Reviews (1)

A much-needed addition to ballet biographies
An intimate look (although admittedly a bit biased, as the writer was an admirer of Leonide Massine)at a man who was a premier male dancer and chief choreographer of European ballet from 1914 through 1939. Historian Vicente Garcia-Marquez helps to ensure that Massine is recognized for his role in 20th century ballet history, as a dancer who collaborated with other prominent figures such as Diaghilev, Straveinsky, Falla, Cocteau, Pcasso, Matisse, Miro and Dali...among others. High points of the book include vintage photos and passages such as these, where Massine, while dancing, gives insight into the creative process of ballet: "I felt instinctively that something more than perfect technique was needed here, but it was not until I had worked myself up into a frenzy that I was able to transcent my usual limitations. I felt an almost electrical interaction between myself and the spectators....until I was dancing with a sustained force that seemed far beyond my reach at other times." ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Choreographers    5. Choreography    6. Dancers    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    8. Soviet Union    9. Massine, Leonide    10. Non-Classifiable   

Subjects:  1. Balanchine, George    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Dance - General    7. Dancers    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    9. Personal Memoirs    10. United States    11. Women    12. Performing Arts / Dance / General   

Reviews (9)

This is an excellent book, and you don't even have to care about China to enjoy it.
This is an excellent book, and you don't even have to care about China to enjoy it. It's about a man's life and his search for meaning and purpose. Well-written, honest, much ground covered. I enjoyed reading of the games he and his siblings invented during their childhood. It's not so traumatic being poor if you don't know you're poor, okay? Li reminded me of that.
Emotionally powerful and well written
Li's book ws an amazing journey through his life.Given that I was playing in the Houston Ballet Orchestra when he came to the US and Houston, it was especially enlightening to me because I really had no idea what was going on in his life at the time; I only saw the superb dancing and a very nice individual.Lois Kannwischer

I wish there was 4.5 stars!
This book is a fascinating read.I was captivated from page one.My 13 year old daughter loved it too."Mao's Last Dancer" showed a side of China of priviledge mixed with poverty. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    5. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    6. Fiction / Literary   

Reviews (8)

Too Tame and too boring!
This one is a fast read, but it's fast because it's boring!The author's issues with self-aggrandizement are really present in her writing...she is perfect and everyone else has the most horrific flaws! She never waivers to put someone down and yet,never makes any intention of trying to figure out why the person is acting/reacting in a certain way.I was bored with her tales of the VIP because none of it was really surprising to me.Actually, I came away wondering why she found it so amusing??

very entertaining.....good read

LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!
I had Danced for 10 years ( Retired my Stipper Shoes a year ago ) and I thought this book was funny , well written , and (as crazy as some of the charactors ...) believable . I laughed out loud quite a few times !I do not believe she put dancers down or judged them at all ... she simply had her set of boundries ( But was very honest about the things that push or altered her personal boundries and decisions , like money , alcohol , sympathy , ect.) Out of any of the books I'd read on this subject , This was one the best .I will recomend it to anyone whether they've worked in the industry or have not. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    5. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    6. Ethnic Studies - General    7. Personal Memoirs   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Choreographers    7. Dance    8. Dance - General    9. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    10. General    11. History    12. Performing Arts    13. Personal Memoirs    14. United States    15. Performing Arts / Dance / General   

Reviews (1)

A Fairy Tale Life
Several years ago, I had occasion to visit the village on Long Island where I grew up. I visited its small museum and viewed an exhibition - " Russians in Sea Cliff" - chronicling a history of families of Russian descent who settled in the 1930s, built two Churches and accounted for about 10% of its population of 5,000. (My mother was born in Moscow and spoke mainly Russian with her neighbors.)I noticed that there was no mention of Sea Cliff's most notable Russian, Irina Baronova, and pointed this out to the curator who never had heard of her. This inspired me to try and contact my beautiful neighbor.I had a good idea that she was still living and after a few phone calls, I was able to get her address in Australia and wrote her. She is in her late 80's and is 17 years older than myself, so my memory of her was very hazy as I was between 5 and 10 years old when I met her and her gentle parents.At the time, Irina was a prima ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre and spent most of her time in New York City. In my letter, I asked her to join a charity as an Honorary Director. I quote part of her replies, which clearly show her vivid memory and keen intellect.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    5. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Women   

