Download or read book Daria Klimentova The Agony and the Ecstasy written by Daria Klimentova and published by Metro Publishing. This book was released on 2013-03-04 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Daria Klimentová's sizzling chemistry with Russian dancer Vadim Muntagirov, who is nearly 20 years her junior, has reignited the prima ballerina's career - and marks a metamorphosis after her Black Swan-style torments depicted in BBC Four's Agony and Ecstasy, the gripping documentary series aired last year. There has been a metamorphosis since the 'old ballerina' allowed herself to be browbeaten by domineering choreographer Derek Deane, and Daria and Vadim are being applauded as the new Fonteyn and Nureyev. But unlike Vadim, Daria wasn't raised in a ballet family. Born in Prague, she was talent-spotted as a gymnast when she was five. She had a ballet lesson once a week and her teacher advised her parents that ballet might offer a longer career. Daria didn't much care but changed her mind once she set her heart on dancing at Prague's National Theatre. She became a soloist there at 18, and then spent three years with the Scottish Ballet before joining the ENB in 1996. Her innate tenacity has seen Daria through some tough times. Her father, a factory mechanic and her greatest fan, died from lung cancer when she was newly arrived in London and didn't have many friends. When her only brother Radek was killed in a motorcycle accident, she cried all day then had to go on stage to dance Giselle. That was the greatest pain she has ever known, she says. It gave her a determination to enjoy life and keep ballet in perspective. Similarly when she fell pregnant with her first child, Daria explains how those around her where shocked that she was not more concerned with the upcoming performance of Sleeping Beauty. In her wonderful and insightful autobiography Daria reveals what life is like behind the scenes and how you really can have it all.
Download or read book Daria Klimentova written by Daria Klimentova and published by John Blake. This book was released on 2014-04-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Daria Klimentová has been one of Britain's best-loved ballerinas for two decades, having danced at the Scottish Ballet and then as a Principal and Senior Principal at English National Ballet. Daria was born in former Czechoslovakia and lived under the rule of the Soviet Union until the Velvet Revolution of 1989. She initially trained as a young member of the Czech Olympic Gymnastics Squad before transferring to ballet. After a year as a principal dancer in the Czech National Ballet, she moved to dance with the Cape Ballet Company in South Africa, where she witnessed the end of apartheid. In the twilight of her career, Daria had forged a remarkable partnership with the young Russian Principal, Vadim Muntagirov, which critics have likened to the Fonteyn/Nureyev dynamic. Daria was awarded the Critic's Circle Patron's Award by Dame Beryl Grey in 2011 and the National Dance Award for Best Female Dancer in 2012. In her 40s, at an age when most ballerinas have retired, Daria continues to captivate audiences with her impeccable technique and free flowing natural grandeur. Includes a 43-page Danceography with lists of performances, partners, companies, and glossary.
Download or read book Daria Klimentova written by Daria Klimentova and published by Metro Publishing, Limited. This book was released on 2013-03-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Daria Klimentova has been one of Britain's best-loved ballerinas for two decades, having danced at Scottish Ballet and then - since 1996 - as prima ballerina at English National Ballet... Born in the former Czechoslovakia... [she] initially trained as a young member of the Czech Olympic Gymnastics Squad before transferring to ballet. After three years as a principal dancer in the Czech National Ballet, she moved to dance with the Cape Ballet Company in South Africa... In her forties, at an age when most ballerinas have retired, Daria continues to captivate audiences with her impeccable technique and free flowing natural grandeur. In the twilight of her career, Daria has forged a remarkable partnership with the young Russian Principal, Vadim Muntagirov, which critics have likened to the Fonteyn/Nureyev dynamic." -- Book jacket.
Download or read book Wrights Wrongs written by Peter Wright and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-06-23 with total page 713 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peter Wright has been a dancer, choreographer, teacher, producer and director in the theatre as well as in television for over 70 years. In Wrights & Wrongs, Peter offers his often surprising views of today's dance world, lessons learned – and yet to learn – from a lifetime's experience of ballet, commercial theatre and television. Peter started his career in wartime, with the Kurt Jooss company. He has worked with such greats as Pina Bausch, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Marcia Haydée, Richard Cragun, Monica mason, Karen Kain, Miyako Yoshida and Carlos Acosta - as well as today's generation of starts including Alina Cajocaru, Marianela Nunez, Natalia Osipova and Lauren Cuthbertson. While now regarded as part of the British ballet establishment, for many years Peter developed his career outside London, particularly in Germany with John Cranko's Stuttgart Ballet. That distance gives him a unique and unrivalled view on ballet companies. His close association with choreographers Frederick Ashton, Ninette de Valois, founder of the Royal Ballet, Kenneth MacMillan and David Bintley gives Peter an authoritative perspective on British ballet. Wrights and Wrongs includes black-and-white photographs from Wright's career, and as Exeunt magazine comments: 'Anyone with an interest in British ballet will find plenty to occupy them in Wright's book... the many dramas and delights of his life in dance spring forth from the page with brio.'
