The strange thing about being a dancer is that you learn so
much about how to dance, but very little about where it came from or what the
story behind it is. This book aims to change that by narrating the history of
ballet from the French court to Balanchine. And it is all written by a very
accomplished dancer!
I really enjoyed reading this, everything is presented in a
straightforward way, not highbrow at all. Homans is clearly trying to make
ballet and dance accessible to everyone through this. There are also numerous
pictures to illustrate points she wants to highlight, since dance is such a
visual medium.
It struck me as I was reading how little we know about some
past ballets. The author discusses this, sure, but she also mentions finding
grainy tape of a lesser-known Balanchine work, or how people re-choreograph
dances such as "The Rite of Spring" since all of the choreography has
been lost. It's really incredible just how easy it is to lose these works.
The only comment I would make is that Homans' voice and
opinions come through just a little too clearly. Her opinions on dances make
sense, but having never seen any of them I am skeptical of her judgement.
Especially when she goes against the public perception of the dances. A
citation of a review or another dance anthology or something would have been
helpful. There's also a section at the end where Homans discusses how ballet is
possibly coming to an end. Main reason being that there aren't great dancers or
choreographers anymore. Which I think is all premature, everyone always thinks
that the time they live in is the worst ever. Possibly the next great choreographer
is just around the corner. You never know until afterwards really. I think her
opinion carries quite a bit of weight as a dance critic, but best to take it
with a grain of salt.
So, great and fascinating book on the history of an art
form. I would highly recommend it to dance enthusiasts, or anyone interested in
this art.
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