Dancing Spirit [Paperback]

Judith Jamison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1994

Judith Jamison is, in every sense, a towering  figure. Her commanding physical presence and  extraordinary technique have made her not only a  superstar of American dance and an innovator in her field,  but also an inspiration to African Americans, to  women, and to people of all origins around the  world. Last November, Doubleday published  Dancing Spirit, this remarkable woman's  autobiography. Now, with Anchor's paperback  publication, an even wider audience can trace the steps of  her career: her early years in Philadelphia, where  she began studying dance at the age of six, her  discovery by Agnes de Mille; years of frustration  and struggle in a field that favored petite, fair,  White women; her legendary collaboration with Alvin  Ailey; her work on Broadway in the musical  Sophisticated Ladies ; the formation of  her own company, the Jamison Project, and her  retum to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as  artistic director after its founder's death in 1989.  Dancing Spirit contains vivid  portraits of many artists Jamison has worked with  including Agnes de Mille, Alvin Ailey, Jessye Norman,  Geoffrey Holder, Carmen de Lavallade, and Mikhail  Baryshnikov, to name only a few. And Jamison talks  frankly about the price exacted by a dancer's  nomadic life--rootlessness, fleeting relationships,  the obsession with physical beauty. Illustrated with  sixty photographs, Dancing Spirit  is a candid and immediate self-portrait of a  unique American artist whose work has left an indelible  mark on the world of  dance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Celebrated African American dancer Jamison gives a vibrant account of her struggles and triumphs in this inspiring autobiography.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-While Jamison describes her childhood and takes great pride in her family and her African heritage, she focuses almost exclusively on her career as a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and now artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. What comes through most of all is her pride and her passion for dance. A word of caution: many phrases appear in quotes, some of them slang, without explanation, which may confuse readers as the meanings are not always clear in context. In addition, the author is so totally immersed in her subject that she uses many technical terms from ballet to jazz to Horton techniques without defining them. However, for those who adore dance and the theatre, are familiar with the Alvin Ailey troupe, and have some background in the subject, this book will give immense pleasure. Over 60 marvelous black-and-white photographs capture the essence of this intense and dramatic artist.
Pat Royal, Crossland High School, Camp Springs, MD
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; 1st Anchor Books ed edition (October 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385425589
• ISBN-13: 978-0385425582
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,459,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HONEST SPIRIT, January 9, 2001

By 

Gerald J. Ross "jerberoni" (Monroeville, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dancing Spirit (Paperback)

It is unusual to have a book reduce one to tears. That is usually reserved for a live performance and it is unusual, humbling and not a little frightening. I first read Judith Jamison's autobiography in 1995, and every time I re-read it, the effect is the same! The final pages summerize her philosophy concisely and with such power you can almost hear bells ringing in her voice. Your shoulders instinctively drop, your chin lifts and that strange core of yourself resonates along with her; along with her extraordinary vitality. Would that I could see her perform LIVE! Her words will have to be enough, and combined with the fine work she is still producing, they are! Ms. Jamison became the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1989, after the founder's death. It is a visionary company and a powerful force in dance, and her promotion seems to be a logical and natural progression. "I don't feel as though I'm standing in anyone's shoes. I'm standing on Alvin's shoulders. The horizons become broader...." The book chronicles Ms. Jamison's dancing role in the company along with earlier personal factors in her life that are her story. Faith, discipline and an extraordinary amount of love and guidance, ethnocentrism and family meld in this woman of great strength and purpose. Her clarity and focus are to be emulated and admired and her attitude toward dance and dancers is precise. She seems truly gracious in all her writing. Her respect for those who came before is profound. Many personal photos are interspersed with studio shots and snippets of insight on life and dance nail down her philosophy. Ms. Jamison's great spirit and intelligence permeate. Stark recognition of her great dance ability is always tempered with humility and truth. Often written with a gutsy awareness of ther Afro-American heritage (along with writer and poet Howard Kaplan) the vernacular is often set inside quotation marks, lending humor to this woman who is so many things, most formidibly a professional. The word Goddess surely applies. How shocking it was to see this book translated into dance a few seaon's back! And again, greatly humbling at the artistry that so completely transposed the written word into a dance of great beauty and feeling. "Dance from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet....even when you're stationary you must be moving and alive...." Read this book and feel alive-full of spirit and GIVE it to any young dancer you encounter!

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, May 15, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Boston MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancing Spirit (Paperback)

Judith Jamison is an amazing woman and an amazing dancer. I have learned more about her through her performances than I did through this book. I found it to be very focused on outward events in her life, rather than what was going on inside. She seems to take great care to omit information about her own personal life, leaving gaps in her life story and ultimately, a disappointed reader. It's another arts-celebrity biography full of tales about premieres, events, honors, hard work, but no real window into her innermost self.