Dansare / koreografer

'Fab-u-lous' Craig Revel Horwood'Uplifting' Fleur East'Brilliant' Sara Davies'Feel-good' Gemma Atkinson Change your life for the better, starting today, with this primer on positivity from Strictly star and It Takes Two host, Janette Manrara. Whether you’re looking to boost your happiness, advance your career or manifest your big life goals, Janette’s delightful blend of advice, inspiration and life lessons from her time on stage and screen is just what you need.Divided into four key pillars: Acceptance, Reflection, The Work and Discovery, her tried-and-true life advice centres around learning to love yourself. Each chapter offers hard-won wisdom alongside practical techniques to apply that wisdom to your own life, complete with all the steps to take to make your goals a reality. Janette is here to motivate you, empower you, spark joy and remind you that you are amazing.Along the way, Janette shares her own poignant stories, from her childhood in a large Cuban family in Florida and her decision to pursue a career in dance to her big break on So You Think You Can Dance and finally, Strictly Come Dancing. Full of magic and glitter and joy, Tiny Dancer, Big World is a fun and practical guide for learning to embrace self-love and ambition, and how to be your best self in every aspect of your life.

'Fab-u-lous' Craig Revel Horwood'Uplifting' Fleur East'Brilliant' Sara Davies'Feel-good' Gemma Atkinson Change your life for the better, starting today, with this primer on positivity from Strictly star and It Takes Two host, Janette Manrara. Whether you’re looking to boost your happiness, advance your career or manifest your big life goals, Janette’s delightful blend of advice, inspiration and life lessons from her time on stage and screen is just what you need.Divided into four key pillars: Acceptance, Reflection, The Work and Discovery, her tried-and-true life advice centres around learning to love yourself. Each chapter offers hard-won wisdom alongside practical techniques to apply that wisdom to your own life, complete with all the steps to take to make your goals a reality. Janette is here to motivate you, empower you, spark joy and remind you that you are amazing.Along the way, Janette shares her own poignant stories, from her childhood in a large Cuban family in Florida and her decision to pursue a career in dance to her big break on So You Think You Can Dance and finally, Strictly Come Dancing. Full of magic and glitter and joy, Tiny Dancer, Big World is a fun and practical guide for learning to embrace self-love and ambition, and how to be your best self in every aspect of your life.

Charting Auguste Rodin’s relationships with the dancers who shaped his signature style and his mythic persona.Juliet Bellow traces Rodin’s interactions with dance makers and performers during his late career (1890-1912) through a series of interrelated case studies. His exchanges with Loïe Fuller, Vaslav Nijinsky, and members of the Cambodian Royal Ballet troupe were central to Rodin’s development of a modern sculptural aesthetic and the construction of his artistic celebrity. But this was not a simple case of one-way influence. These performers actively courted an affiliation with Rodin, wielding sculpture’s cultural authority to move dance from the realm of commercial entertainment to that of “high art.”  Bringing together art history and performance studies, Rodin’s Dancers demonstrates that in their search for innovation, dancers and sculptors experimented with one another’s means of expression, sites of display, and techniques of publicity. The book provides more than a new interpretation of Rodin’s art: it considers how and why the name “Rodin” came to stand for a powerful constellation of ideas about art, authorship, and creative genius within the vibrant spectacle culture of Belle Époque Paris.

