- Table View
- List View
Dance to the Piper
by Joan Acocella Agnes De MilleBorn into a family of successful playwrights and producers, Agnes de Mille was determined to be an actress. Then one day she witnessed the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, and her life was altered forever. Hypnotized by Pavlova's beauty, in that moment de Mille dedicated herself to dance. Her memoir records with lighthearted humor and wisdom not only the difficulties she faced--the resistance of her parents, the sacrifices of her training--but also the frontier atmosphere of early Hollywood and New York and London during the Depression. "This is the story of an American dancer," writes de Mille, "a spoiled egocentric wealthy girl, who learned with difficulty to become a worker, to set and meet standards, to brace a Victorian sensibility to contemporary roughhousing, and who, with happy good fortune, participated by the side of great colleagues in a renaissance of the most ancient and magical of all the arts."
Dance with Demons: The Life of Jerome Robbins
by Greg LawrenceDance with Demons is the first full biography of the celebrated choreographer/director of Broadway, ballet, and Hollywood - a man of towering achievement and extraordinary personal nightmares. For decades, he was one of the most commanding creative forces in America. His work on such shows as On the Town, The King and I, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, Peter Pan, and Jerome Robbins' Broadway earned him five Tony Awards and two Academy Awards. His brilliance with American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet established him as one of the century's great choreographers. But when Jerome Robbins, ne Rabinowitz, died at the age of seventy-nine in 1998, he was a haunted man. All of his life, he had struggled with demons: his bisexuality, his ambivalence about his Judaism, his often bitter relationship with his parents, his betrayals of others during the McCarthy hearings, and a fear of failure that drove him to a perfectionism bordering on the sadistic. Dance with Demons is is the story that Robbins was unable to tell. Based on years of research and interviews with hundreds of Robbins's family, friends, and colleagues, it gives the full measure of both the artist and the man. Filled with stories and voices, it is a fascinating portrait of light and dark - like its subject, a work rich in complexity.
Dance with the Devil: A Memoir of Murder and Loss
by David BagbyImmortalized in the acclaimed documentary Dear Zachary, this brutally honest memoir chronicles a system&’s failure to prevent the murder of a child. In November 2001, the bullet-riddled body of a young doctor named Andrew Bagby was discovered in Keystone State Park outside Latrobe, Pennsylvania. For parents Dave and Kate, the pain was unbearable—but Andrew&’s murder was only the beginning of the tragedy they endured. The chief suspect for Andrew&’s murder was his ex-girlfriend Shirley Turner. Obsessive and unstable, Shirley lied to police and fled to Newfoundland before she could be arrested. While fending off extradition efforts by U.S. law enforcement, she announced she was pregnant with Andrew's son, Zachary. Hoping to gain custody of the child, the Bagbys moved to Newfoundland. They began a drawn-out court battle to protect their grandson from the woman who had almost certainly murdered their son. Then, in August 2003, Shirley killed herself and the one-year-old Zachary by jumping into the Atlantic Ocean. Dance with the Devil is David Bagby&’s eulogy for a dead son, an elegy for lives cut tragically short, and a castigation of a broken system.&“[An] incendiary cri de coeur.&”—The New York Times DANCE WITH THE DEVIL is a eulogy for a dead son, an elegy for lives cut tragically short, and a castigation of a broken system.
Dancer: A Novel (Picador Modern Classics Ser.)
by Colum McCannThe National Book Award–winning author’s biographical novel of Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev: “Exuberant and exhilarating . . . a brilliant leap of imagination” (San Francisco Chronicle).In Dancer, Colum McCann tells the ballet icon’s story through the myriad voices of those who knew him. There is Anna Vasileva, Rudi’s first ballet teacher, who rescues her protégé from the stunted life of his provincial town; Yulia, whose sexual and artistic ambitions are thwarted by her Soviet-sanctioned marriage; and Victor, the Venezuelan street hustler, who reveals the lurid underside of the gay celebrity set.Spanning four decades and many worlds, from the horrors of the Second World War to the wild abandon of New York in the ‘80s, Dancer is peopled by a large cast of characters, obscure and famous: doormen and shoemakers, nurses and translators, Margot Fonteyn, Eric Bruhn, and John Lennon. And at the heart of the spectacle stands the artist himself, willful, lustful, and driven by a never-to-be-met need for perfection.