Download or read book Fifty Contemporary Choreographers written by Jo Butterworth and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-12-22 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifty Contemporary Choreographers is a unique and authoritative guide to the lives and work of prominent living contemporary choreographers; this third edition includes many new names in the field of choreography. Representing a wide range of dance genres and styles, each entry locates the individual in the context of contemporary dance and explores their impact. Those studied include: Kyle Abraham Germaine Acogny William Forsythe Marco Goeke Akram Khan Wayne McGregor Crystal Pite Frances Rings Hofesh Shechter Sasha Waltz With an updated introduction by Deborah Jowitt and further reading and references throughout, this text is an invaluable resource for all students and critics of dance and all those interested in the everchanging world and variety of contemporary choreography.
Download or read book Soar written by David McAllister and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'McAllister's triumphant story.' Benjamin Law 'A ripping memoir.' Jane Turner From the backblocks of Perth to international stardom, this is a story of courage to fight against the odds for your passion and succeed. David McAllister has always belonged onstage. As the middle child in a Catholic family who knew nothing about dance, he watched himself twirl in the reflective glass of the TV and dreamed about becoming the next Rudolf Nureyev. As a little boy taking ballet lessons, he was mercilessly bullied. As a young man joining the ranks of The Australian Ballet, he worried that he would never play the prince because he lacked the height and lean limbs of a classical dancer. Every time he heard 'no', he simply did what he loved - danced. Sure enough, curtains rose for the unlikely prince: he represented Australia on the world stage; he became a principal dancer and performed his dream roles; he fell in love, onstage and off; and he enjoyed a twenty-year tenure as artistic director of The Australian Ballet, transforming it into one of the top flagship dance companies in the world. Fifty years since he stepped into his first ballet class, McAllister reflects on his dance journey, his relationships, embracing his sexuality, and the combination of talent, timing and sheer perseverance that gave rise to his transformative career. Includes 16 pages of colour photos from McAllister's life and career.
Download or read book The Agony And The Ecstasy written by Irving Stone and published by Random House. This book was released on 2015-01-22 with total page 787 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Irving Stone's powerful and passionate biographical novel of Michelangelo. His time: the turbulent Renaissance, the years of poisoning princes, warring popes, the all-powerful Medici family, the fanatic monk Savonarola. His loves: the frail and lovely daughter of Lorenzo de Medici; the ardent mistress of Marco Aldovrandi; and his last love - his greatest love - the beautiful, unhappy Vittoria Colonna. His genius: a God-driven fury from which he wrested the greatest art the world has ever known. Michelangelo Buonarotti, creator of David, painter of the Sistine ceiling, architect of the dome of St Peter's, lives once more in the tempestuous, powerful pages of Irving Stone's marvellous book.
Download or read book The Encyclopedia of World Ballet written by Mary Ellen Snodgrass and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-06-08 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the centuries, ballet has had a rich and ever-evolving role in the humanities. Renowned choreographers, composers, and performers have contributed to this unique art form, staging enduring works of beauty. Significant productions by major companies embrace innovations and adaptations, enabling ballet to thrive and delight audiences all over the globe. In The Encyclopedia of World Ballet,Mary Ellen Snodgrass surveys the emergence of ballet from ancient Asian models to the present, providing overviews of rhythmic movement as a subject of art, photography, and cinema. Entries in this volume reveal the nature and purpose of ballet, detailing specifics about leaders in classic design and style, influential costumers and companies, and trends in technique, partnering, variation, and liturgical execution. This reference covers: Choreographers Composers Costumers Dance companies Dancers Productions Set designers Techniques Terminology Among the principal figures included here are Alvin Ailey, Afrasiyab Badalbeyli, George Balanchine, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Pierre Beauchamp, Sergei Diaghilev, Agnes DeMille, Nacho Duato, Isadora Duncan, Boris Eifman, Mats Ek, Erté, Martha Graham, Inigo Jones, Louis XIV, Amalia Hernández Navarro, Rudolf Nureyev, Marius Petipa, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, and Agrippina Vaganova. This work also features dance companies from the Americas, Australia, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Korea, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, and Vietnam. Productions include such universal narrative favorites as Coppélia, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Scheherazade, Firebird, and Swan Lake. Featuring a chronology that identifies key events and figures, this volume highlights significant developments in stage presentations over the centuries. The Encyclopedia of World Ballet will serve general readers, dance instructors, and enthusiasts from middle school through college as well as professional coaches and performers, troupe directors, journalists, and historians of the arts.
