I've so happy I bought this book, it's a pleasure to read. I'm a long time ballet fan, but I would stronly recommend this book for anyone who is interested about ballet, you can learn so much reading it!

Taper's Balanchine biography is one of the best books I have ever read! It combines the biographical information with personal accounts and stories that really give you the feeling of getting to know the amazing George Balanchine. Some may have read other books, like Gelsey Kirkland's "Dancing on my Grave", that give a bad impression of Mr. Balanchine, but I promise if you read this book, you will have a change of heart. Although no biography can be completely free of bias, this author describes Mr. Balanchine in a truly honest and real way. I really do feel like I know Mr. Balanchine and I promise that if you read this incredible book, you will too

A great book on a choreographer & dancer who had a great impact on dance in the USA and world wide...

If you are at all interested in dance, and the history of dance...then this book is for you!

ENJOY IT!!

Balanchine - the choreographer genius of this century had already begun creating ballets as a fifteen year old student - and he carried on creating master pieces well into advanced age. But, Balanchine has in the past, unfortunately, been the victim of criticism amounting to slander. A lot of people have poured out quantities of venom; therefore this volume is doubly welcome. A great number of dancers and people associated with dance have given their testimonies - totalling 85 in all, including some medical experts giving their views on Balanchine's final and fatal sickness. Most people contributing to this anthology seem to have a very balanced and realistic view and it is highly readable. We must always remember that Balanchine with all his quirks and at times weird ideas was one of the absolute master choreographers of this century - maybe even THE master. In the century to come, he will certainly take his place in the hierarchy alongside Petipa, Fokin, Ashton et al and will live forever throu his master pieces which will always be performed. I strongly recommend this book. .

Just terrific! Since there are so many schools of ballet, (Cechetti, Vaganova, french, Bournonville...),it's the first time there's a book telling you the difference between the Balanchine technique (much superior to me)and the old way of training,I found this book perfect for anyone interested in Ballet, you can learn so much by reading and the pictures are so beautiful that I framed some.Bravo!

This book shows the technique that the ballet master, George Balanchine, wanted his dancers to use to be the best dancers they could possibly be. Being a dancer, I found this book to be quite fascinating, but, you don't have to be a dancer to enjoy it. Even if you get bored with reading, the photographs will certainly captue your intrest.

This book is a comprehensive look at George Balanchine's ballet technique. Balanchine himself thought that he would be remembered more for his teaching than his choreography and Schorer does an excellent job in detailing the technique that he molded for New York City Ballet. The book covers Barre Work, Upper Body, Pointework and Related Releve, Jumps, as well as a section you rarely see covered in a technique book, Partnering. Every exercise is clearly described both in words and with a photograph, and Schorer often includes analogies and other teaching tools that she uses to get her students to understand the particular quality of a movement. This book is an invaluable source of information about ballet technique whether or not you subscribe to what is know as "Balanchine Technique."

I also highly recommend reading "Pointework," also by Schorer, as well as watching the three "Balanchine Essays" videos, where Schorer herself instructs New York City Ballet dancer Merrill Ashley and three students in the areas of Arabesque, Passe and Attitude, and Port de Bras.

I thought this book contained good information and the drawings are incredible- although confusing at times. There are many steps described in this book, both advanced and beginner. I find this book a great addition to my ballet collection. As a dancer, it is a good reference book for me when I have a question or uncertainty about a step. This book describes in detail how to preform barre exercises, allegros, turns, pointe work, etc. This is a necessity for all dancers and dancer-wannabes.

I have the hard bound edition of this book, published some time ago by Alfred Knopf, and I never tire of looking at the drawings and appreciating the mathematical precision of classical ballet. The reading of this book will be of an enormous assistance to studying ballet, and it is also invaluable if one wants to study the more technical facets of the subject. Ballet is one form of dance that can be mathematically systemaitized and characterized, and this book is a great reference for such an undertaking. Definitely worth having and the paperback edition with its low price makes it completely accessible to all.

I purchased this book and now regret it. So many of the ballets decribed are minor pieces that are rarely performed any more, while many major classic ballets that are still performed and/or that are important in dance history are totally neglected (e.g. Le Corsaire, Raymonda, Paquita, Esmerelda). Other descriptions focus only on one part of the ballet rather than telling you the actual story. The entry on "La Bayadère," for instance, focuses almost entirely on Act IV, which is frustrating since this is a ballet with a complicated libretto that could really benefit from a complete summary. I'd recommend going to a library and photocopying the info on the ballets that interest you rather than purchasing this as a handy reference book to have at home. It's just not worth the money.

Balanchine had a unique ability to understand the ballet and to be able to explain it to others, even if they did not know anything about it. This book which he wrote with Francis Mason, is very handy for balletomane's to have on their shelves. It explains about different ballet's, both classical and contemporary, and describes their story line or plot and gives detailed comments about how the ballet is presented. Good for reference or for curious readers.

This book should be of interest to any ballet fan, as it contains the librettos of many famous ballets. It was written by George Balanchine, the famous choreographer of New York City Ballet, along with Francis Mason, a dance critic. In the preface, Mr. Balanchine writes, "This book contains stories of 101 ballets. Fifty are old favorites, ballets in the standard repertory that are performed regularly, plus a few ballets of major historical importance. The fifty-one others are among the many new ballets that have appeared in the past six years, since 'Balanchine's New Complete Stories of the Great Ballets' appeared in 1968. The idea behind this paperback edition is to keep up with main trends in the repertory while also providing the background of the standard repertory. (p. ix)

I learned that I needed a book such as this one, when after viewing act 1 of "Giselle," I realized that I had become completely lost in trying to understand the story line, and there was no libretto provided on the VCR tape. I suppose that one could watch a ballet just for the sake of the dancing and the music, but I like to understand the plot as well! Many of the crucial points in understanding a ballet often come down to interpreting mime gestures, or dance movements that function as a mime gesture, as there are no spoken words in a ballet. That's where this book can really help out.

Each entry begins with an overview that contains a lot of information and historical data. Here is a typical entry from "Romeo and Juliet": "Ballet in three acts. Music by Sergei Prokofiev. Choreography by Kenneth MacMillan. Scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis. Lighting by William Bundy. First presented by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, February 9, 1965, with Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn as Romeo and Juliet. First presented in the United States by the Royal Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, April 21, 1965." (p. 373) In some cases, there are multiple versions of same ballet. For instance, there are five different interpretations of "Romeo and Juliet," those of Leonid Lavrosvsky, Antony Tudor, Frederick Ashton, John Cranko, and Kenneth MacMillan. Following the overview, there is a detailed analysis of every scene of each act. Even if you are familiar with a particular ballet, you may come to appreciate some finer points through the expert analysis. Sometimes at the end, Balanchine will also provide his own commentary, and there are often excerpts from critical reviews.

It's too bad that the third and last edition of this book was made in 1975, as Balanchine died in 1983. It would be nice to have something more contemporaneous, but this is the only one of its kind that I have been able to find, except for a few for children. As was stated in the quote from the preface above, half of this book is devoted to ballets that were created in the six years prior to 1975. I cannot say how well all of these ballets have held up over time, or whether they are actively being performed. But, at a minimum, the fifty ballets from the standard repertory should be helpful to today's ballet fan. This book does not include mention of any new interpretations of these standards from the last twenty-five years, but these librettos will probably get you fairly close. Despite the fact that this book is now dated, I still find it extremely helpful and valuable.