Dances With Luigi: A Grandson's Search For His Italian Roots
by Paul E. Paolicelli Paul PaolicelliIn this spirited memoir, veteran TV journalist Paul Paolicelli does what many of us can only dream of--he picks up and moves to a foreign country in an attempt to trace his ancestral roots. With the help of Luigi, his guide and companion, he travels through Italy--Rome, Gamberale, Matera, Miglionico, Alessandria, even Mussolini's hometown of Predappio--and discovers the tragic legacy of the Second World War that is still affecting the Old Country. He visits ancient castles and village churches, samples superb Italian cuisine, haggles at the open air market at Porta Portese, enjoys and Alessandria siesta, and frequents "coffee bars", where beggars discuss politics with affluent Italian locals. He finds lost-lost cousins during the day and performs with an amateur jazz group during the night. Along the way, he discovers deeply moving stories about his family's past and learns answers to question that have plagued him since childhood. More that just a spiritual account of one man's ancestral search, Dances With Luigi is also a stunning portrait ofla bella Italia--both old and new--that is painted beautifully in all of its glamour, history, and contradiction.
Dances with Luigi: A Grandson's Determined Quest to Comprehend Italy and the Italians
by Paul PaolicelliIn this spirited memoir, veteran TV journalist Paul Paolicelli does what many of us can only dream of--he picks up and moves to a foreign country in an attempt to trace his ancestral roots. With the help of Luigi, his guide and companion, he travels through Italy--Rome, Gamberale, Matera, Miglionico, Alessandria, even Mussolini's hometown of Predappio--and discovers the tragic legacy of the Second World War that is still affecting the Old Country. He visits ancient castles and village churches, samples superb Italian cuisine, haggles at the open air market at Porta Portese, enjoys and Alessandria siesta, and frequents "coffee bars", where beggars discuss politics with affluent Italian locals. He finds lost-lost cousins during the day and performs with an amateur jazz group during the night. Along the way, he discovers deeply moving stories about his family's past and learns answers to question that have plagued him since childhood.More that just a spiritual account of one man's ancestral search, Dances With Luigi is also a stunning portrait of la bella Italia--both old and new--that is painted beautifully in all of its glamour, history, and contradiction.
Dancing Barefoot: The Patti Smith Story
by Dave ThompsonOffering a unique analysis and discussion of her life, career, and work, this is the true story of Patti Smith. Widely acknowledged as one of the most significant American artists of the rock age, an acclaimed poet, and a figurehead for many liberal political causes, Patti Smith went from an ugly-duckling childhood in postwar New Jersey to become queen of the 1970s New York art scene. Not a tell-all biography, this measured, accurate, and enthusiastic account of Smith's career is written for her loyal fans as well as for neophytes hungry for a great rock 'n' roll story. Guided by interviews with those who have known her--including Ivan Kral, Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd, John Cale, and Jim Carroll--it relies most of all on Patti's own words.
Dancing Fish and Ammonites: A Memoir
by Penelope LivelyThe beloved and bestselling author takes an intimate look back at a life of reading and writing"The memory that we live with . . . is the moth-eaten version of our own past that each of us carries around, depends on. It is our ID; this is how we know who we are and where we have been."Memory and history have been Penelope Lively's terrain in fiction over a career that has spanned five decades. But she has only rarely given readers a glimpse into her influences and formative years.Dancing Fish and Ammonites traces the arc of Lively's life, stretching from her early childhood in Cairo to boarding school in England to the sweeping social changes of Britain's twentieth century. She reflects on her early love of archeology, the fragments of the ancients that have accompanied her journey--including a sherd of Egyptian ceramic depicting dancing fish and ammonites found years ago on a Dorset beach. She also writes insightfully about aging and what life looks like from where she now stands.
