Dance books, dance magazines, dance critics

[Estelle]

I haven't seen any topic about dance books or dance magazines

yet, what about starting a thread about it?

But I don't know if it'd be OK to talk about other dance magazines than Ballet Alert and Dance View, what's your opinion Alexandra?

So let's start about dance books: which are your favorite ones? I think it'd be nice if people posted

some reviews of the books they have read recently.

PS: what about another thread "your favorite dance critics"?

[Giannina]

What a delicious topic!!

As a child I practically memorized "Baron At The Ballet" by Arnold L. Haskell. I can go back to that book now, see the pictures, and suddenly I'm 12 and agog at what's before me. Today, ballet books are my favorites; my choices are not as deep as some I've heard mentioned as references by "posters" but I enjoy each one. A few of my favorites:

"Dancing For Balanchine" by Merrill Ashley.

"Ballet" by Mary Clarke and Clement Crisp

"Ballet 101" by Robert Greskovic

And (big surprise) "A Dance Autobiography" by Natalia Makarova.

Magazines: I subscribe to both "Ballet Alert" and "Dance View" so I feel at liberty to mention others (OK, Alexandra?). I particularly like "Dancing Times" (England) and "International Dance" (Canada).

Giannina

[This message has been edited by Giannina Mooney (edited 12-08-98).]

[Alexandra]

Of course you can talk about any magazines you want -- my only request is that if anyone ever has a comment on an article that appeared in either Ballet Alert! or DanceView that they talk about it on those threads. I'd like to get an interactive "Letters to the Editor" column going.

On magazines: my all-time favorite was the old Dance and Dancers which I devoured; DanceView was modeled on it. I also read (and have written for) Dance Now, Dance International, and Ballet Review. I think there should be dozens and dozens of dance magazines, each with a stringently different point of view.

All right, Estelle. I'm going to start a forum on Books and Dance Critics right now.

Any further comments, please go there.

alexandra

alexandra

[Katharyn]

Well the only dance mag I get is dance australia. i love dance magazines with lots of gorgeous pictures -dancers make the most wonderful models!

I love 'Dancing on my Grave' and 'the Shape of Love' by Gelsey Kirkland and 'Holding onto the Air' by Suzanne Farrel (I wish my teacher would hurry up and give it back!)

I recently read 'Balanchine; a ballet master' by Richard Buckle and found it very stale...

Unfortunately Giannina I haven't read any of those books.. but i'll be keeping an eye out!

Katharyn

[Dale]

I read Dance Magazine, Ballet Review, and sometimes Dance Now. I've read Dance Times a few times at the NYC Performing Arts Library but found it just once at a newstand. I soon will be receiving Ballet Alert etc.. as a birthday gift.

Ballet Review is really one of my favorites but I don't know why a magazine that has "Ballet" in the title has so many articles on Modern Dance, which I know I should like more than I do.

Dale

[Estelle]

About dance magazines:

I only get some French magazines (finding them often is

difficult, so it's even worse with foreign ones...):

"Les Saisons de la Danse", "Danser" and "Ballet 2000" (French version of "Balletto Oggi").

I sometimes have a look at "Danse Conservatoire", but dislike so much the tone and opinions of their director that I

seldom buy it.

"Les Saisons de la Danse" is the most complete French magazine in my opinion. It looks less "nice" than "Danser" (no color photographs, for example), but their reviews are longer and they are more interested in dance history.

They used to deal almost only about classical ballet, but now there are quite a lot of articles about

contemporary dance; their new director, Philippe Verriele (who is plagued by an awful spelling, that's quite annoying), who is the successor of the late

Andre-Philippe Hersin, clearly isn't a specialist of classical ballet; I wish he didn't feel compelled to write the reviews of the POB performances...

[Alexandra]

All this book and magazine talk is very interesting, and I hate to be a traffic cop, but I created a whole forum for reading material, and I'd love it if this discussion could continue there.

As a helpful hint, I'm closing the thread!

Thanks,

alexandra