Reviews (7)

An interesting slice of history
This is not really a book about dance.It's an informal work of history that focusses on 4 women who were prominent erotic dancers in the early 20th century, but the book sets out to describe the lives of these women in all their various aspects instead of just their dance careers.The common background for all 4 of these women is a peculiar cultural phenomenon, a widespread popular obsession (triggered by Wilde's play "Salome") with the dance of Salome.All 4 of these women exploited this Salome craze for their own advantage and self-aggrandizement, but in quite different ways (and often with tragic results).The book has a refreshingly informal style and the prose is direct and clear.

My kind of history
As a painter I've always loved the image of Salome, so emblematic of the fuzzy line between manipulation and exploitation (the line we walk so proficiently these days.) If only I could give negative stars...
While I agree with the other one-star review here that this book is not worth reading, what astonishes me is that the reviewer considers Bentley's book "a very scholarly history" when there is nothing scholarly about it. Bentley's narcissistic introduction and glamour shot on the book jacket reveal this to be little more than a vanity project. While the book has some usefulness in terms of providing details that aren't often found in dance histories about these women's lives, Bentley's purple prose makes it difficult to discern which details are accurate and which fell victim to her embellishment. A pastiche of factual but sensational details and farfetched comparisons and conclusions regarding the psychological and cultural implications of Salome, this book bears little resemblance to real contemporary dance scholarship. If it did, she would have engaged in the ongoing discussion of gaze theory and its advantages and disadvantages when applied to dance. OR, she would have discussed more deftly the role of exotic imagery in the age of late imperialism by way of Said's concept of orientalism and other subsequent postcolonial theory. OR, she would have utilized poststructuralist theory and considered how such acts of exhibitionism as striptease actually maintained dominant power structures. Instead, she falls victim to free associations that to some readers may appear like a kind of truth, but really are not. In one passage, Bentley ruminates on the significance of the veil, jumping from one culture and religion to another as if the symbolic and social meanings of "the veil" are universal: "In Eastern harems, women are veiled like nuns, while their bodies are receptacles for male desire. Veils conceal but are penetrable. Opaque, translucent, and diaphanous, they allow light to be filtered through the threads, building illusion while implying truth. They allow for fantasy and mystery and suggest the ultimate veiling-a naked woman still conceals the darkness where life begins. The hymen veils the womb, the womb veils the origin of life itself." The conflation of the veil and the woman below it with the hymen and the womb deploys the same kind of rhetoric 1970s feminist theory was guilty of, which essentialized "woman" as an archetype of fertility and sensuality. And sure, why not jump from Salome to nun to harem girl? Yeah, that's all the same thing. By the way, I thought we all learned in fifth grade science class that materials were either opaque, transparent, OR translucent. Something cannot be both opaque AND translucent. There's either light filtering through, or there's not, Ms. Bentley. So, yes, as you can see, Bentley's book has put me in a very cranky mood, precisely because on both a scholarly AND a writerly level, IT'S JUST PLAIN BAD.Read more

Subjects:  1. (Biblical figure)    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Dance    5. Dance - History    6. Dance - Modern    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    8. Feminism and dance    9. Performing Arts    10. Performing Arts/Dance    11. Salome    12. Women    13. Women In Performing Arts    14. Women dancers    15. Women's Studies - General    16. 20th century    17. Cultural studies    18. History / General    19. Women's studies    20. World history: from c 1900 -    21. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (7)