Dancing Gods: Indian Ceremonials of New Mexico and Arizona
by Erna FergussonThe dances and ceremonials of the Native Americans of the Southwest are described and explained this information, authentic guidebook. The author, internationally famous Erna Fergusson, has drawn upon many years of personal observation and careful research.The principal religious ceremonies of the Pueblo Indians of the Rio Grande, as well as those of the Zuñi and Hopi, are represented with an understanding of their background and significance. The reader learns about such colorful events as the Corn Dances and the Eagle Dance, and spectacular ceremonies like the Shaloko of Zuñi and the Snake-dances of the Hopis.Navajo and Apache ceremonials are covered at length, with an introduction to the life-patterns of these remarkable people.Besides the principal dances widely attended by tourists, this book discusses many of the lesser-known but equally interesting and dramatic happenings which have been a part of the religious life of Southwestern Native Americans for hundreds of years.Sixteen full-page illustrations of paintings by prominent artists give insight into the subject.
Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played The Piano For President Lincoln
by Margarita Engle Rafael LópezAs a little girl, Teresa Carreño loved to let her hands dance across the beautiful keys of the piano. If she felt sad, music cheered her up, and when she was happy, the piano helped her share that joy. Soon she was writing her own songs and performing in grand cathedrals. Then a revolution in Venezuela forced her family to flee to the United States. Teresa felt lonely in this unfamiliar place, where few of the people she met spoke Spanish. Worst of all, there was fighting in her new home, too—the Civil War. Still, Teresa kept playing, and soon she grew famous as the talented Piano Girl who could play anything from a folk song to a sonata. So famous, in fact, that President Abraham Lincoln wanted her to play at the White House! Yet with the country torn apart by war, could Teresa’s music bring comfort to those who needed it most?
Dancing In The Wilderness
by Samanthia CassidyStep into this unforgettable narrative with Samanthia Cassidy as she comes of age in the Deep South as part of a dysfunctional family and a "holiness" cult with a pastor who handles snakes and takes indecent liberties with young girls. Your soul will be stirred and your heart warmed as you are drawn irresistibly into a unique time and place in Twentieth-Century Americana. As the author allows you to see through her eyes, you will feel her love and hatred . . . ecstasy and misery. . . passion and pain. And you will relish her boldness, courage, tenacity and triumph. In this vivid, unvarnished snapshot of provincial southern life, an intrepid young girl is faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges. Yet despite overwhelming assaults against her childhood trust and innocence, Samanthia's dauntless spirit, love of family and faith in God transcend every obstacle. You will become part of Samanthia's big family and experience life in their "Big House." And you will fall in love with this extraordinary girl who shares her beautiful secret of DANCING IN THE WILDERNESS.
Dancing Man: A Broadway Choreographer's Journey
by Bob AvianTony and Olivier Award–winning Bob Avian’s dazzling life story, Dancing Man: A Broadway Choreographer’s Journey, is a memoir in three acts. Act I reveals the origins of one of Broadway’s legendary choreographers who appeared onstage with stars like Barbra Streisand and Mary Martin all before he was thirty. Act II includes teaching Katharine Hepburn how to sing and dance in Coco and working with Stephen Sondheim and Michael Bennett while helping to choreograph the original productions of Company and Follies. During this time, Avian won a Tony Award as the cochoreographer of A Chorus Line and produced the spectacular Tony Award–winning Dreamgirls. For a triumphant third act, Avian choreographed Julie Andrews’s return to the New York stage, devised all of the musical staging for Miss Saigon and Sunset Boulevard, and directed A Chorus Line on Broadway. He worked with the biggest names on Broadway, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Carol Burnett, Jennifer Holliday, Patti LuPone, Elaine Stritch, and Glenn Close. Candid, witty, sometimes shocking, and always entertaining, here at last is the ultimate up-close and personal insider’s view from a front row seat at the creation of the biggest, brightest, and best Broadway musicals of the past fifty years.
Dancing On My Grave
by Gelsey Kirkland Greg LawrenceThe shattering story of a dream which became a heartbreaking nightmare for one of America's most famous ballerinas, Gelsey Kirkland, who chronicles her brilliant start as a dancer with George Balanchine, her legendary partnership with Mikhail Baryshnikov, her agonizing descent into drugs, and her struggles to rise again.
