I'm a huge Mary Helen Bowers and Ballet Beautiful fan, and eagerly pre-ordered this book a few months ago. I already own her first book,
Ballet Beautiful: Transform Your Body and Gain the Strength, Grace, and Focus of a Ballet Dancer
, and wasn't sure how different this new book would be, but it does cover new material -- and if you're a Ballet Beauty, you'll love it!
Since the "Look Inside" feature isn't yet available on Amazon, here is an overview of the Table of Contents:
* Foreword -- written by Victoria's Secret model Lily Aldridge
* Introduction
* Part One: A Ballet Beautiful Body
* Legs
* Feet
* Center
* Derriere
* Posture
* Flexibility
* Part Two: A Ballet Beautiful Life
* Style
* Beauty
* Kitchen
Like Bowers' first book, this one, too, focuses on exercises that you can do that follow her Ballet Beautiful program, but this book reads more like an advanced manual than a how-to program. For each exercise, she provides a few details about the exercise itself, a Pro Tip, and a Fitness Tip. Many of the poses and postures also contain a Dance Principle that explains how that pose is used in ballet. As she says in the intro to Part One, "In the pages that follow, you'll find explanations of ballet principles and fitness tips that you can use in your own workout to help you train like a ballerina."
Since this book emphasizes more of the general principles of ballet, I'd recommend getting her first book if you want a more detailed breakdown of each exercise and also a specific program to follow since that book contains (as mentioned) more step-by-step instructions, as well as 60-minute and 15-minute programs that you can do at home. So that you can see what I mean, I'm including two photos with this review -- the first of which shows what the pages of her first book look like, and the second of which shows what the pages of this new book look like.
The book has a lovely, arty feel to it, largely due to the beautiful photos (most of which are black and white shots of Bowers demonstrating the exercise or technique), and the hardback cover contributes to its feeling of being a coffee table-type book. I know I'll return to this book often for motivation and tips.
My only negative is that I wish that the Beauty and Kitchen sections had more useful tips. I'd love to know, for instance, some of the techniques that Bowers uses to create those beautiful buns that she wears in her videos; instead of any tutorials, she just mentions that she likes to style it looser in the studio since she wore it so tight on stage for so many years. In the Kitchen section, I'd hoped for actual recipes, but instead there are just photos of Instagram-worthy meals and some general tips/ideas about how Bowers eats.
Other than that, I'm pleased with this new book. It's absolutely gorgeous with tons of beautiful photos of Bowers in ballet poses, and is sure to inspire!
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Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2017
Since the "Look Inside" feature isn't yet available on Amazon, here is an overview of the Table of Contents:
* Foreword -- written by Victoria's Secret model Lily Aldridge
* Introduction
* Part One: A Ballet Beautiful Body
* Legs
* Feet
* Center
* Derriere
* Posture
* Flexibility
* Part Two: A Ballet Beautiful Life
* Style
* Beauty
* Kitchen
Like Bowers' first book, this one, too, focuses on exercises that you can do that follow her Ballet Beautiful program, but this book reads more like an advanced manual than a how-to program. For each exercise, she provides a few details about the exercise itself, a Pro Tip, and a Fitness Tip. Many of the poses and postures also contain a Dance Principle that explains how that pose is used in ballet. As she says in the intro to Part One, "In the pages that follow, you'll find explanations of ballet principles and fitness tips that you can use in your own workout to help you train like a ballerina."
Since this book emphasizes more of the general principles of ballet, I'd recommend getting her first book if you want a more detailed breakdown of each exercise and also a specific program to follow since that book contains (as mentioned) more step-by-step instructions, as well as 60-minute and 15-minute programs that you can do at home. So that you can see what I mean, I'm including two photos with this review -- the first of which shows what the pages of her first book look like, and the second of which shows what the pages of this new book look like.
The book has a lovely, arty feel to it, largely due to the beautiful photos (most of which are black and white shots of Bowers demonstrating the exercise or technique), and the hardback cover contributes to its feeling of being a coffee table-type book. I know I'll return to this book often for motivation and tips.
My only negative is that I wish that the Beauty and Kitchen sections had more useful tips. I'd love to know, for instance, some of the techniques that Bowers uses to create those beautiful buns that she wears in her videos; instead of any tutorials, she just mentions that she likes to style it looser in the studio since she wore it so tight on stage for so many years. In the Kitchen section, I'd hoped for actual recipes, but instead there are just photos of Instagram-worthy meals and some general tips/ideas about how Bowers eats.
Other than that, I'm pleased with this new book. It's absolutely gorgeous with tons of beautiful photos of Bowers in ballet poses, and is sure to inspire!
A lovely, inspirational book for all ballet beauties!
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2017
I'm a huge Mary Helen Bowers and Ballet Beautiful fan, and eagerly pre-ordered this book a few months ago. I already own her first book, [[ASIN:0738215902 Ballet Beautiful: Transform Your Body and Gain the Strength, Grace, and Focus of a Ballet Dancer]], and wasn't sure how different this new book would be, but it does cover new material -- and if you're a Ballet Beauty, you'll love it!Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2017
Since the "Look Inside" feature isn't yet available on Amazon, here is an overview of the Table of Contents:
* Foreword -- written by Victoria's Secret model Lily Aldridge
* Introduction
* Part One: A Ballet Beautiful Body
* Legs
* Feet
* Center
* Derriere
* Posture
* Flexibility
* Part Two: A Ballet Beautiful Life
* Style
* Beauty
* Kitchen
Like Bowers' first book, this one, too, focuses on exercises that you can do that follow her Ballet Beautiful program, but this book reads more like an advanced manual than a how-to program. For each exercise, she provides a few details about the exercise itself, a Pro Tip, and a Fitness Tip. Many of the poses and postures also contain a Dance Principle that explains how that pose is used in ballet. As she says in the intro to Part One, "In the pages that follow, you'll find explanations of ballet principles and fitness tips that you can use in your own workout to help you train like a ballerina."
Since this book emphasizes more of the general principles of ballet, I'd recommend getting her first book if you want a more detailed breakdown of each exercise and also a specific program to follow since that book contains (as mentioned) more step-by-step instructions, as well as 60-minute and 15-minute programs that you can do at home. So that you can see what I mean, I'm including two photos with this review -- the first of which shows what the pages of her first book look like, and the second of which shows what the pages of this new book look like.
The book has a lovely, arty feel to it, largely due to the beautiful photos (most of which are black and white shots of Bowers demonstrating the exercise or technique), and the hardback cover contributes to its feeling of being a coffee table-type book. I know I'll return to this book often for motivation and tips.
My only negative is that I wish that the Beauty and Kitchen sections had more useful tips. I'd love to know, for instance, some of the techniques that Bowers uses to create those beautiful buns that she wears in her videos; instead of any tutorials, she just mentions that she likes to style it looser in the studio since she wore it so tight on stage for so many years. In the Kitchen section, I'd hoped for actual recipes, but instead there are just photos of Instagram-worthy meals and some general tips/ideas about how Bowers eats.
Other than that, I'm pleased with this new book. It's absolutely gorgeous with tons of beautiful photos of Bowers in ballet poses, and is sure to inspire!
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2017
Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
Beautiful book.....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2018
B. M. Curry
Never too old for ballet
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2018
