Add some dance inspiration to your reading list
Dance inspiration can be found in many places, especially in this digital age. But for me, the greatest inspiration often lies within the pages of a good book. Growing up as a hopeful ballerina-in-training, I lost myself in the pages of memoirs by Gelsey Kirkland and Suzanne Farrell. As I was trying to find myself (again) as an modern dance artist in my college years, the uninhibited writings of Martha Graham and Isadora Duncan freed me from the status quo of suburban Pennsylvania and unleashed my own unique perspectives and creativity. Now, as the mom of a young boy who is starting his own dance journey, I share the stories of great male dancers like Alvin Ailey and Mikhail Baryshnikov with him. (Note: I’ll be publishing a list of kid-friendly biographies and dance books in the coming months. In the meantime, please be advised that many of the titles here contain adult themes and scenarios that may not be appropriate for kids or teens.)
Reading has always been a wonderful escape for me, and there was something particularly magical about escaping into the world of a great dancer or choreographer. If you are feeling a little burnout or frustrated with your dance career, or just want to find some inspiration and motivation, I encourage you to take some time with one of these great dance biographies and memoirs. As you can imagine, there are a LOT of dance biographies and memoirs out there. I’m focusing on dancers and choreographers in the ballet and modern dance genres in this blog post. Stay tuned for part 2 with jazz, theatre dance, and tap biographies!
About the books on this list
In this blog post, I’ve compiled a list of biographies and memoirs of great figures in ballet and modern dance: dancers, choreographers, company directors, and more. Many of the books are ones I’ve read over and over again, others are on my to-read list. I know or have worked with some of the authors, others are people I admire in the industry. This list is in no way comprehensive, it’s merely a start! There are so many great dance biographies and memoirs that everyone in the dance industry should read. Am I missing a must-read? Please add it in the comments! Thank you!
This blog post contains affiliate links for Bookshop.org, where you can purchase each book (if available). Bookshop.org “began as an idea to help support bookstores and their communities at a time when more and more people were buying their books online. We had a better idea — give readers the convenience of online shopping while supporting independent bookstores at the same time.” I am a huge believer in the importance of local shopping, and in particular local bookstores. I invite you to support these shops by making a purchase through the links provided if you are interested in any of the back-to-dance books below. If you prefer to shop Amazon.com, I’ve also included affiliate links to purchase the books through that platform. When you purchase from either site, you’ll help support my blog, newsletter, and social media resources. I receive a small commission from sales through these links, at no extra cost to you, and that support helps make my work possible. Thank you!
Recommended Reading: Dance Biographies and Memoirs
By
I was devastated to learn of Michaela DePrince’s passing last year. She was a model of resilience, determination, and perhaps most importantly – advocating for others and making a difference in the world. This book will leave you inspired and encouraged to use your art form for good!
“Michaela DePrince was known as girl Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a “devil child” for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But it was at the orphanage that Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would help change the course of her life. At the age of four, Michaela was adopted by an American family, who encouraged her love of dancing and enrolled her in classes. She went on to study at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre and is now the youngest principal dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She has appeared in the ballet documentary First Position, as well as on Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America, and Nightline.
In this engaging, moving, and unforgettable memoir, Michaela shared her dramatic journey from an orphan in West Africa to becoming one of ballet’s most exciting rising stars.”
- Purchase Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina on Bookshop.com
- Purchase Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina on Amazon
By Martha Graham
“Martha Graham was an American dancer and choreographer regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance, and is widely considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Graham invented a new language of movement, and used it to reveal the passion, the rage and the ecstasy common to human experience. She danced and choreographed for over seventy years, and during that time was the first dancer ever to perform at The White House, the first dancer ever to travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and the first dancer ever to receive the highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom. In her lifetime she received honors ranging from the key to the City of Paris to Japan’s Imperial Order of the Precious Crown.” In Blood Memory, she “describes her childhood, her days with the Denishawn Dance Company, her tragic marriage, her own company, and her work with such artists as Chaplin, Louise Brooks, Aaron Copland, and Margot Fonteyn.”
- Not available on Bookshop.org at this time
- Purchase Blood Memory on Amazon
Nureyev: The Life
By Julie Kavanagh
and The Shape of Love
By Gelsey Kirkland
These were books that I could not put down as teenage dancer. Looking back, the content was probably NOT appropriate for a high schooler! But, reading about the struggles, tribulations, and ultimate triumph of such an iconic dancer helped me feel more capable of handling my own frustrations with dance. If you grew up obsessively watching Gelsey on old VHS recordings of The Nutcracker like I did, you’ll definitely want to check these books out!
- Not available on Bookshop.com at this time
- Purchase Dancing on My Grave on Amazon
- Purchase The Shape of Love on Amazon
Private Domain: An Autobiography
By Paul Taylor
“Iconic modern dance choreographer (my personal favorite!) Paul Taylor “explores aspects of himself that have affected his work. He delves into the creation of Aureole and From Sea to Shining Sea, from their initial inception to the ways in which specific dancers influenced the choreography, including such notables as Pina Bausch, Laura Dean, David Parsons, Twyla Tharp, Dan Wagoner, Senta Driver–all of whom went on to form their own companies–and others–Bettie de Jong, Nicholas Gunn, and Carolyn Adams–who remained as much a part of the Taylor style as the choreography itself. Taylor writes with sincerity, wit, and charm of his associations with Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Jerome Robbins, Anthony Tudor, George Balanchine, and many others.”