Dancing Out of Bali
by Richard Attenborough John Coast"It is Bali felt, understood, loved, communicated...Coast has a kind of word magic." --New York Herald TribuneThis book tells of a young Englishman, fresh out of a Japanese prison camp, and his Javanese wife, and how they leave Indonesia for the footlights of Broadway. This is a story of life, music, and dancing in Bali, with all the charm of the Balinese people. Dancing out of Bali is a truly remarkable personal adventure story for all readers, especially dance lovers.
Dancing Out of Bali
by Richard Attenborough John Coast"It is Bali felt, understood, loved, communicated...Coast has a kind of word magic." --New York Herald TribuneThis book tells of a young Englishman, fresh out of a Japanese prison camp, and his Javanese wife, and how they leave Indonesia for the footlights of Broadway. This is a story of life, music, and dancing in Bali, with all the charm of the Balinese people. Dancing out of Bali is a truly remarkable personal adventure story for all readers, especially dance lovers.
Dancing Out of Bali
by Richard Attenborough John Coast"If you know where to look, you can still discover and recognize what it was that intoxicating John Coast fifty years ago." -Sir David AttenboroughThis book is one of the great classics about Bali, now with dozens of illustrations and photographs.Dancing out of Bali is a fascinating personal account of a young Englishman who settled in a small house in Bali in the midst of the political turmoil that griped post-war Indonesia. There, he immersed himself in Balinese culture and made ambitious plans to bring a troupe of Balinese dancers and musicians to Europe and America. The book relates John Coast's daring and remarkable adventure that took him from revolution in Indonesia to the footlights of London and Broadway. Within a few weeks, the troupe had captured the hearts of audiences. Here are photographs of Bali and stories of the performer's magic island and of the enchanting dancers, including the beautiful 12-year-old Ni Gusti Raka. She became a star overnight and delighted audiences everywhere during the troupe's triumphant tour.It is also a story of Balinese culture and life in Bali-following the devastating Japanese occupation-of music and dancing in Bali, of many of the island's great performing dancers and musicians,
Dancing Past the Light: The Life of Tanaquil Le Clercq
by Orel ProtopopescuA world-famous ballerina’s dramatic life Dancing Past the Light cinematically illuminates the glamorous and moving life story of Tanaquil “Tanny” Le Clercq (1929‒2000), one of the most celebrated ballerinas of the twentieth century, describing her brilliant stage career, her struggle with polio, and her important work as a dance teacher, coach, photographer, and writer. Born in Paris, Le Clercq became a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet at age 19 and a role model for aspiring dancers everywhere. Orel Protopopescu recounts Le Clercq’s intense marriage to the company’s renowned choreographer George Balanchine, for whom Le Clercq was a muse, the prototype of the exquisite, long-limbed “Balanchine ballerina.” Enhanced with a wealth of previously unpublished photos, personal letters, and sketches by Balanchine, this book offers an intimate portrait of Le Clercq’s dancing life and her relationship to the man who was both her mentor and husband. It delves into her friendships with other dancers as well, including a longtime rival for her affections, choreographer Jerome Robbins. Le Clercq contracted polio while on tour in Europe at age 27 and would never dance again. This book offers a rare account of how Le Clercq grappled with a fate considered unimaginable for a ballerina and began to share her love of dance as a writer and dance teacher. It also highlights Le Clercq’s role in the struggles for racial equality and disability rights. Her art was her vehicle: she and Arthur Mitchell made history as the couple in New York City Ballet’s first interracial pas de deux at City Center in 1955 and later she taught from a wheelchair at his Dance Theatre of Harlem. With insights from interviews with her friends, students, and colleagues, Dancing Past the Light depicts the joys and the dark moments of Le Clercq’s dramatic life, celebrating her mighty legacy.
