Dancing Through Life: Lessons Learned on and off the Dance Floor [Hardcover]

Antoinette Benevento (Author), Edwin Dobb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2007

A warm and encouraging self-help book that draws inspiration and motivation from ballroom dancing.

 

Precisely because the dance floor stands apart from the everyday world, allowing dancers to play, experiment and take on new roles, it also serves as a stage for human behavior. Antoinette Benevento, a former national ballroom dancing champion and co-owner of Fred Astaire Dance Studios, has been a student of that stage for 25 years. She has discovered that getting out on the dance floor is a powerful and empowering metaphor for living fully in all realms of life.
 
Some of the tenets Antoinette Benevento lives, dances, and teaches by:
-Persistence is a form of beauty
-Give yourself permission to begin again--and again and again
-If you're not willing to risk falling, you'll never learn to walk (or dance)
-Desire is the energy that moves us forward in dance and in life
-To dance well and to live fully, body and soul need to work together
Building on the ballroom dancing craze that has swept the country, including the popularity of "Dancing with the Stars", this illuminating and highly readable book shows  that what you learn on the dance floor can help you dance through life.

 

ANTOINETTE BENEVENTO is co-owner of and National Training Director for the Fred Astaire Dance Studios and a former national ballroom dancing champion. EDWIN DOBB is a contributing editor of Harper's Magazine, and has written for numerous other national publications, including The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, and Discover.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though the title might evoke thoughts of spinning lithely around life's troubles, anyone who has participated in dance can tell you things get bruised and broken along the way. Benevento, a former national ballroom dancing champion, knows all too well that, despite the elegance of the Waltz or the energy of the Cha Cha, anyone can find themselves flat on their butt. So how does one recover? A few of Benevento's to-the-point tips will certainly help: "be gentle with yourself," give yourself "permission to begin again-and again and again" and "to keep trying is to succeed." Though her take on "energy" is happily offbeat ("desire is the energy that moves us forward," dance is "energy in motion," and "motion can alter the mind"), chapters on "Silencing the Inner Critic," "Dancing Solo" and "Taking the Lead" may not give readers much new information; still, Benevento's straightforward statements and analogies make her lessons encouraging and easy to follow, and she doesn't waste time on tear-jerking anecdotes or elaborate philosophy. Though it's more re-affirming than inspiring, Benevento's fleet-footed self-help is a good way to feel better about the unavoidable missteps of life.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Dancing Through Life teaches you how to be a thriver, as well as a survivor by combining age-old wisdom with practical examples. It teaches and coaches you to find your authentic rhythm and your correct dance step on your path through life.”--Bernie Siegel, MD, the New York Times bestselling author of 365 Prescriptions For The Soul and Prescriptions For Living

“Learning how to become a good ballroom dancer is one of my most heartfelt desires. So when Dancing Through Life came into my life, I was delighted. This honest, down-to-earth guide to living life fully is relevant for all our relationships—whether or not we ever step on the dance floor. This book is great.”--Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of Mother-Daughter Wisdom, and Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom

"Filled with inspiring maxims to help you cope with your inner critic and fuel your dance drive, this book is the perfect remedy for handling a variety of life’s struggles, from a tough day of classes to a fight with you beau."--Dance Spirit Magazine, December 2007

“Though the title might evoke thoughts of spinning lithely around life’s troubles, anyone who has participated in dance can tell you things get bruised and broken along the way. Benevento, a former national ballroom dancing champion, knows all too well that, despite the elegance of the Waltz or the energy of the Cha Cha, anyone can find themselves flat on their butt. So how does one recover? A few of Benevento’s to-the-point tips will certainly help. Benevento’s fleet-footed self-help is a good way to feel better about the unavoidable missteps of life.”--Publishers Weekly

 

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (September 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312370857
• ISBN-13: 978-0312370855
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,598,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, December 30, 2009

By 

K. Ann Koch - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dancing Through Life: Lessons Learned on and off the Dance Floor (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book. It does a nice job of encouraging the reader to evaluate his or her life and make changes that will be beneficial for the goals of that individual. I was disappointed that it did not use the metaphor of dance more than it did, but this was a minor disappointment because the author does use the metaphor, just not as much as I had hoped. Good book.

1.0 out of 5 stars Not with this book!, February 17, 2010

By 

An Educated Consumer (Floral Park, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dancing Through Life: Lessons Learned on and off the Dance Floor (Paperback)

Really tried with this book since it was a gift from a very thoughtful person. As a ballroom dancer, it initially peaked my interest.
The metaphor of dancing to real happiness in life is at best minimal.
The author bases her experience as a dancer, competitor and owner of a Fred Astaire franchise. Yes, we do observe personalities in our professions and we can sometimes see the forest thru the trees, but don't look to this book to find your path.