Overview

Working from the premise that dance history can be studied as it has been created in and through the bodies of dancers, Karen Eliot closely examines the lives and careers of five popular female dancers: Giovanna Baccelli, Ad\u00e8le Dumil\u00e2tre, Tamara Karsavina, Moira Shearer, and Catherine Kerr. Notable dancers in European and Russian ballet and American modern dance genres, these women represent a historical cross section of performance, training, and technique. By elegantly guiding the reader through the Russian Revolution, stage fright and illness, liaisons with aristocracy, movie stardom, and dancing rivalries, Dancing Lives provides valuable insight into the culture in which each woman performed. Readers are introduced to each dancer's social and economic status, her education and training, and changing debates about dance and choreography. The resulting stories are packed with intimate personal details, keen descriptions of dance pedagogy and performance, and behind-the-curtain glimpses of popular dance trends.

Full Product Details

9780252032509

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Reviews

""Eliot ... chronicles the lives of five female 'underdog' dancers ... focusing on such details as their social and economic status, education, dance training and how they came to dance professionally. Amusing anecdotes abound... Eliot's Dancing Lives shines a spotlight on the lives of five lesser-known dancers.""--Dance Teacher ""This accessible resource offers less experienced scholars of dance easy entry into studying dance as cultural history. Recommended.""--Choice

This accessible resource offers less experienced scholars of dance easy entry into studying dance as cultural history. Recommended. -- Choice

Author Information

Karen Eliot is an associate professor of dance at Ohio State University. Trained in ballet and modern dance, she is an alumna of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

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