Once a Dancer...An Autobiography [Hardcover]

Allegra Kent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

One of George Balanchine's greatest ballerinas, who was a principal dancer for more than twenty years with the New York City Ballet, talks about her childhood, dance career, marriage, and constant quest for emotional and physical stability.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This unusual, fascinating, and at times almost surreal autobiography chronicles the life of Allegra Kent, one of the most famous--and notorious--of Balanchine's prima ballerinas. The most blatantly erotic of Balanchine ballets were written for her pliant and chilly dance method. This book has it all: art, dance, infidelity, sexual intrigue, histrionics, eccentric outbursts, nose jobs, philosophy, and Krishnamurti. Entirely entertaining and intriguing for both dance enthusiasts and those who don't know a plié from a jeté.

From Publishers Weekly

The dancing of ballerina Kent has been described as complex, even "demonic." In this memoir, Kent explains the tensions and conflicts behind her legendary performances with Balanchine's New York City Ballet. Kent, born in 1937, joined the company at age 15 and quickly became one of the favorites of "Mr. B," who choreographed several dances for her, including "The Unanswered Question" (from Ivesiana). But Kent soon began a strange, career-long pattern of successes followed by self-imposed exiles from dance. The reasons behind her disappearances were usually bizarre: a botched plastic surgery undertaken despite her Christian Science beliefs; a disastrous marriage to photographer Bert Stern, promoted by Kent's mother to thwart any sexual involvement between Kent and Mr. B.; a willful decision to have three babies at the peak of her dancing fame; periods of overeating and weight gain that led Kent to discover water wings and to write Allegra Kent's Water Beauty Book. Although Kent's self-deprecating tone never matches the poetry of her dance, her autobiography offers wonderful sketches of her contemporaries-dancer Edward Villella, costumer Mme. Karinska and artist Joseph Cornwell, among many. It also grants a poignant look at the later years of a once-great ballerina, especially her need for income ("If you are calling to give me a job, I accept it"), her search for love through the personals ("Lyrically Limber Lollapalooza"... hopes to meet a man") and, finally, her moving appreciation of what she once had: "In real life, I was a sleepwalker-dance my only light." Photos.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312150512
• ISBN-13: 978-0312150518
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,212,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Dancers

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Once A Dancer....What a Fairytale, January 17, 2001

By 

"daisyciz" (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once A Dancer: An Autobiography (Paperback)

Ms. Kent's style of writing mirrors that of her dancing: beautiful and inspiring. Throughout her fairytale, as this work cannot accurately be described as a story, nor a novel- it is every young girl's dream written elegantly and delicately onto the pages of her autobiography, Ms. Kent speaks honestly and candidly about her troubles and problems that arise in her life. Such situations include her emotional relationship with photographer Bert Stern, as well as her desire to continue dancing and performing after pregnancy (and how George Balanchine viewed her decisions regarding her choice to start a family mid-career). She also discusses her multiple attempts at careers outside the New York City Ballet; from her stunts as a guest artist, to her trials and misconceptions about the Allegra Kent School of Ballet. Ms Kent concludes her book with the statement, "...dancing well is the best revenge". Perhaps it could be better said that writing about life in dance has become Ms. Kent's true revenge. [HHS-4]

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A paean to what once was, August 31, 2003

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once A Dancer: An Autobiography (Paperback)

I saw her dance once, and I still dream of that night. Balanchine was at his peak, and Allegra Kent was more than his principal dancer - she was his muse, his passion, his nemesis. And her dancing was incredible. Once a Dancer, Kent's autobiography, chronicles the strange world of famous ballerinas, plagued as most of them are by anorexia, domineering stage mothers, vulnerability to dance gurus, plastic surgery, and a long, long series of self-destructive behavior. Wonderful sketches of other luminaries from her era are included, plus photos, but it's the end of the book that one remembers: the poignancy of someone of Allegra Kent's talents looking back on her life and appreciating in retrospect all that she once was, is heartbreaking.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The elusive Allegra, August 23, 2000

By 

miteki "miteki" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once A Dancer: An Autobiography (Paperback)

I was not yet born at the time of Kent's ascent as a favored dancer for the New York City Ballet. Nonetheless, from other books I have read, I have come to understand that part of her appeal as a dancer was an ethereal, elusive- not quite of this earth quality. I believe that this aspect of her personality comes through in her book.She grabbed my attention with her descriptions of her beginnings and progress through dance. And then she seems almost to dance away as her personal life's conflicts begin to overshadow and ultimately, everything but end her career. Despite her many difficulties and the focus on them, I treasure this book. When I re- read it, as I often do, I start where her dance training begins and stop when her personal troubles overshadow her dance.Allegra Kent takes you into the magical world of dance and reality seems an intrusion. Don't mean to sound overwrought but this is the best way I can explain my feelings about this book. I reccommend it highly and am very glad I have it.