2 replies to this topic

[Mary Lynn Slayden]

What can anyone tell me about the dance critic of the NY Times? Just general information concerning how he began writing about dance etc.

Thank you.

[Alexandra]

According to Horst Koegler's Oxford Dictionary of Ballet Anderson was born in Milwaukee in 1935 (Koegler is sometimes a bit off on dates; I don't know if this is accurate).  He did his undergraduate work at Northwestern and has a master's from Indiana Univeristy.  I don't know what field, but I'd guess literature, as he also writes poetry and has wriwtten on dance and poetry..  He's been writing about dance for a very long time, but I don't know how he got his first job.  He's been a Times critic since 1978 and also co-edits Dance Chronicle (a scholarly, historical publication) with George Dorris.  His most well-known book is probably "The One and Only," about the American Ballet Russe company, and I would suspect that that was his door to dance. (The company, not the book   )

[Mary Lynn Slayden]

Thank you once again, Alexandra. You never
fail to come up with an answer for me.
I was curious about him since he is such a prominent critic..I wondered where his passion came from.

MLS