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New book of photos & interviews


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I just got this press release, and thought there might be some people who would be interested in knowing about this book:

ANNOUNCING THE STUNNING NEW

'ROUND ABOUT THE BALLET'

Photos by ROY ROUND

Profiles by JOSEPH CARMAN

Produced by WILLIAM CUBBERLEY

Introduction by JENNIFER DUNNING

From Limelight Editions is ROUND ABOUT THE BALLET, a splendid new ballet book with photos by renowned dance photographer Roy Round, and

profile/interviews by dance writer Joseph Carman. New York Times critic Jennifer Dunning has contributed the introduction, and publisher William Cubberley is producer of this exquisite new book, scheduled for October release.

Eight major artists from American Ballet Theatre and seven from New York City Ballet are revealed in Roy Round's breathtaking photos and Joseph Carman's fascinating and very personal interviews. They are:

Maxim Beloserkovsky

Angel Corella

Irina Dvorovenko

Albert Evans

Marcelo Gomes

Nikolaj Hubbe

Julie Kent

Maria Kowroski

Vladimir Malakhov

Benjamin Millepied

Gillian Murphy

Jenifer Ringer

Jennie Somogyi

Ethan Stiefel

Wendy Whelan

Londoner ROY ROUND is one of the most acclaimed and experienced photographers in dance. Among the ballet stars framed by his lens are Rudolph Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova, Sir Anthony Dowell, Dame Margot Fonteyn, and Dame Antoinette Sibley.

WILLIAM CUBBERLEY is the Publisher of the Practising Law Institute in New York. An enthusiastic and knowledgeable dance lover for many years, Mr. Cubberley is a lawyer and former Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations.

JOSEPH CARMAN, former soloist with ABT and the Joffrey Ballet, has moved with great success to the field of dance writing. His articles appear

frequently in the Arts and Leisure Section of The New York Times, as well as Dance Magazine, Stagebill, The Advocate, Playbill, The Village Voice, and Dance International.

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I just bought this book. It's beautiful. The pictures are great -- some of them quite glamorous (like the series of Maria Kowroski in her Diamonds costume), others are candides. The interviews are interesting. They follow a form a little bit, but I liked that each NYCB dancer was asked what they would do if they could meet Balanchine. There's a lot of food for thought in many of the interviews.

There is a preview of the book in the December/January issue of Pointe Magazine.

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Got it. It's a lovely book. Love the interviews with Nikolaj Hubbe and Wendy Whelan. I'm always thrilled to read anything Ms. Whelan says. She sparkles with intelligence, humor and human grace. The Maria Kowroski and Gillian Murphy pictures are stunning. And judging by a picture of Albert Evans with arms posed over his head, I think he should guest star with ABT as the lead in Le Spectre de la Rose. Pronto! :D

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There will be a book signing in NY:

ROUND ABOUT THE BALLET BOOK SIGNING, THURSDAY JANUARY 27th, 7 PM, at BARNES & NOBLE, BROADWAY & 66th STREET

Barnes & Noble at Broadway & 66th Street will host a book-signing event for

the exquisite new Round About the Ballet, with photos by eminent dance photographer Roy Round, and interviews by Joseph Carman and William Cubberley. Several dancers profiled in the book will be present, including Irina Dvorovenko, Maxim Beloserkovsky, and Marcelo Gomes, joining Messrs. Round, Carman and Cubberley.

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According to the Playbill Arts site, some NYCB dancers will be there, too, incl. Jennie Somogyi:

Playbill Arts item on Book Signing

"Round About the Ballet is a coffee-table book with photographs of and interviews with 15 NYCB and ABT principals, including Angel Corella, Albert Evans, Nikolaj Hubbe, Julie Kent, Maria Kowroski, Vladimir Malakhov, Gillian Murphy, Ethan Stiefel, and Wendy Whelan."

Edited by carbro
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I was sent this list of dancers from the public relations people: "Irina Dvorovenko, Maxim Beloserkovsky, Marcelo Gomes, Jenifer Ringer, Benjamin Millepied, and Jennie Somogyi have all confirmed at this point that they will be on hand to talk about their lives and careers, and to take questions from the audience. A few other dancers included in the book are also expected to attend."