Download or read book Life in Dance written by Darcey Bussell and published by Vintage. This book was released on 1998 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Not since Margot Fonteyn began her legendary partnership with Rudolf Nureyev has a dancer captured the public imagination in quite the way Darcey Bussell has. From The Dancing Times to the cover of Harpers & Queen she has crossed over from the world of dance to become a household name. British, beautiful and exceptionally talented, her athleticism and grace have made her the embodiment of a new style of dance. Although she is constantly written about by others, this is the first opportunity to read Darcey on herself. In this remarkably candid memoir she talks about her training, her life both on and off the stage and offers a refreshing, funny and and direct insight into a magical world." -- Book jacket.
Download or read book The History Of Dance Ballet written by Lilly Grove and published by Read Books Ltd. This book was released on 2016-10-14 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This vintage book is a fascinating treatise on ballet. It delves into the colourful history of ballet in ancient societies and explores its development throughout the ages from the dances of the Egyptians to modern opera. “The History Of Dance - Ballet” is highly recommended for those with an interest in the evolution of the dance and would make for a worthy addition to collections of allied literature. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on dance.
Download or read book Whitaker s Shorts Five Years in Review written by Bloomsbury Publishing and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2013-11-07 with total page 653 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in its 146th edition Whitaker's Almanack is the definitive reference guide containing a comprehensive overview of every aspect of UK infrastructure and an excellent introduction to world politics. Available only as ebooks, Whitaker's Shorts are selected themed sections from Whitaker's Almanack: portable and perfect for those with specific interests within the print edition. Whitaker's Shorts: Five Years in Review includes a digest of the year's events from 2008-9 to 2012-13 in the UK and abroad and articles covering subjects as diverse as Archaeology, Conservation, Business and Finance, Opera, Dance, Film and Weather. There is also an A-Z listing of all the results for the major sporting events from Alpine Skiing through to Fencing, Football, Horse Racing, Polo and Tennis.
Download or read book Swan Dive written by Georgina Pazcoguin and published by Henry Holt and Company. This book was released on 2021-07-27 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Don't expect just tulle and toe shoes. In this fascinating insider's tale, NYCB dancer Pazcoguin reveals her world. . . . A striking debut." —People Award-winning New York City Ballet soloist Georgina Pazcoguin, aka the Rogue Ballerina, gives readers a backstage tour of the real world of elite ballet—the gritty, hilarious, sometimes shocking truth you don’t see from the orchestra circle. In this love letter to the art of dance and the sport that has been her livelihood, NYCB’s first Asian American female soloist Georgina Pazcoguin lays bare her unfiltered story of leaving small-town Pennsylvania for New York City and training amid the unique demands of being a hybrid professional athlete/artist, all before finishing high school. She pitches us into the fascinating, whirling shoes of dancers in one of the most revered ballet companies in the world with an unapologetic sense of humor about the cutthroat, survival-of-the-fittest mentality at NYCB. Some swan dives are literal: even in the ballet, there are plenty of face-plants, backstage fights, late-night parties, and raucous company bonding sessions. Rocked by scandal in the wake of the #MeToo movement, NYCB sits at an inflection point, inching toward progress in a strictly traditional culture, and Pazcoguin doesn’t shy away from ballet’s dark side. She continues to be one of the few dancers openly speaking up against the sexual harassment, mental abuse, and racism that in the past went unrecognized or was tacitly accepted as par for the course—all of which she has painfully experienced firsthand. Tying together Pazcoguin’s fight for equality in the ballet with her infectious and deeply moving passion for her craft, Swan Dive is a page-turning, one-of-a-kind account that guarantees you'll never view a ballerina or a ballet the same way again.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Ballet written by Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 1013 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Nearly four hundred and fifty years in, ballet still resonates-though the stages have become international, and the dancers, athletes far removed from noble amateurs. While vibrations from the form's beginnings clearly resound, much has transformed. Nowadays ballet dancers aspire to work across disciplines with choreographers who value a myriad of abilities. Dance theorists and historians make known possibilities and polemics in lieu of notating dances verbatim, and critics do the daily work of recording performance histories and interviewing artists. Ideas circulate, questions arise, and discussions about how to resist ballet's outmoded traditions take precedence. In the dance community, calls for innovation have defined palpable shifts in ballet's direction and resultantly we have arrived at a new moment in its history that is unquestionably recognized as a genre onto its own: Contemporary Ballet. An aspect of this recent discipline is that its dancemakers, more often than not, seek to reorient the viewer by celebrating