Deserves a close reading
I hated this book the first time I read it.The writing is that good - it definitely evokes strong emotions.However, I kept coming back to the ideas in the book, especially her conflicts as an artist and as a dubious and somewhat neurotic 'internacionalista.'So, I read it again a year later....and loved it.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dancer
The person who stressed this is a memoir is on target though I think it is quite well written. As a long time admirer of Guillermoprieto's journalism I found this a fascinating and unfaiingly honest account of her life as a dance teacher in Cuba before she became a writer. IT IS a memoir and the self pity of her young self is conveyed with a brutal honesty--it is the middle-aged writer descibing where she once was and her perspective is a perfect balance of scorn and affection for who she was. If you are looking for a wide ranging view of the revolution, this is not the book you want to read, though you will get a very interesting perspective on life in Cuba in the early 1970s. If you have not read anything by her before, read The Heart That Bleeds and Looking for History (as well as Mark Danner's The Massacre at El Mozote, a story she was responsible, with Ray Bonner at the Times, for breaking in 1982. She is a remarkable writer and this memoir was one of my favorite reads of the last several years.

Different and interesting
Why is it that so many readers, incorrectly, think a memoire is going to teach them something -- in this case about Cuba and Fidel? This is a memoire, folks. You won't get all the facts. You'll get the writer's reactions to the events of her life as they occurred against the background of an historical era or event, not details of what "really happened." If you're looking for history, read a history book.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Cuba - History    5. Description And Travel    6. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    7. Historical - General    8. Latin America - General    9. Women    10. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (17)

Heartwarming and breathtaking!
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin is the memoir of a famous Chinese international ballet dancer (now retired) who struggled from poverty to reach soaring heights. I was enraptured from page one, when Li describes a traditional Chinese wedding that seems like it is irrelevant to his story but is in fact the wedding of his dear niang and dia (mother and father), whose love for him leaps in bounds.
Very emotional book.
I have a deep interest in Chinese history & am always on the look out for good books written on the subject.
Absolutely amazing memoir with wonderful writing
I've read many, many memoirs about life in modern China, however, I've never read one with such a dramatic tale to tell, and I've read very few books in general as well written as this one.This is a true rags to riches story---starting out in a commune as poor as it could be and ending up world famous.
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Subjects:  1. 1961-    2. Ballet dancers    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. China    7. Defectors    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    9. Li, Cunxin,    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Fiction / General   

Editorial Review

Vaslav Nijinsky spent the final six weeks before his permanent consignment to an insane asylum as something a madman in the attic. With his family--wife, young daughters and occasionally, mother-in-law--and household staff downstairs, the legendary dancer retreated to his room in a remote Swiss villa to tangle with his burgeoning psychosis. Fearful that his wife would (as she ultimately did) commit him, and highly suspicious of the physician-cum-amateur psychiatrist who daily came by to examine him, Nijinsky perceived the diary as the only safe haven for the rambling thoughts that were overtaking him. Throughout, the anxiety and anguish are palpable, as Nijinsky writes about his disillusionment with his mentor and lover, Ballets Russes director Serge Diaghilev; his alienation from and distrust of his closest family members; and his fear of insanity and its consequential confinement. His writing becomes more obscure as the weeks progress and he examines his relationship to God, writing "I am God" at one point, and later: "God said to me, 'Go home and tell your wife that you are mad.'" As his schizophrenia evolves, the pace and style of Nijinsky's prose changes radically--toward the end he writes in abstract verse--but he remains, with a dancer's sensibility, attuned to the cadences of his environment. The noises of the household, the ringing of the phone, footsteps down the hall, smatterings of conversations overheard are all registered as a sort of accompaniment to his dance with madness and function perhaps as a final tether to reality.Read more

Reviews (12)

the insane can be highly perceptive...
To understand this book, you must have a good background in psychology in order to be able to spot the philosophicalinsights made by this otherwise, very ill man. The duality between 'feeling' and 'thinking' as well as the perceptive remarks made about the nuances of various people in Nijinsky's life are highly intelligent.
Beautiful and Prophetic
1. "God said to me, 'Go home and tell your wife that you are mad'." excellent presentation of difficult material
Nijinsky's unexpurgated diary is an important document both for dance history and for psychiatry. This edition has an excellent, insightful introduction and very thorough translator's notes. I found out fascinating details, such as the fact that Nijinsky began the diary the day he gave a deranged performance at a hotel, and probably meant it as proof that he was not as crazy as he seemed. (Sadly, it proved exactly the opposite.) A beautiful job has been done in presenting and contexting this difficult material. Anyone with an interest in dance and/or mental illness should read it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1890-1950    2. Ballet    3. Ballet dancers    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Diaries    9. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    10. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    11. Historical - General    12. Nijinsky, Waslaw,    13. Nijinsky, Waslaw   

Reviews (40)

Whistle Blower
Gelsey Kirkland blows the whistle on the dance world's less appetizing antics.Disappointingly, this book is out of print. Today she apologizes (in a recent interview with Dance Magazine) for her her aired opinions.Why??

