DVDs
Following lables offer a wide choice of ballet and dance DVDs. Please refer to the respective websites for catalogues and further information about how to purchase titles.
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A full catalogue with clips and more information is available on the site of
KULTUR.
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A full catalogue with clips and more information is available on the site of
OPUS ARTE.
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A full catalogue and more information is available on the site of
VAI, Video Artists International.
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A full catalogue including trailers is available on the site of
EuroArts.
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A full catalogue is available on the site of
TOTALFILM. Direct link to the
ARTHAUS MUSIK catalogue.
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A catalogue is available on the site of
WARNER CLASSICS.
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A catalogue is available on the site of
BEL AIR CLASSIQUES.
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A full catalogue and more information is available on the site of
TDK MUSIC DVD.
BOOKS
| VERA VOLKOVA - A BIOGRAPHY by Alexander Meinertz Hardback, 248 pages. Dance Books Ltd. 
Just as Harald Lander left Copenhagen and the Royal Theatre in disgrace in 1951, a small elegant woman arrived with the Italian Express from Florence. Vera Volkova had dark, melancholic eyes and was described as "eager, quivering with trust." But she herself said, that under her vulnerable apperance there was "a core of steel." The legendary Russian teacher with the mysterious past had carved an international reputation for herself in London as the teacher of Margot Fonteyn, but while she shared her knowledge with enthusiasm she carefully guarded her secrets.
Following a brief term as artistic director of the ballet at La Scala in Milan she came to Copenhagen to teach for three months. Volkova's exile had taken her from Shanghai and Hong Kong to London before she fell in love and finally found a home with the Royal Danish Ballet, a unique ensemble she transformed and described as a "a company with a heart." Vera Volkova - A Biography is the dramatic and captivating story of Russian woman's privileged pre-revolutionary childhood and her youth as part of Petrograd's idealistic but doomed intelligentsia. The book tells of her escape from the Soviet Union in 1929 via Shanghai and Hong Kong, and of an up-rooted life sustained by dreams of dance. More info on www.volkova.net Order your copy here: Dance Books Ltd. |
| ASAF MESSERER - OLEG BRIANSKY. CLASSES IN CLASSICAL BALLET Softcover, 400 pages. Limelight Editions 
A companion guide to one of the bestselling Limelight Edition titles, this book by Asaf Messerer, a founder of what
has become known as the Bolshoi School, is one of the most celebrated manuals of classic dance instruction in the world.
Messerer has gained an international reputation for his classes in classical technique-models of invention and well-rounded
exercise, stressing both precision and fluid artistic control. Nearly 500 photographs of principal Bolshoi dancers illustrate
the positions and steps indicated, and an introductory section by Messerer outlines his basic plan and philosophy of teaching. |
| LEGENDA ALLI SHELEST/THE LEGEND OF ALLA SHELEST Hardcover, 100 pages, many full-page black–and-white photographs. Published by Propyleae Art Publisher, Saint-Petersburg, 2004. Texts by S. Girs.  A magnificent photographic homage to Alla Shelest (1919-1998), one of the Kirov's greatest ballerinas."Shelest was a great actress. Such a high standard of acting technique is an infrequent occurence, which does not practically take place in ballet." (Maya Plisetskaya). More on Alla Shelest by Geoff Whitlock. |
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BALANCHINE, CELEBRATING A LIFE IN DANCE Hardcover, 10 by 12 inches 248 pages, 150+ full-color and black–and-white photographs. Photographs by Costas.  "Balanchine, Celebrating a Life in Dance is a tribute to twentieth-century ballet’s most influential choreographer. Even before founding the New York City Ballet with Lincoln Kirstein, George Balanchine had achieved international recognition as a dance innovator. Creating dances for his own company, Balanchine’s insights reinvigorated ballet by combining new forms with the traditional while dancing to contemporary musical scores. The works that emerged from this synthesis of styles brought new audiences to dance, as well as new meaning and relevance to the art of dance."
More on the site of Tide-Mark Publications.
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| HENNING KRONSTAM. PORTRAIT OF A DANISH DANCER by Alexandra Tomalonis, 608 pp, 155 photos. University Press of Florida, 2002.  "The story of Henning Kronstam, one of the greatest dancers of 20th-century ballet, is a testament of professional achievement and personal victory. Overcoming illness, family disapproval, and his own private torments, Kronstam dominated one of the world's most renowned companies, the Royal Danish Ballet, for nearly 30 years—beginning in 1956 when he created the role of Romeo at the age of 20 in Frederick Ashton's Romeo and Juliet until a new generation, trained by him, took the stage. In 1979, he organized and directed the Bournonville Festival, introducing the world to the rarely performed works of August Bournonville, the Danes’ master choreographer.
"In the writing of this book, the author conducted 200 hours of interviews with Henning Kronstam and talked with over 100 dancers and choreographers, including many who worked with him. She observed classes and rehearsals at the Royal Danish Ballet over a 10-year period to provide an unusually detailed view of backstage life. More than a biography of one man, this book tells the story of a great dance company. The 155 photographs accompanying the narrative showcase Kronstam's refined classical technique, unparalleled dramatic range, and the theatrical traditions of the Royal Danish Ballet." More on the site of University
Press of Florida. |
ESSAYS
THE KIROV'S RECONSTRUCTED SLEEPING BEAUTY by Doug Fullington.
The sterling essay by the American dance historian and musician Doug Fullington (
Author's
biography) on the notable reconstruction of Petipa's Sleeping Beauty at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1999.
With special thanks to Mr. Fullington for gracefully putting the unedited text of his article which previously appeared in Ballet Review (New York) at the
disposal of For Ballet Lovers Only.
Copyright © 2000-2008. All rights reserved.