A revelatory look at the life, work, and legacy of the legendary choreographer Alvin Ailey  “A rich, multitudinous window into the world of the choreographer Alvin Ailey. . . . It does everything but dance.”—Leah Greenblatt, New York Times  Alvin Ailey is one of the most celebrated choreographers of the twentieth century. The creator of iconic works such as Blues Suite, Revelations, and Cry, he is widely recognized for the dance company he founded in 1958 when he was just twenty-seven years old. Ailey imagined and cultivated a platform for modern dance through his innovative repertoire, interdisciplinary sensibility, and support of dancers and choreographers. This expansive volume situates Ailey within a broader social, creative, and cultural context, looking at the artists who influenced and collaborated with him, the spaces and scenes he frequented, the dynamic themes within his dances, and how his vision and work changed contemporary dance.  Essays by artists, scholars, and critics cover topics ranging from the Black church, the South, and the Great Migration to nightclubs, musical influences, and queerness. With more than four hundred images including photographs of works Ailey choreographed, archival materials such as notebooks, sketches, letters, and never-before-published behind-the-scenes photos, and conversations about the legacy of the company with Sylvia Waters, Judith Jamison, and Masazumi Chaya as well as several contemporary dancers and scholars, this study offers an unprecedented full picture of one of the twentieth century’s leading artists and the way his work continues to inspire today’s generation of dancers.  Distributed for the Whitney Museum of American Art  Exhibition Schedule:  Whitney Museum of American Art, New York(September 25, 2024–February 9, 2025)

YOU, THE CHOREOGRAPHER, Creating and Crafting Dance offers a synthesis of histories, theories, philosophies, and creative practices across diverse genres of concert dance choreography. The book is designed for readers at every stage of creative development who seek to refine their artistic sensibility.Through a review of major milestones in the field, including contributions to choreography from the humanities, arts, and modern sciences, readers will gain new perspectives on the historical development of choreography. Concise analyses of traditional fundamentals and innovative practices of dance construction, artistic research methods, and approaches to artistic collaboration offer readers new tools to build creative habits and expand their choreographic proficiencies.For learners and educators, this is a textbook. For emerging professionals, it is a professional-development tool. For established professionals, it is a companion handbook that reinvigorates inspiration. To all readers it offers a cumulative, systematic understanding of the art of dance making, with a wealth of cross-disciplinary references to create a dynamic map of creative practices in choreography.

YOU, THE CHOREOGRAPHER, Creating and Crafting Dance offers a synthesis of histories, theories, philosophies, and creative practices across diverse genres of concert dance choreography. The book is designed for readers at every stage of creative development who seek to refine their artistic sensibility.Through a review of major milestones in the field, including contributions to choreography from the humanities, arts, and modern sciences, readers will gain new perspectives on the historical development of choreography. Concise analyses of traditional fundamentals and innovative practices of dance construction, artistic research methods, and approaches to artistic collaboration offer readers new tools to build creative habits and expand their choreographic proficiencies.For learners and educators, this is a textbook. For emerging professionals, it is a professional-development tool. For established professionals, it is a companion handbook that reinvigorates inspiration. To all readers it offers a cumulative, systematic understanding of the art of dance making, with a wealth of cross-disciplinary references to create a dynamic map of creative practices in choreography.

Dancing with Merce Cunningham is a buoyant, captivating memoir of a talented dancer’s lifelong friendship with one of the choreographic geniuses of our time.Marianne Preger-Simon’s story begins amid the explosion of artistic creativity that followed World War II. While immersed in the vibrant arts scene of postwar Paris during a college year abroad, Preger-Simon was so struck by the unconventional dance style of choreographer Merce Cunningham that she joined his classes in New York. She soon became an important member of his brand new dance troupe - and a constant friend.Through her experiences in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Preger-Simon offers a rare account of exactly how Cunningham taught and interacted with his students. She describes the puzzled reactions of audiences to the novel non-narrative choreography of the company’s debut performances. She also portrays the relationships among the company’s dancers, designers, and musicians, many of whom - including John Cage, David Tudor, and Carolyn Brown -  would become integral to the avant-garde arts movement, telling tales of their adventures and conversations touring in a VW Microbus across the United States.Finally, reflecting on her connection with Cunningham throughout the latter part of his career, Preger-Simon recalls warm moments that continued to characterize their enduring friendship. Her memoir is an intimate look at the early years of one of the most influential companies in modern American dance and the brilliance of its visionary leader.