Gelsey and her book are outstanding
In my opinion, written as a retired professional dancer, Kelsey is one of the top 3/4 female ballet dancers of all times..........when you read the book (which is fabulous) one is reduced to tears to see how she overcame the hurdles life threw at her.........love the book,(which I have reread several time) love the dancer.

Good glimpse of her life.
I thought Ms. Kirkland's book was a good glimpse into her everyday life as well as her mind and what being at the top of a top ballet company in the 80's was like. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Ballet Theatre    2. Ballet dancers    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    7. Kirkland, Gelsey    8. United States    9. Ballet    10. Biography: film, television & music   

Editorial Review

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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Choreographers    5. Choreography    6. Dance - Modern    7. Dance - Reference    8. Dancers    9. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    10. Limon, Jose    11. Limâon, Josâe    12. Performing Arts    13. United States    14. 20th century    15. Biography: film, television & music    16. Dance    17. Limón, José    18. Performing Arts / Dance / General   

Reviews (4)

It's a long way from Chicago to $1.6 million a week
Michael Flatley is probably the most famous dancer in the world. He was the defining star of 'Riverdance' which became a surprising hit the world over. When it came on the scene it brought dance to the forefront where it hadn't been since the Fred Astaire days.
Inside Michael's Heart
I received the book in my mailbox on a Saturday afternoon and finished it by Sunday evening.Like Michael's shows, it's mesmerizing and uplifting.He's had a childhood like so many kids in big cities (and small, with neighborhood ruffians and the like, for that matter) and many childhood adventures we readers can relate to.It's a fascinating progression from his childhood to his rise through the ranks of dance competitions to where he is today, with all of the passion you'd imagine added in. I literally gasped out loud a few times.
A gem of a book
What a fantastic opportunity to meet the man who reinvented Irish dancing and put it on top of the world stage.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Dance    6. Dancers    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    9. Folk dancing, Irish    10. Ireland    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Rich & Famous    13. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Ballerinas    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    9. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    10. History    11. Mistresses    12. Romanov, House of    13. Russia    14. Women    15. Ballet    16. Biography: general   

Reviews (3)

A fond, passionate portrait of a hard-to-pin-down woman
Josephine Baker was enigmatic during her lifetime and even more so after her death. A chanteuse, a sex symbol, the mother of 12 adopted children, French Resistance heroine, Baker reinvented herself as often as necessary to stay at the top of her trade - whatever that trade was at any given moment. Jean-Claude Baker (one of her 'adopted' children) chronicles her life in this engaging biography with a mix of love, admiration, and incredulity. The lady had balls, and while not a tell-all book, The Hungry Heart does her ample justice.

Fantastique!
A perfectly balanced expose of this legendary and highly complex superstar: Amoral in extremis, manic and delusional, but blessed with indomitable human spirit. Excellent historical perspective throughout. THE inside scoop on Miss Josephine
This is a biography of LaBaker written by one of her many adopted children.He gives the inside dish on his mom, including that both she and his adopter father were gay.He points out too that she did have some self-loathing issues regarding her race as well.This book has a great photo section.It helped me to see the ugly side of Josephine that wasn't fully presented in the great movie by HBO.I am not sure it is the best work out there, but it is a must-read for any Josephine fans and scholars.In addition, people that study Black Americans abroad or French naturalized citizens should read this. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1906-1975    2. African American entertainers    3. Baker, Josephine,    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Dancers    9. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    10. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    11. France    12. People of Color    13. Women    14. Baker, Josephine    15. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts   

Reviews (7)

