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Classical Ballet Technique [Paperback]

Gretchen W. Warren
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)

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Book Description

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.


Frequently Bought Together

Classical Ballet Technique + Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet (Dover Books on Dance) + Basic Principles of Classical Ballet
Price for all three: $40.75

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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

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: 9.3 x 0.9 x 12.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

The best book I have ever seen on Classical Ballet Technique. Rosemary  |  9 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
56 of 56 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
Format: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.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reference Book April 3, 1997
By A Customer
Format: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.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars More Than The Basics! November 16, 2005
Format: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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Just got this and Im already in love!
I am an adult ballet student and I got this book to have something to study while I am practicing on my own. the pictures are lovely and the descriptions accurate. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Carmen
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely AMAZING!
I was a ballet student of Gretchen Warren's at USF when this book was published. I feel absolutely honored to have taken 4 years of classical ballet under her personal... Read more
Published 18 days ago by Susan
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
I brought this to the studio I work at and everyone reads it to gain a few pointers on how to properly execute their technique. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Amanda Ciotuszynski
5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME BOOK!!
This book gives you all of the technical aspects of ballet with pictures. It gives you every step, stance, direction ect...a must have for any ballerina!
Published 3 months ago by tracie williams
3.0 out of 5 stars Dance Major
Book took forever to come!! I didn't see it for about 3 1/2 weeks, but it was in great shape!
Published 3 months ago by Shalee J. Lewis
5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful
I strongly recommend this book for those people interested in technical corrections of ballet positions. Pictures are very helpful and understanding. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Cristina
5.0 out of 5 stars Abundant photos and easy to understand descriptions
I haven't taken ballet for over a decade, but because the book combines very descriptive photos of each move with concise captions, each move came back to me very easily.
Published 3 months ago by Nfullmer
3.0 out of 5 stars paperback was good condition
If you are going to be using this book alot, I would suggest getting a hard cover version. because there are soo many pages and its heavy weight will make it difficult to keep in a... Read more
Published 4 months ago by rallen
5.0 out of 5 stars The ballet bible!!
This book is often used in my daughter's ballet school, so she was thrilled to get it for Christmas. It is a fabulous reference book no matter what level your dancer is in. Read more
Published 4 months ago by C.D.
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly useful!
I am an intermediate classical ballet student, and this is the best ballet book I have ever used. It covers everything you could think of. Read more
Published 4 months ago by mgiballerina
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