Revealing Merce Cunningham’s creative processes as inspiration for today’s dancers and choreographersIn this book, former members of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company detail the technique classes, rehearsal procedures, and compositional approaches that defined Cunningham’s New York studio for more than sixty years. Through firsthand accounts supported by interviews and secondary sources, the authors reveal Cunningham’s creative process—how simple movement phrases introduced in class evolved into the intricate and striking dances that became his signature.The Artistry of Merce Cunningham also offers creative prompts inspired by themes and motifs from Cunningham’s repertory, designed to spark ideas for choreographers and performance artists. It highlights how steady daily practice, curiosity, and experimentation can transform raw movement into complex works of art. By documenting Cunningham’s methods, Daniel Roberts and Karen Eliot provide inspiration for today’s dancers and choreographers as they navigate the materials, technologies, and artistic challenges of the twenty-first century.

This book sheds light on the practice of French choreographer Jérôme Bel, who is active in the fields of performing arts and contemporary art.Shuntaro Yoshida examines a case study of collective creation involving the choreographer and a group of amateur workshop participants. The focus is on Atelier Danse et Voix (Dance and Voice Workshop) (2014) and workshops held with local diverse participants in Brussels, Venice, and Munich after the cancellation of the Dance and Voice Workshop. This study elucidates Bel’s creative method by exploring the relationship between choreographer and participants in a situation where the typical framework of actors has been expanded. The focus of the case study is not so much the choreographic methodology itself, but the relationship between the method and the participants and the ways in which the choreographer cedes creative decision-making power to participants. In order to investigate Bel’s creative method, this study makes use of participant observation field notes taken during a rehearsal. Additional data sources include Bel’s emailed materials, performance programs, and interviews with participants.This book will be of great interest to students and scholars in theater, performance, and dance studies.

Illuminating an understudied avenue of classical reception in the performing arts, this book considers how the long artistic collaboration between one of the greatest dancers and choreographers of recent times and the set designer with whom she worked extensively, can inform a deeper understanding of how artists today refashion their audience's appreciation of classical antiquity. In her many classically-inspired dances, all of which are discussed in this book, Martha Graham transformed Greek myth, creating a “woman-centered” reception of antiquity. In “Night Journey,” her dance based on the Oedipus myth, Jocasta is the central figure, not Oedipus. In "Errand into the Maze," Ariadne takes center stage. It is Clytemnestra, not Agamemnon, who dominates Graham's retelling of the Oresteia, while in “Cave of the Heart,” Medea eclipses Jason.Graham’s interpretations provide a provocative view of Greek myth that counters the traditional privileging of the “male,” and result in a special resonance for contemporary audiences. But these transformations of Greek mythology are also shaped by the influential set designs of Japanese-American sculptor and designer, Isamu Noguchi. Ronnie Ancona therefore considers each dance through the lens of their collaboration, considering how Noguchi’s objects actively participate in the creation of Graham's interpretations. Informed by classical research as well as research in dance and the visual arts, this is a vital work of interdisciplinary scholarship that introduces the classicist to a rich new chapter in classical reception, while informing dance specialists about the classical background of Graham’s use of Greek myth.

As principal dancer with Montréal-based company La La La Human Steps, Louise Lecavalier was among the most iconic dancers of her generation: strong, muscled, androgynous, punk. Moving with spectacular speed, precision and an athletic physicality, her commitment to dancing would ultimately transform the potential of what bodies within Western concert dance could do.Drawing on extensive oral history accounts and archival material, the book follows Lecavalier’s impact on the evolving aesthetic of La La La Human Steps, via the development of its early repertoire, and offers the first sustained account of her 1982 solo Non, Non, Non, je ne suis pas Mary Poppins. More, it tracks diverse influences and sources for the repertoire, complicating understandings of nationalism in Québec, while marking the significance of the collective in generating new aesthetics. What emerges is a portrait of the dancer as artist, icon, labourer and mover of cultural discourse. Featuring an expansive set of photos and ephemera, including performance documentation by photographer/activist Linda Dawn Hammond, production images by choreographer Édouard Lock and street photography by key players in the 1980s Montréal scene, this study offers a critical and celebratory appraisal of Lecavalier’s unique contribution and the role of the dancer more broadly as a producer of culture.