Dancing Star: The Story of Anna Pavlova
by Gladys MalvernIn this biographical novel, Gladys Malvern shares the incredible story of Anna Pavlova, one of the most revered and celebrated ballerinas of all time. Malvern presents Pavlova's life in enchanting prose, allowing the reader to experience Pavlova's inspirational first exposure to a performance of Sleeping Beauty, the origination of her defining dance The Dying Swan, her illustrious rise to fame as a prima ballerina, and her extensive world tours. You don't have to be a fan of the ballet to enjoy this captivating tale, available for the first time in ebook.
Dancing Through It
by Jenifer RingerA behind-the-curtains look at the rarefied world of classical ballet from a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet In her charming and self-effacing voice, Jenifer Ringer covers the highs and lows of what it's like to make it to the top in the exclusive, competitive ballet world. From the heart-pounding moments waiting in the wings before a performance to appearing on Oprah to discuss weight and body image among dancers, Dancing Through It is moving and revelatory. Raised in South Carolina, Ringer led a typical kid's life until she sat in on a friend's ballet class, an experience that would change her life forever. By the age of twelve she was enrolled at the elite Washington School of Ballet and soon moved to the School of American Ballet. At sixteen she was a professional dancer at the New York City Ballet in Manhattan, home of the legendary George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. Ringer takes us inside the dancer's world, detailing a typical day, performance preparation, and the extraordinary pressures that these athletes face. Ringer shares exhilarating stories of starring in Balanchine productions, working with the famous Peter Martins, and of meeting her husband and falling in love at the New York City Ballet. Ringer also talks candidly of Alistair Macauley's stinging critique of her weight in his 2010 New York Times review of The Nutcracker that ignited a public dialogue about ballet and weight. She unflinchingly describes her personal struggles with eating disorders and body image, and shares how her faith helped her to heal and triumph over these challenges.
Dancing With Myself
by Billy IdolIn this bold and candid memoir, music legend Billy Idol shares his life story—from his childhood in England to his rise to fame during the height of the punk-pop revolution—revealing intimate details about the sex, drugs, and rock and roll that he is so fabulously famous for—all told in his own utterly indelible voice.<P> An integral member of the punk rock revolution whose music crossed over into ’80s pop mainstream—and one of MTV’s first stars—Billy Idol remains an iconic music legend. Now, in his long-awaited Dancing With Myself, he delivers a lively, candid account of his journey to fame—including intimate and unapologetic details about his life’s highs and lows—all rendered with the in-your-face attitude and exuberance his fans have embraced. Idol brings to life the key events that shaped his life, his music, and his career, including his early childhood in England, his year at Sussex University, and his time spent hanging out with the Sex Pistols and as a member of punk bands Chelsea and Generation X.<P> He shares outtakes from his wildly and unexpectedly successful solo career and stories behind his string of popular hits, including “White Wedding,” “Eyes Without a Face,” and “Rebel Yell,” which involved close collaboration with Steve Stevens and ultimately led to the creation of some of the most groundbreaking music videos ever seen.<P> Dancing With Myself is both a tale of survival and a celebration of the heady days when punk was born—a compelling and satisfying insider’s tale from a man who made music history firsthand.
Dancing at Ciro's: A Family's Love, Loss, and Scandal on the Sunset Strip
by Sheila Weller"Poignant memoir of a not-so-typical New York Jewish family’s experiences in the midcentury Hollywood demimonde … Equal parts emotional tissue-party and shrewd cultural history." - Kirkus ReviewsIn 1958, young Sheila Weller was living a charmed life with her family in Beverly Hills. Her father was a brilliant brain surgeon. Her mother was a movie-magazine writer whose brother owned Hollywood's most dazzling nightclub, Ciro's. Then her world exploded after she witnessed her uncle's brutal attempt to kill her father.In Dancing at Ciro's, Weller has written a deeply felt memoir of her family's life contrasted with those most glamorous days of Hollywood's forties and fifties. While vividly describing Lana Turner's, Frank Sinatra's, and Sammy Davis Jr.'s evenings--and breakdowns--at Ciro's, Weller casts a keen eye on her own family's turmoil and loss.
