an area not usually covered in simple manuals of positions. Also the sections on what aspects of technique matter--e.g. purity of line, consistancy of positioning--besides the pyrotechniques of 32 fouettes or soaring ballon may help others see it's not all tricks. And finally someone shows proper hands and says no to 'droopy wrists'!

There are a wealth of photographs: Both corps demonstrating positions and rehearsing; Irina Kolpakova, Kevin McKenzie, Kirk Peterson, Guillaum Graffin teaching; Lar Lubovich choreographing; and the principals in performance of the major repertoire. Enjoy the pictures of current and up-and-coming soloist/corps members--some of whom are now principals. There are also one or two photos of principals prepping in their dressing rooms and/or the wings. The contrast between the dancers and the backstage gaffer/fly/grip staff and big$-donors observing rehearsals is also amusing.

All in all, a lovely overview of ABT busy at work bringing insight and enjoyment to us fans, however knowledgeable we are--or not. A good purchase, especially for the details provided and knowing comments of the dancers and teacher/coaches.

This book is nothing but spectacular photography and interesting behind-the-scenes looks at one of the most beautiful arts in the world. I love ballet and I can't get enough of it. This book is one of my favorite things ever and it's a great addition to any book collection. Stories, costumes, and props for various major ballets from Nutcrakcer to Sleeping Beauty were a pleasant surprise that added to the quality of this book.

"The elegant images that accompany Hanna Rubin's text in THE BALLET BOOK features Amercian Ballet Theatre dancers, as photographed by Nancy Ellison. The pictures which show dance in the studio, during rehearsal and onstage, speak volumes about the artform and will inspire any principal-in-training . The entire span of a ballet career is described in images and words, from the initial dream and the learning process through preparation and performance and even retirement.

I just got this book a week ago and I love it! I am a 12 year old ballet dancer looking for new ways to improve myself in technique and choreography and this was definently the book to do that! The Ballet Book is now my favorite book and I read it when I have free time(when I am not dancing). The pictures were beautiful and had everything I needed to know right there! Thank you for this wonderful book!!!!!!!!

I bought this book because I am a big fan of American Ballet Theater and ballet in general. As the title implies, it does indeed give the reader an inside look and overview of ballet history and technique. More importantly, the photos capture the beauty of ballet and showcases the current generation of ABT's stars. For a book that is supposed to represent the ballet world however, it is disappointing to see errors in ballet terminology and not much insight or depth about ballet. As a showcase of today's stars and upcoming ones, I also wish there were captions naming the dancers on each page more clearly and consistently. Personal interviews with corps de ballet dancers would have been interesting, too. Though this shouldn't serve as a reference or informational book, I think many devoted fans will enjoy seeing the beautiful photos.