As principal dancer with Montréal-based company La La La Human Steps, Louise Lecavalier was among the most iconic dancers of her generation: strong, muscled, androgynous, punk. Moving with spectacular speed, precision and an athletic physicality, her commitment to dancing would ultimately transform the potential of what bodies within Western concert dance could do.Drawing on extensive oral history accounts and archival material, the book follows Lecavalier’s impact on the evolving aesthetic of La La La Human Steps, via the development of its early repertoire, and offers the first sustained account of her 1982 solo Non, Non, Non, je ne suis pas Mary Poppins. More, it tracks diverse influences and sources for the repertoire, complicating understandings of nationalism in Québec, while marking the significance of the collective in generating new aesthetics. What emerges is a portrait of the dancer as artist, icon, labourer and mover of cultural discourse. Featuring an expansive set of photos and ephemera, including performance documentation by photographer/activist Linda Dawn Hammond, production images by choreographer Édouard Lock and street photography by key players in the 1980s Montréal scene, this study offers a critical and celebratory appraisal of Lecavalier’s unique contribution and the role of the dancer more broadly as a producer of culture.

Straight White Men Can’t Dance: American Masculinity in Film and Popular Culture investigates a trope proliferating throughout popular American media over the last half-century: that straight white men can’t dance.Addie Tsai traces this reiterative moving image of vaudevillian buffoonery in film, television, and video from the mid-1980s to present-day. During the height of homophobic hysteria in response to the AIDS epidemic, dance began to be used as a marker to scrutinize white men’s position within homosexuality and masculinity. Therefore, white men could misperform good dancing to more securely sit within hegemonic masculinity.Tsai establishes how ethnic mimicry within American popular media, even that of white masculinity, is produced and reiterated from the 19th-century theatrical practice of blackface minstrelsy. This history resurfaces in one of the exceptions to the trope: when white men use the hip currency of blackness to affirm their (dancing) masculinity through theft and positionality.By revealing how dance in American popular media reifies and problematizes gendered and racialized economies, Straight White Men Can’t Dance demonstrates how the image of the buffoonish white male dancer operates as a smokescreen for the more violent manipulative forces of the reigning figure of white supremacy.

Straight White Men Can’t Dance: American Masculinity in Film and Popular Culture investigates a trope proliferating throughout popular American media over the last half-century: that straight white men can’t dance.Addie Tsai traces this reiterative moving image of vaudevillian buffoonery in film, television, and video from the mid-1980s to present-day. During the height of homophobic hysteria in response to the AIDS epidemic, dance began to be used as a marker to scrutinize white men’s position within homosexuality and masculinity. Therefore, white men could misperform good dancing to more securely sit within hegemonic masculinity.Tsai establishes how ethnic mimicry within American popular media, even that of white masculinity, is produced and reiterated from the 19th-century theatrical practice of blackface minstrelsy. This history resurfaces in one of the exceptions to the trope: when white men use the hip currency of blackness to affirm their (dancing) masculinity through theft and positionality.By revealing how dance in American popular media reifies and problematizes gendered and racialized economies, Straight White Men Can’t Dance demonstrates how the image of the buffoonish white male dancer operates as a smokescreen for the more violent manipulative forces of the reigning figure of white supremacy.