A Fine Biography of The Greatest American Choreographer That Ever Lived
Bob Fosse, in this reader's opinion, is, besides the greatest director\choreography of musicals, the greatest choreographer that ever lived. His brilliant, simplistic style has entertained millions and has shown an inpact in current pop culture.
Fascinating Guy, Fascinating Book
I'll tell you right off the top, I'm not a huge fan of Broadway musicals.Mostly I'm a fan of Fosse because of his films, which rank among my favorites.But regardless of any of that, Fosse's personality and his life make him a fascinating subject for biographical study. Pure Fun
Maybe I'm biased: I'm a shrink. I lived in New York in the early 80's. I knew some of the people mentioned in the book. But this was the most fun I've had reading since Letters from a Nut. Full of tidbits about a raft of celebrities. Another reviewer complained about the lack of pictures. Why stop there? We need all the films, too. Must watch All That Jazz again ASAP, AND try to get my hands on Sweet Charity and Cabaret. A great ride! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1927-1987    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Choreographers    7. Choreography    8. Dance - Choreography    9. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    10. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    11. Fosse, Bob,    12. United States    13. Biography: film, television & music    14. Dance    15. Musical theatre   

Reviews (13)

A Legendary Artist; A Superficial Memoir
Fred Astaire (1899-1987) was, quite simply, a dance genius.He appeared on stage, often with his sister Adele, in such landmark musicals as LADY BE GOOD and FUNNY FACE; he graced at least 43 films, 31 one of which were musicals; he is, for all practical intents and purpose, American dance, and he worked with artists no less legendary than he.But for all this, his 1959 autobiography is most notable for being, well, utterly mundane.
franceskent
This book reveals as much about Fred Astaire in what it doesn't say as in what it tells.He was a shy man, of Austrian descent, very little formal education, and was eclipsed by his funny and attractive older sister in his days on the stage.These things shaped him into the perfectionist we saw on film.He had an incredible work ethic and was always looking for a new gimmick or dance style because he was not confident the audiences would keep on coming.He is not a natural story teller and sometimes leaves us wanting to hear more (e.g.can tell you he and a famous person had a lot of laughs together but not what they did or said that was funny). Still it is a good companion to the TV biography the BBC did about him a few years ago. All the best American composers of the day wanted to write for him (He and Gershwin were young unknowns together) and his evolution from vaudeville to Broadway to film happened during key times of all of those media.I do recommend the book if you want to know more about Fred Astaire, but not as a stand-alone source.

A book worth reading...
This book is actually one big anecdote, peppered with little things like Mr. A's first punch, trying to figure out a title for the book, and meeting his wife, Phyllis.Read more

Subjects:  1. Astaire, Fred    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Dancers    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    9. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    10. United States    11. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (8)

I Adore Isadora
A dancer and visionary far ahead of her time, Isadora's story is told in such an intimate personal voice that you feel as if she's confiding in you. She lived her life so vividly that it takes on the color and bravado of a mythic odyssey. Isadora inspires me to fully inhabit my artist's soul and to allow the purity of my heart to infuse every breath, every step. Life is a dance to be danced, a charmed and poignant tale unfolding. Play the part in full heart, she seems to be telling us, play it well.

rereading the autobiography of a ghost
I first read this book after seeing Ken Russell's film "The World's Biggest Dancer" in the 1960's The film is, unfortunately, lost. I fell in love with the myth of this fabulous woman and was impressed with Vanessa Redgrave's portrayal of her in Karel Reisz's "Isadora" also hopelessly lost I believe.This is not a great work of art: it has episodes of naively underwritten material tailored into whole paragraphs of wonderful philosophy of a futuristic world when art and beaty supercede greed and material gain. The ghost of Isadora haunts this book; a woman broken by personal tragedy writing these words in the last years of a life that, by any standards, was extraordinary. I keep it on my shelf along with Nijinsky's "Life" both books testimony to the inability of words to express the emotions of genius

