George Balanchine: The Ballet Maker
by Robert Gottlieb (cont.)
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| If there ever was a god-like figure in the dance world, it was Balanchine-his story, captured in The Ballet Maker, is deftly delivered by the talented messenger, Robert Gottlieb. |
FAR FROM DENMARK
By Peter Martins with Robert Cornfield |
| Generally it is the custom for one to pen their autobiography at the end of their career, not in the middle. But such is not the case with Peter Martins in his wonderful mid-life memoir, Far From Denmark. |
| From age of 8 to 18, Martins studied at the School of the Royal Danish Ballet under the auspices of the legendary Danish ballet master August Bournonville, whose ballet, Far From Denmark, provided Martins with the title of this book. |
| Martins danced with RDB in the mid to late sixties. Dissatisfied with the company's lack of artistic sophistication, Martins, now an international star, accepted the invitation of New York City Ballet's co-founder George Balanchine to join the company as a principal dancer in 1969. Martins gladly accepted, but we learn |
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| that the transition was anything but smooth: Just before he made his debut, Suzanne Farrell, whom he expected to partner with, abruptly left the company to dance in Europe. Worse, Balanchine found Martins style to be reserved and self-conscious and thus refused to cast Martins in any of his new works.
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| After briefly entertaining the notion of leaving NYCB to dance with the American Ballet Theatre, Martins rejected the impulse and, instead, convinced Balanchine to work with him. It was here that Martins came to understand the genius of George Balanchine and the depth of his commitment to his art. Immediately, Martins' style was imbued with a new frankness and strength.
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| Far From Denmark does much to explain Balanchine's true importance to Martins as a choreographer, teacher and role model. We learn that it was these primary factors that impelled Martins to become a choreographer himself.
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| This beautiful memoir is a thoroughly absorbing read, and highly recommended. |
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