An auto-ethnographic account of a choreographic praxis developed outside of a Western framework, which engages with identity, decoloniality and transformation from a feminist perspective.Choreographing Rebellion details the methodologies employed in the dramaturgy and performance of 25 choreographic works produced by the author over three decades in South Africa and Japan.Drawing on these lived experiences, jackï job's starting point is the crafting of a signature dance language in 1994, called Daai za Lady, to respond to the oppressive and unjust socio-political system of apartheid in South Africa.The second part speaks to choreographies created in Japan between 2003-2011, where elements of daily life and principles of Butoh are applied to making dance performance. As a South African, the author uniquely offers a first-hand understanding of Butoh in the line of Kazuo and Yoshito Ohno.Her journey returns to South Africa, where the assimilation of Butoh into job’s already existent and ongoing dance practice synergises and enables new meanings of personhood and transformation.Choreographing Rebellion resists singular categorisations of identity too often ascribed to dance performances and communities of people. It draws on psycho-physical practices and personal philosophies of the body, which are placed in dialogue with Giorgio Agamben and Henri Bergson, and argues for the transgressing of human-centric approaches to race, gender and class through a specific animal-human crafting of dance practice.

The Anatomy of Art is a field guide for artists working in dance, theatre and performance.Twelve interrelated drivers of the creative process – including Time, Space, Relationship, Meaning, and Context & Culture – form a working map for inquiry.Through more than 1,000 questions, scores and frameworks, the book activates rehearsal, teaching and performance, keeping choice alive in the body.The book draws on three decades of devised dance and theatre and supports creative work of any scale that calls for bravery, personal vision and rigorous inquiry. It can be opened anywhere and used for a few minutes in the studio or throughout the life of a project.A preface by Marisa Tomei and short offerings from artists across three generations – including Bebe Miller, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, Deborah Hay, Emanuel Gat, and others – add pressure, contrast and lived intelligence.

The Anatomy of Art is a field guide for artists working in dance, theatre and performance.Twelve interrelated drivers of the creative process – including Time, Space, Relationship, Meaning, and Context & Culture – form a working map for inquiry.Through more than 1,000 questions, scores and frameworks, the book activates rehearsal, teaching and performance, keeping choice alive in the body.The book draws on three decades of devised dance and theatre and supports creative work of any scale that calls for bravery, personal vision and rigorous inquiry. It can be opened anywhere and used for a few minutes in the studio or throughout the life of a project.A preface by Marisa Tomei and short offerings from artists across three generations – including Bebe Miller, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, Deborah Hay, Emanuel Gat, and others – add pressure, contrast and lived intelligence.

For a long time, dance scholars and the public were hardly aware that modern dance existed in Russia. This book, however, delves into its presence, significance and survival in the late Tsarist and Soviet era, showing the large and significant positive contribution this made to the history of modern dance.A creation of liberal body politics, ‘free’ or ‘modern’ dance flourished in late Imperial Russia and the early Soviet Union, before the hardening of communist regimes. An ideal embodiment of emancipation, free dance attracted dancers and audiences, including a significant number of modernist artists and intellectuals.This book looks in particular at Isadora Duncan and her impact on Stanislavsky's methods, as well as on the ballet choreographer Michel Fokine. It throws light on Duncan’s Moscow School, biomechanics and many modern dance studios of the time, their role in creating new systems of training – different from ballet – and their creation of a modern dance 'body'.We come to see free dance into the years of Stalin's Cultural Revolution, where choreographers had to adapt to the new ideological environment – a far cry from the previous freedom of modern dance.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER"Sioux’s harrowing reality TV ordeal cuts deep, and her subsequent self-assurance is endearing and infectious. It adds up to an inspiring account of reclaiming artistic agency.” - Publisher’s WeeklyWhen you’ve been told over and over that you belong at the bottom, how do you come out on top? Dance Moms star and triple threat Nia Sioux shows the way via her story of resilience, triumph, and defining success for herself.Young dancer Nia Sioux was only nine years old when she stepped into stardom as one of the original cast members of Lifetime’s reality TV show Dance Moms. Nia learned new choreography week after week and competed against dancers from across the country as well as at her own studio. Perhaps her greatest obstacle was suffering through her dance teacher’s ranking of the girls against each other in her infamous pyramid, where Nia spent the majority of her time on the bottom—all in front of an audience of millions.But there was much that viewers didn’t see. How her experiences in the studio went far beyond what made it into the show. How she was ostracized for not fitting into an aesthetic that wasn’t designed for girls like her. How her friendships and her mental health crumbled under the strain of the show. How she lost control of her story and her voice.But don’t be fooled—this is a story about resilience. Nia is not looking for pity, sympathy, or validation as she reflects on her experiences. Instead, she is choosing to use her story as a celebration of triumph. Nia finally gets to tell her story in her own way and in her own words. In this captivating memoir, Nia reclaims both the spotlight and her narrative.In addition to going behind the scenes of the seven seasons of Dance Moms, she shows how she fought against the negative perceptions that dominated her tween and teen years and emerged as a confident young woman secure in her talents and her direction. Anyone who has ever felt misunderstood, overlooked, or stuck at the bottom of the pyramid will be inspired by Nia’s story of overcoming. “Despite barriers and constant naysayers, assumptions and criticisms, only you know who you are inside and out,” Nia says. “And you have the power to create your own narrative, your own level of success.”

