Classical Ballet Technique [Paperback]

Gretchen W. Warren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1989

With this brilliantly imagined and beautifully achieved work, Gretchen Warren has created the fisrt comprehensive, photgraphicaly illustrated reference and teaching guie on classical ballet technique. In more than 2,600 photographs, Johan Renvall, Cynthia Harvey, Susan Jaffe, and an array o other dancers from such companies as the American Ballet Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet demonstrate in sequence every movement in the classical repertoire, from the most basic to the most advanced.

The book's design matches each photograph with captions that details appropriate teaching techniques and describe the proper teaching techniques and describe the proper execution of each step. A glossary defines common dance terms, and a pronunciation guide provides phonetic transcriptions of French ballet terms.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

An important addition to the reference libraries of teachers and students of ballet. Warren, soloist with the Pennsylvania Ballet for 11 years and now associate professor of dance at the University of South Florida, explains the correct execution of every step in the ballet vocabulary. Dancers from the American Ballet Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet appear in over 2600 photographs and illustrate the movement. Part 1 of the book covers basic concepts of training, physical characteristics of the ideal dancer, and suggestions for conducting a successful class. Part 2 is devoted to sequential photographs of more involved steps and definitions of terminology. Warren includes stylistic variations--Soviet, Italian, French, etc. This book is unprecedented in its detail and clarity. For anyone with a serious interest in ballet. Highly recommended.
- Joan Stahl, Enoch Pratt Free Lib., Baltimore
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"An important addition to the reference libraries of teachers and students of ballet...for anyone with a serious interest." -- Library Journal

Simply unequalled—nothing else is even close. -- balletbooks.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 395 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Florida; First edition (December 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813009456
• ISBN-13: 978-0813009452
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Ballet
  • #97 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Theater

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is exactly what we need!, September 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Classical Ballet Technique (Paperback)

I am a beginning adult Ballet student who has been studying Ballet for only a month, but I already found this book very useful. It's got a sequence of pictures of real ballet dancers (not drawings) illustrating each step very clearly and precisely. The other good thing is it's got these pictures that show the "wrong" technique too for comparison. This is exactly what we students need. I took some ballroom dancing and there are a couple of standard technique books written on the subject, but they are all verbal discriptions so it is very hard to visualize the pictures. I wish there were a book just like this one for all the other dances. Anyway, this book is a MUST have for all serious, semi-serious ballet or dance students.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than The Basics!, November 16, 2005

By 

J. M WILINSKY (teaneck, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Classical Ballet Technique (Paperback)

Among ballet dancers, this book is considered one of the best references for the professional dancer. It is not really for young beginners. For example, It may give the comparisons between French, Italian, Danish, and Russian versions of a particular step. I like to refer to this in some cases even more than dvd references, since it is often more complete. This book appears to cover center steps more thoroughly than barre steps. For better sources of barre exercises see my other reviews, especially "The Classic Ballet:..." by Lincoln Kirstein.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reference Book, April 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Classical Ballet Technique (Paperback)

This book is an indispensable reference book for any seriousstudent or instructor of ballet. Its many photographs of professionalsexecuting each step (up to 6 to 8 photographs showing each stage of a step) is extremely thorough. I have both taken and taught ballet for years and I have never seen another book as complete as this one. It provides both inspiration and clarification regarding the numerous ballet basics and steps, while including differences in steps from the different schools of ballet.

While this is the more affordable version of the hardcover edition, I would recommend the hardcover edition if you can afford it. This is surely a book that will be looked at numerous times and will remain in your personal library (or dance school, public school, or public library) for many years.