Isadora's life
Easily one of the best conversations I have had without speaking. Isadora speaks directly to her reader with a passionate and intense language. There were points when I was reading that my inner voice was yelling back in agreement, empathy or appreciation. I found this woman intelligent, hilarious and dramatic. I felt as though I had made a friend. Though she was not a trained writer, she has been able to share herself very openly in the written language. I think this is a must read for any woman (or man). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1877-1927    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Dancers    6. Duncan, Isadora,    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    8. United States    9. Biography: film, television & music    10. Dance   

Reviews (10)

All the gory details
I was very disappointed in this book about the great Margot.Was it really necessary to put in all the salacious details of her sex life in order to give us a picture of her career and life?I think a little more restraint on the part of the author was definitely in order.I wanted to learn more about the ballerina's career on stage, not especially about what she did in bed and what her sexual prowess was.I agree with the lady who said she would not recommend this book to her daughter, the budding ballerina as I thought the 'so-called' sex information on La Fontaine was tasteless and over the top.

Well, it has been a very well spent time!
I was iniciated ten years ago by the two daugthers of my wife, who have practiced ballet all their lives, in the knowlege of ballet.Before I just did not understand it, and even today know little about it. This biography, however, is beautifully written, very well researched, with a great sensitivity and it has been beautiful for me to know from the inside this life of "the most famous ballerina of the world", a life very different from a point of view and at the same time so near to our own lives.
Not for budding ballerina's
I enjoyed the book because Margot lead a fascinating life. And I didn't know about the end of her career and life. But I believe most readers choosing to read about Margot are not interested in her sex life. Particularly not interested in lewd statements of her prowess from any past lovers. I would have loved to recommend it to my daughter because Margot is a wonderful role model, but the sexual references make it inappropriate and I would instead recommend her Autobiography. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1919-    2. 1919-1991    3. Ballet dancers    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Dame,    9. Dance    10. Dance - Classical    11. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    12. Fonteyn, Margot,    13. General    14. Great Britain    15. Performing Arts / Dance / General   

Editorial Review

From the moment of his birth aboard a train speeding through Stalinist Russia, until his death of AIDS in 1993, Rudolf Nureyev seemed to travel through life at the velocity of a triple pirouette. His professional accomplishments are stunning. Despite starting his ballet training much later most dancers, Nureyev won a coveted spot at the famous Maryinsky (later the Kirov) ballet school in St. Petersburg and went on to become one of the company's favorite dancers. By the end of his first year in the West--in 1961 he became the first Soviet dancer to defect when he stayed in Paris after the rest of the Kirov returned to the U.S.S.R--he had performed with the major ballet companies in both Europe and the United States, and formed his legendary partnership with British dancer Dame Margot Fonteyn. He reinvigorated contemporary ballet, particularly the importance of male dancers, by energizing his favorite traditional roles with unrestrained sexuality and unparalleled technical virtuosity. His personal life was equally full. He carried on affairs with men and women alike--most notable among these was his intense, decades-long involvement with his professional idol Erik Bruhn and his penchant for sexy young call-boys. He hung out at Studio 54 and crisscrossed the Atlantic with his socialite friends, but he also made time to mentor talented young dancers, including Paris Opera Ballet star Sylvie Guillem.Read more

Reviews (5)

In fairness, a moderate success.......
With all the good reviews this work is receiving here, I feel that I must point out some of its short-comings.While the information in the book is exhaustive (sometimes to the point of seeming pretentious, as when Solwayspends a footnote to provide the married name of an informant after havingused her maiden name on the same page--why not just use the establishedconvention of writing first, maiden, and last names?), the obvious researchseems often tenuous.Solway's sources are frequently not identified; shewrites numerous quotations without noting speakers' or informants' names.Are they Nureyev's words?Did one of his friends or family members saythem?Did Solway invent them?How is one to know?How is one to creditthe accuracy of a statement at all without the author's establishing of thesource's credibility? Gripping, fascinating story of the man who changed ballet.
Diane Solway has researched and written an altogether fascinating biography of Rudolf Nureyev, the dancer who changed classical ballet in the 20th century.He was born to a impoverished family in Russia anduntimately died on his private island purchased with the millions he madeduring his dance career--a true-life rags-to-riches story.But it is somuch more...