Magic moments and memories from the world capital of dance Ask a Strictly star at the start of their journey what their goal is and the chances are they'll say 'Getting to Blackpool.' The iconic Tower Ballroom has been a Mecca to the ballroom dancing world since 1894, and Strictly's annual trip to the bright lights is a highlight of the series for contestants and viewers alike.Strictly Blackpool takes fans on a trip down memory lane, celebrating the most memorable routines from specials of the past and the dancers' own Blackpool experiences, as well as a behind the scenes glimpse of how the BBC's flagship show is transported to the seaside town every year for the magical ballroom special. There is a fascinating look at the Tower Ballroom's amazing history and secrets - from the circus in the basement to the elephants that lived in the building and bathed on the beach - as well as special photos from the Tower's archives.Bringing together the exciting history of the Ballroom and the magic of the annual Blackpool special, this beautifully-packaged book is a true celebration of Blackpool's dance heritage, and a must-buy for any Strictly fan!

This book of highly original essays addresses the field of movement-based and dance somatics through lenses of ethics and ecology. It is based in methods of phenomenology.A new collection of essays previously published with Intellect as journal articles, with the addition of new essays and editorial material. The text considers body-based somatic education relative to values, virtues, gender fluidity, lived experience, environmental awareness, fairness, and collective well-being. In delineating interdependent values of soma, ecology, and human movement that are newly in progress, the collection conceives links between personal development of subjective knowledge and cultural, critical, and environmental positionality.The text raises questions about defining somatics and self, gender dynamics, movement preferences, normative body conceptions, attention to feelings, inclusiveness, ethics of touch, and emotional intelligence in somatics contexts. I include these crucial concerns of somatics and ethics as relational, globally complex, and ongoing.Like much of Sondra Fraleigh’s writing, these essays utilize phenomenology as a method to investigate embodied relationships—often through lenses of ethics and aesthetics. In providing some examples, the text explores specific values of gratitude, listening, and emotional intelligence in somatic bodywork and learning environments.

This book of highly original essays addresses the field of movement-based and dance somatics through lenses of ethics and ecology. It is based in methods of phenomenology.A new collection of essays previously published with Intellect as journal articles, with the addition of new essays and editorial material. The text considers body-based somatic education relative to values, virtues, gender fluidity, lived experience, environmental awareness, fairness, and collective well-being. In delineating interdependent values of soma, ecology, and human movement that are newly in progress, the collection conceives links between personal development of subjective knowledge and cultural, critical, and environmental positionality.The text raises questions about defining somatics and self, gender dynamics, movement preferences, normative body conceptions, attention to feelings, inclusiveness, ethics of touch, and emotional intelligence in somatics contexts. I include these crucial concerns of somatics and ethics as relational, globally complex, and ongoing.Like much of Sondra Fraleigh’s writing, these essays utilize phenomenology as a method to investigate embodied relationships—often through lenses of ethics and aesthetics. In providing some examples, the text explores specific values of gratitude, listening, and emotional intelligence in somatic bodywork and learning environments.

