Apollo's Angels

Since the Court of Louis XIV, ballet has been a standard of culture in the Western world, albeit one without much written history or notation. Jennifer Homans changes that with APOLLO'S ANGELS, so ably narrated by Kirsten Potter. Homans chronicles ballet from its beginnings to its place of prominence throughout the Western world in a manner easily accessible even to those who are not dancers. Potter's narration is similarly accessible and clear, while at the same time poised and well modulated enough to reflect ballet's aristocratic leanings. Homans's artistic and social history is perfectly complemented by Potter's narration. J.L.K. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Starred review from February 28, 2011
Holmes's magisterial history of ballet is even better in audio. Kirsten Potter has a deep, smooth, sensuous voice that sounds as cultivated as the art form she describes. With pacing that allows the listener to savor the musicality of former ballerina Holmes's sentences, their lulling alliteration and lively wit, Potter brings the ambitious study of ballet's 500-year history (and bleak prognostications for its future) to life. Potter's French accent could use a bit of work; it's clumsy and forced, but doesn't detract too much from the pleasure of this panoramic look at the art's singularity, the discipline it demands (in Holmes's phrase, it is "a grammar of movement"), and the liberation it allows. A Random hardcover.