Dancing in the Vortex: The Story of Ida Rubinstein (Choreography and Dance Studies Series) [Hardcover]

Vicki Woolf (Author)

Book Description

Series: Choreography and Dance Studies Series | Publication Date: March 1, 2001

Paris at the turn of the century - Art Nouveau, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and the Folies Bergere. This was the atmosphere which nurtured the artistic development of the remarkable dancer and choreographer Ida Rubinstein.
This long-awaited biography gives us a unique insight into the life of a remarkable woman, responsible for a fascinating chapter of our artistic heritage. She was a chameleon, a diva, who lived many lives, overcoming the anti-Semitism of her times to enchant and captivate the highest of societies.
Untrained as a dancer, Ida Rubinstein's charisma attracted collaborators such as Debussy, Stravinsky, Ravel, Cocteau, Bakst, and Benois. She scandalized high society from Paris to St. Petersburg and attracted the attention of everyone from Marc Chagall to Sarah Bernhardt.
Vicki Woolf has appeared in several films and countless plays. Her training as a dancer led to the development of her own method of exercises and related publications, prior to undertaking the research for Danc

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Although untrained as a dancer, Ida Rubinstein was an integral part of the first Paris season of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1909. Her celebrated beauty and mysterious origins (she was an orphan from a wealthy Russian Jewish family) added to the exoticism of the lavishly staged ballets she graced, which also featured no less than Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky. After a second season in this exalted company, Rubinstein left to form her own troupe. For more than 20 years, she would produce and often star in plays and ballets. Her own performing talents may have received mixed reviews, but for her theatrical spectacles she commissioned music by Ravel, Debussy, and Stravinsky; sets and costumes by Bakst and Benois; poetry by d'Annunzio and Cocteau; and choreography by Fokine, Nijinska, and Massine. Charles S. Mayer, writing in the International Encyclopedia of Dance (LJ 4/1/98) noted that "although Rubinstein's entire career was an exercise in self-glorification, it is noteworthy that the dancers, musicians, composers, poets, dramatists, and designers she employed were among the most influential and important in their professions in the twentieth century." The story of this singular grande dame will find its niche in collections that concentrate on the history of dance and the performing arts. Carolyn M. Mulac, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9057550873
• ISBN-13: 978-9057550874
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,564,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Choreography