The Ballet Lover's Companion

June 1, 2015

Looking for a guide to the ballet? Dance critic Anderson (The Royal Ballet: 75 Years) presents a chronological overview with profiles of 140 ballets. Background information includes choreographer, music, libretto, premier date, and original cast. Also featured are plot synopses, often outlined by act and scene. Chapters focus on eras such as Imperial Ballet (Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake) and Ballet Russes (The Rite of Spring, L'Apres-midi d'une faune). Major figures George Balanchine and Marius Petipa are discussed, along with dancers Anna Pavlova, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, among others. Modern choreographers Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, and Paul Taylor are highlighted, along with newer choreographers Christopher Wheeldon and Alexei Ratmansky. This entertaining read will spark interest in an assortment of productions and make readers want to go see a performance--or at least view The Red Shoes. VERDICT A handy tome for those who wish to check for information on a particular ballet that is supported by endnotes (index not seen). If your collection doesn't have current dance titles, this would be a solid addition. Another recent and noteworthy volume is Misty Copeland's Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina.--Barbara Kundanis, Longmont P.L., CO

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Ballet originated in the royal courts of sixteenth-century Europe and continues to thrive on twenty-first-century stages around the world. Its long history is well served by this compact guide to its core repertory. Eight concise chapters lead the reader back to those beginnings and on, through the Romantic and Imperial ballets, the Ballets Russes, national and Soviet ballets, the ballet boom of the twentieth century, and today's international scene. Each chapter includes an overview and concludes with entries on individual ballets that supply the details of choreography, design, music, first performances, and more. Anderson is the dance critic for the Independent and author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years (2006), and her knowledge and elegant prose create an engaging work that will appeal to ballet neophytes and veteran balletomanes alike.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)