A heartfelt tribute to an influential choreographer and one of his crowning achievements.
A former dancer describes her relationship with George Balanchine and one of his most famous ballets.
Reading a book about ballet is like listening to ice skating on the radio: One can imagine the scene, but the strengths of one medium don’t fully translate the beauty of the other. Bentley gamely tries to translate the majesty of one ballet in her latest book, and with more success than one might expect. The ballet is Balanchine’s groundbreaking Serenade, which premiered in 1934, a piece she danced 50 times for New York City Ballet in the late 1970s, starting when she was 16. The author admits that she sees the choreographer only through “clarifying tears,” writing that her book is “the story of Balanchine, his masterpiece, and my own experience in the vicinity of both.” Bentley describes the ballet’s three movements and the steps that constitute the piece: every arabesque and tendu and turnout. Wisely, she expands her focus to include a brief history of ballet, including France’s King Louis XIV, “a very good dancer of professional quality,” and his establishment of the Académie Royale de Danse, “the first academic national ballet school in the world”; Balanchine’s early years in Russia, where he was born in St. Petersburg in 1904, an upbringing that swung from riches to destitution and back; and brief biographies of Tchaikovsky, “the undisputed musical father of classical ballet,” and Marius Ivanovich Petipa, the pioneering 19th-century choreographer whose life included duels and a scandalous elopement. Bentley’s tone is uneven: effervescent when she describes Balanchine’s ballet—“Serenade is a slant shadow on my heart. She bifurcates my being, my life”—but more restrained in historical passages. Yet the book endearingly captures her passion for ballet and the genius of a man who could incorporate a ballerina’s fall during rehearsal into a permanent part of his dance.
A heartfelt tribute to an influential choreographer and one of his crowning achievements.Pub Date: April 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-31639-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.
A carefully curated personal portrait.
First ladies’ roles have evolved significantly in recent decades. Their memoirs typically reflect a spectrum of ambition and interests, offering insights into their values and personal lives. Melania Trump, however, stands out as exceptionally private and elusive. Her ultra-lean account attempts to shed light on her public duties, initiatives, and causes as first lady, and it defends certain actions like her controversial “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket. The statement was directed at the media, not the border situation, she claims. Yet the book provides scant detail about her personal orbit or day-to-day interactions. The memoir opens with her well-known Slovenian origin story, successful modeling career, and whirlwind romance with Donald Trump, culminating in their 2005 marriage, followed by a snapshot of Election Day 2016: “Each time we were together that day, I was impressed by his calm.…This man is remarkably confident under pressure.” Once in the White House, Melania Trump describes her functions and numerous public events at home and abroad, which she asserts were more accomplished than media representations suggested. However, she rarely shares any personal interactions beyond close family ties, notably her affection for her son, Barron, and her sister, Ines. And of course she lavishes praise on her husband. Minimal anecdotes about White House or cabinet staff are included, and she carefully defuses her rumored tensions with Trump’s adult children, blandly stating, “While we may share the same last name, each of us is distinct with our own aspirations and paths to follow.” Although Melania’s desire to support causes related to children’s and women’s welfare feels authentic, the overall tenor of her memoir seems aimed at painting a glimmering portrait of her husband and her role, likely with an eye toward the forthcoming election.
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781510782693
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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