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The lights, the velvet curtain, the spotlight, the graceful dancers—nothing beats going to the ballet for the very first time. In this beautiful picture book, Deanna Caswell and Elizabeth Matthews conspire to recreate all the joy and wonder of the first theatrical experience, for children to relive again and again. /DIVDIV

From barres and ballet shoes to plies and performances—a step-by-step introduction to the magic of ballet

Discover 8 of the world's greatest ballets!

Retellings of seven of the world's greatest ballet stories.

For centuries before the 1789 revolution, ballet was a source of great cultural pride for France, but by the twentieth century the art form had deteriorated along with France's international standing. It was not until Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes found success in Paris during the first decade of the new century that France embraced the opportunity to restore ballet to its former glory and transform it into a hallmark of the nation. In When Ballet Became French, Ilyana Karthas explores the revitalization of ballet and its crucial significance to French culture during a period of momentous transnational cultural exchange and shifting attitudes towards gender and the body. Uniting the disciplines of cultural history, gender and women's studies, aesthetics, and dance history, Karthas examines the ways in which discussions of ballet intersect with French concerns about the nation, modernity, and gender identities, demonstrating how ballet served as an important tool for France's project of national renewal. Relating ballet commentary to themes of transnationalism, nationalism, aesthetics, gender, and body politics, she examines the process by which critics, artists, and intellectuals turned ballet back into a symbol of French culture. The first book to study the correlation between ballet and French nationalism, When Ballet Became French demonstrates how dance can transform a nation's cultural and political history.

A pathbreaking social history that takes seriously the experiences of the countless everyday people who pursued recreational ballet, Ballet Class: An American History explores the growth of this now quintessential extracurricular activity as it became an integral part of American childhood across borders of gender, class, race, and sexuality.

A professional dancer's career, like a professional athlete's, lasts an average of 10 to 15 years. Once the prime years of physical prowess have passed, retirement is inevitable, but dancers still have many years of adult life ahead. The challenge for many is making the transition into a new career. Motivated by her own career transition, author Nancy Upper interviewed former ballet dancers who made successful transitions into new careers after they stopped performing. Part 1 of the book features dancers who remained in ballet-related careers. Part 2 features four individuals who chose careers outside the field of dance. Part 3 focuses on dancers who pursued non-dance careers that help dancers and other performing artists. Appendices include the marketable qualities dancers develop as a result of their training, career transition tips, transition resources, and a graph mapping the transition process.

A history of the development of ballet from the origins of dance through the 20th century.