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Well, Dale, even leaving early, I got about 40 minutes. Of course, what I wanted most was to hear the dancers, but for them (as the clock ticked down towards curtain time down the block) I had to wait.

While it's still fresh:

The B/N presenter introduced editor William Cubberly, who pulled the project together. He mentioned it having taken four years. Difficulties of scheduling the dancers and photographer an hour or so at a time. Mr. Round followed, noting that after three hours with Vladimir Malakhov, he had one frame left in his camera and asked if the dancer could give one more shot. Vladimir said, fine, but I'm only doing it once. The result is the astonishing shot on the front cover. Mr. Round acknowledged the support of his wife, "Georgina." Ms. Parkinson was in the audience; I assume she is the same Georgina.

Joseph Carman then took the podium in a livelier, more relaxed speaking style. He posed a question to the panel of dancers (Beloserkovsky, Dvorovenko, Gomes, Somogyi, Ringer, Millepied). What is your rep this year? Any debuts? Two of the dancers are currently out of commission -- Jennie Somogyi (a year to the day after her injury sidelined her, she noted) and Irina Dvorovenko, ready to deliver her baby in March. The City Ballet dancers didn't mention any upcoming debuts. Max cited Sylvia, where he will appear "99% naked" and asked everyone to be sure to attend. Marcelo noted that he's looking forward to dancing the Moor in Pulcinella, a new kind of role for him. Joe asked Irina how she expected motherhood to affect her dancing. She glowed a bit brighter as she answered that she could only believe her new identity would enrich her art. She'd gain a new dimension, and growing in life would help her grow on stage. (This is a very rough paraphrase -- sorry I left my notebook home.)

Benjamin Millepied mentioned his small performing group as well as his choreography with NYCB and SAB dancers, which together keep him very busy, limiting his performances to weekends. Someone asked Jenifer Ringer about singing in West Side Story Suite. She said that the cast was required to audition their singing. She was sure she'd be cut, because her family always teased her about her bad singing. For the audition, she sang "I'm a Little Teapot" as loud as she could while miming the motions. Then, those who passed the audition were given singing lessons. She said that it was terrifying, because dancers are not used to just speaking on stage. Anyone who's heard her singing as Anita will wonder what her family could possibly have found to tease in her singing.

When asked about the process of putting the book together, Marcelo gave the audience a look -- "strictly entre nous" -- and began, "Wellllll, I heard . . . . " then said drily that Roy was very difficult to work with. :wink: After a thoughtful pause, he told that he never used to like dance books, because all he would see were pictures. He never knew who these people were. What were they feeling? He finds that desire to know satisfied in this book. To me, that was the most affecting remark of the night, because what has always attracted me to Marcelo was his emotional openness on stage. So it would appear that it is more than a quality he exhibits, it is a value he prizes.

At that point, with curtain at NYCB approaching, I left. I hope anyone else who may have been there (and I know who you are!!! :wink:) will tell me what I missed (in hearing or in reporting) or make any necessary corrections.

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Thanks for the report, Carbro. I find Gomes' remarks endearing but puzzling, given that published dance photos as often as not were taken during a performance, when the dancers are most likely, or so it would seem, to be caught up in the music and the movement and the story, if there is one, and so to be visibly moved. I've only browsed this book briefly -- now I'll have to take a closer look at the Kennedy Center this week. For anyone who has the book, I wonder if you can see what Gomes means.

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Irina glows like the sun. She has the fuller face that many pregnant women get, and despite having a visibly pregnant belly, she looks very trim.

The three guys were hot -- sizzling! Max has a fine, almost androgynous beauty. He was the only man (among the dancers) who had shaved in the past few days. I thought the stubble was a shameless and gratuitous enhancement of Marcelo's and Ben's sex appeal. :D

Despite the other two wonderful guys, once my eyes settled on Marcelo (because they felt very much at home with him), I could not peel them away. Classically, he is not the handsomest of the three, but he is just so damn irresistible!

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