Following Balanchine [Hardcover]

Professor Robert Garis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 1995

The ballets of George Balanchine are among the great theatrical achievements of the 20th century. In this book, the author, a long-time observer describes his experience with and reactions to Balanchine's choreography. Illustrated with scenes from the ballets, the book is both a contribution to dance criticism and a chronicle of engagement with the work of a great artist. Robert Garis, who has written dance criticism for "Partisan Review", "The New Republic" and other periodicals, traces his involvement with Balanchine's dances from his first encounter with Apollo in 1945 to his close observation of Balanchine's own company, the New York City Ballet, since its founding in 1948. He explores how Balanchine built a repertory, how and why he chose his dancers, and why his ballets attracted audiences that were both elite and general. He discusses Balanchine's work with two diametrically different dancers, Violette Verdy and Suzanne Farrell, who both inspired major ballets. He considers the artistic consequences of Balanchine's infatuation with Farrell and gives his impressions of Farrell's catastrophic departure in 1969 and her return in 1975, which initiated Balanchine's last great creative period. By testing and retesting his own reactions, by comparing different dancers in the same role and the work of the same dancer in different roles, by describing many ballets in precise but nontechnical detail, Garis invites the reader to share his delight in "judging art in order to form and express an identity."

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Halfway through his book, Garis writes that in the 1950s, "following Balanchine was the most important experience of the arts for me." A professor emeritus of English at Wellesley College and occasional dance critic for the New Republic and Partisan Review, Garis was a passionate observer of the great 20th-century choreographer and of the New York City Ballet from 1945 to the present. In this personal memoir, he details his encounters with specific ballets and performances and shares his wonder, excitement, disappointment, and understanding. His engagement with the Balanchine enterprise defined his artistic aesthetic, and in the act of judging and expressing his opinions, he created his own intellectual, emotional, and professional identity. Garis has led a life dedicated to self-discovery through art, and his book is an homage to the artist who guided his development. Primarily of interest to balletomanes.?Joan Stahl, National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; First Edition edition (April 26, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300061781
• ISBN-13: 978-0300061789
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,483,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #75 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Choreography

More About the Author

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic, September 11, 2009

By 

Elizabeth Kendall - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Following Balanchine (Hardcover)

This is the most important Balanchine book - yet.
Rich and thoughtful, and astonishingly generous to readers, in its intimacy with the author's judgments, no, passions - about ballets, ideas, dancers, that the author deeply cared about.
Why haven't I read this book before? Why am I reading it only now? Anyway, it's precious.