Dancing at the River’s Edge: A Patient and her Doctor Negotiate Life with Chronic Illness
by Michael D. Lockshin Alida BrillAn invaluable resource for medical professionals, victims of chronic illnesses, and their loved ones, this dual memoir by a doctor and his longtime patient traces the growth of their unique friendship over a span of decades. By exploring the bond between caregiver and sufferer, this sensitive account evokes not only the constant day to day frustrations and emotional toll suffered by the chronically ill, but also an understanding of the mental struggles and conflicts that a conscientious doctor must face in deciding how best to treat a patient without compromising personal freedoms. In alternating chapters, the narrative explores the frustration, joy, despair, grief, and pain on both sides of the doctor-patient relationship.
Dancing in Blackness: A Memoir
by Halifu OsumareDancing in Blackness is a professional dancer's personal journey over four decades, across three continents and 23 countries, and through defining moments in the story of black dance in America. In this memoir, Halifu Osumare reflects on what blackness and dance have meant to her life and international career. Osumare's story begins in 1960s San Francisco amid the Black Arts Movement, black militancy, and hippie counterculture. It was there, she says, that she chose dance as her own revolutionary statement. Osumare describes her experiences as a young black dancer in Europe teaching "jazz ballet" and establishing her own dance company in Copenhagen. Moving to New York City, she danced with the Rod Rodgers Dance Company and took part in integrating the programs at the Lincoln Center. After doing dance fieldwork in Ghana, Osumare returned to California and helped develop Oakland’s black dance scene. Osumare introduces readers to some of the major artistic movers and shakers she collaborated with throughout her career, including Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus, Jean-Leon Destine, Alvin Ailey, and Donald McKayle. Now a black studies scholar, Osumare uses her extraordinary experiences to reveal the overlooked ways that dance has been a vital tool in the black struggle for recognition, justice, and self-empowerment. Her memoir is the inspiring story of an accomplished dance artist who has boldly developed and proclaimed her identity as a black woman.
Dancing in Buenos Aires
by Layne MoslerA Vintage Shorts Travel SelectionIn Dancing in Buenos Aires, Layne Mosler takes us on a unforgettable trip with a lively step. With grace, humor, and a keen eye for characters and detail, Mosler brings to life the soul of Buenos Aires and the dance that beats in its heart--the tango. From her first tentative steps (in flip-flops) to the legendary dance floor at Sunderland--the world's greatest tango club--Mosler comes to understand the soul of dance that is more than just movement, but a way of life. Sampling the city's incredible food and finding herself as a writer along the way, Mosler gives us an excursion of self-discovery you don't want to miss. An eBook short.
Dancing in Chains: The Youth of William Dean Howells (The American Social Experience #15)
by Rodney D. Olsen"Dancing in Chains is far more than a sensitive biography (though it is surely that); it is also a model of psychologically informed social and cultural history. Olsen recognizes that psychic conflicts often play themselves out on a higher plane, that psychic and intellectual history are intertwined. He presents a wonderful nuanced picture of Howells."-Jackson Lears,Rutgers University In this insightful study of the childhood and youth of William Dean Howells, Dancing in Chains demonstrates how the turbulent social and cultural changes of the early nineteenth century shaped the young Howells's emotional and intellectual life. His early diaries, letters, poetry, fiction, and newspaper columns are used to illustrate Olsen's argument, which also in turn throws light on the dominant tensions in antebellum America. Accepting the emergent middle-class ethos of civilized morality, with its new conceptions of child rearing and gender spheres, Howells's parents urged him to achieve self-control and individual success while also teaching him to seek the good of others rather than his own glory. For Howells the conflicts coalesced at the time of his leaving home, an increasing common rite of passage for antebellum youth. Trying to affirm his sense of literary vocation, he tested his aspirations against the family's Swedenborgian religious convictions and the antislavery commitments of his village while experimenting with competing literary ideologies in the process of meeting the demands of the new mass reading audience. For Howells the resulting tensions eased toward the end of his youth but reappeared in his more mature works of fiction and social criticism in later years. Portraying the ordeal of coming of age during a momentous period of American history, Dancing in Chains is a fascinating study with a broad appeal to general readers as well as scholars.