what could be deemed vulnerabilities, re-construing ideals of perfection, problematizing the marginalized/mainstream dichotomy, bringing audiences closer in to observe, and letting the art become an experience rather than a distant object preciously guarded out of reach. Hence, the practice of ballet is moving to become a less-mediated and more active process in many circumstances. Performers and audiences alike are challenged, and while convention is still omnipresent, choices are being made. For some, this approach has been drawn on for decades, and for others it signifies a changing of the guard, yet however we arrive there, the conclusion is the same: Contemporary Ballet is not a style. That is to say, it is not a trend, phase, or fashionable term that will fade, rather it is a clear period in ballet's time deserved of investigation. And it is into this moment that we enter"--
Download or read book A Body of Work written by David Hallberg and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-11-07 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Hallberg, the first American to join the famed Bolshoi Ballet as a principal dancer and the dazzling artist The New Yorker described as “the most exciting male dancer in the western world,” presents a look at his artistic life—up to the moment he returns to the stage after a devastating injury that almost cost him his career. Beginning with his real-life Billy Elliot childhood—an all-American story marred by intense bullying—and culminating in his hard-won comeback, Hallberg’s “moving and intelligent” (Daniel Mendelsohn) memoir dives deep into life as an artist as he wrestles with ego, pushes the limits of his body, and searches for ecstatic perfection and fulfillment as one of the world’s most acclaimed ballet dancers. Rich in detail ballet fans will adore, Hallberg presents an “unsparing…inside look” (The New York Times) and also reflects on universal and relatable themes like inspiration, self-doubt, and perfectionism as he takes you into daily classes, rigorous rehearsals, and triumphant performances, searching for new interpretations of ballet’s greatest roles. He reveals the loneliness he felt as a teenager leaving America to join the Paris Opera Ballet School, the ambition he had to tame as a new member of American Ballet Theatre, and the reasons behind his headline-grabbing decision to be the first American to join the top rank of Bolshoi Ballet, tendered by the Artistic Director who would later be the victim of a vicious acid attack. Then, as Hallberg performed throughout the world at the peak of his abilities, he suffered a crippling ankle injury and botched surgery leading to an agonizing retreat from ballet and an honest reexamination of his entire life. Combining his powers of observation and memory with emotional honesty and artistic insight, Hallberg has written a great ballet memoir and an intimate portrait of an artist in all his vulnerability, passion, and wisdom. “Candid and engrossing” (The Washington Post), A Body of Work is a memoir “for everyone with a heart” (DC Metro Theater Arts).
Download or read book Raising the Barre written by Lauren Kessler and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2015-11-24 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like generations of little girls, Lauren Kessler fell in love with ballet the first time she saw The Nutcracker, and from that day, at age five, she dreamed of becoming a ballerina. But when she was twelve, her very famous ballet instructor crushed those dreams -- along with her youthful self-assurance -- and she stepped away from the barre. Fast forward four decades. Lauren -- suddenly, powerfully, itchingly restless at midlife -- embarks on a "Transcontinental Nutcracker Binge Tour," where attending a string of performances in Chicago, New York, Boston, and San Francisco reignites her love affair with the ballet--and fuels her girlhood dream. What ensues is not only a story about The Nutcracker itself, but also an inside look at the seemingly romantic -- but oh-so-gritty -- world of ballet, about all that happens away from the audience's eye that precedes the magic on stage. It is a tale told from the perspective of someone who not only loves it, but is also seeking to live it. Lauren's quest to dance The Nutcracker with the Eugene Ballet Company tackles the big issues: fear, angst, risk, resilience, the refusal to "settle in" to midlife, the refusal to become yet another Invisible Woman. It is also a very funny, very real look at what it's like to push yourself further than you ever thought you could go -- and what happens when you get there.
Download or read book The Red Shoes written by Michael Powell and published by MacMillan Publishing Company. This book was released on 1978-11 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Yoga A Manual for Life written by Naomi Annand and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-10-31 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'This is such a wonderful book for yoga beginners and experts alike ... If you love yoga, you need this book.' - Vogue.co.uk Be calmer, happier and more creative. In Yoga: A Manual for Life Naomi Annand shows you how to use the ancient practice of yoga to live better in the modern world. Utilising simple, breath-led movement, this beautiful practice companion teaches you how to wake up feeling energised, calm an anxious mind, sleep better, feel inspired. Ideal for total beginners to more experienced yogis, this manual includes everything you'll need to live a more balanced, grounded life, from five-minute lifehacks to longer sequences with specific goals in mind. Always accessible, Yoga: A Manual for Life has at its centre the principle of authentic self-care.