This deeply accomplished and lively monograph charts the career of a travelling French actor-manager whose impact and significance have been overlooked.The "inimitable Monsieur Francisque" (François Moylin, c. 1690-1770), was an extraordinary actor-manager and key figure in the early eighteenth-century theatre world of both England and France. Leader of a family of gifted performers, including his niece, the famous dancer-choreographer Marie Sallé, he took them to every corner of France and beyond, playing before Louis XV as well as George I and II of England.However, despite his fame among his contemporaries, Francisque's career has been largely overlooked. Robert V. Kenny resurrects Moylin from the footnotes of theatre history with this detailed case-study of an entrepreneurial actor-manager, his troupe and their repertory. Following them from the Paris fairs to the courts of Europe, via one of the worst riots in English theatre history, the book showcases the giddying range of activities and performances undertaken by this family and their associates.Through the careful piecing together of diverse and fragmentary historical records, Kenny reveals the crucial role played by Francisque and his troupe in the conflict between Parisian fairground players and the established theatres, stressing Francisque's major contribution to the development of opéra-comique. This book not only revives Moylin's legacy but enriches our understanding of cross-cultural theatrical exchanges in eighteenth-century Europe.

Get ready to embark on an enchanting journey through the life of Margaret Kelly, the indomitable founder of the iconic Bluebell Girls dance troupe. From the glittering stages of Paris to the hearts of audiences worldwide, Margaret Kelly's journey is a captivating blend of ambition, artistry, and resilience. Discover how she overcame adversity, broke barriers, and created a legacy that continues to inspire generations. With rich anecdotes and vivid storytelling, The Bluebell Story not only chronicles the rise of the Bluebell Girls, but offers a poignant reflection on the power of dreams and the glamour of show business.Join former Fleet Street journalist Sylvia Disley as she celebrates a true pioneer of dance and the vibrant world Miss Bluebell created, proving that, with grit and glamour, anything is possible.

Following an unorthodox first meeting in London in 1964, Patricia Boccadoro got to know Rudolf Nureyev on a personal basis after she moved to live in Paris in the 1970s. In this amusing, informative book, she recounts how exciting it was to see him dance in those heady London years, during his legendary partnership with Margot Fonteyn, before giving a lucid account of his directorship of the Paris Opera Ballet, making it into one of the finest companies in the world.The book culminates with his legacy, demonstrating how, with his extreme intelligence, glamour and passion, he changed the image of the male dancer, making them the equal of the ballerina. Above all, the lively reminiscences of those closest to him, along with a selection of photographs, many rarely seen or unpublished, bring Rudolf to life, casting off the image of a temperamental superstar, and painting a true picture of the immensely kind, fun-loving man behind one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.

In this powerful memoir of resilience, forgiveness, and a mother’s “divine resourcefulness,” a Congolese child-refugee of war searches for belonging while seeking acceptance in diverse American communities. Through the creative and healing power of dance, he is able to navigate his past trauma and transform pain into purpose.Firmly rooted in the rich heritage of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Deo Mwano begins his story with recollections of his hometown Mbanza Ngungu. This city was far from the Zairian capital of Kinshasa, where his father served as an officer aligned with the prominent Zairean General Dantien Mahele, a would-be peacemaker, before the fall of the Mobutu regime. Reflecting on the colonial legacy, the linguistic mélange, the abundant flavors, textures, and music of Zaire, Mwano takes readers on a journey through the conflicts that shaped his childhood, the political upheavals, and war that forcibly resettled his family thousands of miles from his birthplace.In New Hampshire, new struggles emerge as his family works to build a life in America, never far from the memories of the violence they escaped. As Deo shoulders responsibilities beyond his years, he is thrust into early adulthood. Seeking community through faith, refuge in dance, and healing in sharing his story, he searches for a way forward. Anchoring him on this difficult path is his father’s lasting charge: “Take care of the people I love. Take care of your mother and your little brothers.”