José Limón: An Unfinished Memoir
By José Limón
“A captivating illustrated autobiography of the early years of a major American choreographer. Both as a dancer and a choreographer, José Limón electrified audiences from the1930s to the 1960s. With his striking looks and charismatic presence, he was American modern dance’s first male star. Born in Culiacán, Mexico, in 1908, the eldest of twelve children, he came to the United States when he was seven. In 1928, after a year at UCLA as an art major, he left for New York. Here, he attended his first modern dance concert and discovered his destiny. He spent the 1930s with the Humphrey-Weidman group. Then, in the 1940s, after a stint in the army, and with Doris Humphrey as artistic advisor, he formed one of the outstanding modern dance companies of the postwar era. His greatest works — The Moor’s Pavane, La Malinche, The Traitor, A Choreographic Offering, There is a Time, Missa Brevis — extolled a humanism that endeared them to audiences the world over. Although Limón died in 1972, all these dances remain in the Limón Dance Company’s active repertory. This memoir was commissioned by Wesleyan University Press in the late 1960s. Left unfinished at the time of Limón’s death, it stands on its own as a Joycean account of the coming of age of an unusually perceptive dance artist. Limón writes with eloquence of his Mexican childhood. And of the numerous figures he memorializes, from Martha Graham to José Covarrubias, none is more luminously evoked than Doris Humphrey, the “goddess,” “nymph,” and “caryatid” of his life. Sensitively edited by Lynn Garafola, the book includes a complete list of Limón’s works, richly informative notes, rare photographs, and a detailed bibliography. This is the single most important book on Limón and a riveting memoir of modern dance during its golden age.”
By Gladys Malvern
“In this biographical novel, Gladys Malvern shares the incredible story of Anna Pavlova, one of the most revered and celebrated ballerinas of all time. Malvern presents Pavlova’s life in enchanting prose, allowing the reader to experience Pavlova’s inspirational first exposure to a performance of Sleeping Beauty, the origination of her defining dance The Dying Swan, her illustrious rise to fame as a prima ballerina, and her extensive world tours.”
By Joanna Dee Das
“One of the most important dance artists of the twentieth century, dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) created works that thrilled audiences the world over. As an African American woman, she broke barriers of race and gender, most notably as the founder of an important dance company that toured the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia for several decades. Through both her company and her schools, she influenced generations of performers for years to come, from Alvin Ailey to Marlon Brando to Eartha Kitt. Dunham was also one of the first choreographers to conduct anthropological research about dance and translate her findings for the theatrical stage. Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora makes the argument that Dunham was more than a dancer-she was an intellectual and activist committed to using dance to fight for racial justice. Dunham saw dance as a tool of liberation, as a way for people of African descent to reclaim their history and forge a new future. She put her theories into motion not only through performance, but also through education, scholarship, travel, and choices about her own life. Author Joanna Dee Das examines how Dunham struggled to balance artistic dreams, personal desires, economic needs, and political commitments in the face of racism and sexism. The book analyzes Dunham’s multiple spheres of engagement, assessing her dance performances as a form of black feminist protest while also presenting new material about her schools in New York and East St. Louis, her work in Haiti, and her network of interlocutors that included figures as diverse as ballet choreographer George Balanchine and Senegalese president Léopold Sédar Senghor. It traces Dunham’s influence over the course of several decades from the New Negro Movement of the 1920s to the Black Power Movement of the late 1960s and beyond. By drawing on a vast, never-utilized trove of archival materials along with oral histories, choreographic analysis, and embodied research, Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora offers new insight about how this remarkable woman built political solidarity through the arts.”
- Purchase Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora on Bookshop.org
- Purchase Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora on Amazon
By
“A beautiful photo-portrait of ballet superstar Marianela Nuñez, the Argentine-born Principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, with words by Marianela herself. Marianela Nuñez is an international ballet superstar. The Argentine-born Principal dancer of the Royal Ballet is lauded for her dazzling classical technique, lustrous artistry and charisma. When Marianela met photographer Maria-Helena Buckley, something clicked: in the snap of a camera and a connection of minds, they embarked on a ballet voyage together. This stunning book is a unique combination of photography and of dance. Buckley’s images capture the unique qualities of ballet that Nuñez so radiantly embodies.”
By Alvin Ailey
“Alvin Ailey as a choreographic giant in the modern dance world and a champion of African-American talent and culture. His interracial Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater provided opportunities to black dancers and choreographers when no one else would. His acclaimed Revelations” remains one of the most performed modern dance pieces in the twentieth century. But he led a tortured life, filled with insecurity and self-loathing. Raised in poverty in rural Texas by his single mother, he managed to find success early in his career, but by the 1970s his creativity had waned. He turned to drugs, alcohol, and gay bars and suffered a nervous breakdown in 1980. He was secretive about his private life, including his homosexuality, and, unbeknownst to most at the time, died from AIDS-related complications at age 58.Now, for the first time, the complete story of Ailey’s life and work is revealed in this biography. Based on his personal journals and hundreds of interviews with those who knew him, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Judith Jamison, Lena Horne, Katherine Dunham, Sidney Poitier, and Dustin Hoffman, Alvin Ailey is a moving story of a man who wove his life and culture into his dance.”
- Purchase Alvin Ailey: A Life in Dance on Bookshop.org
- Purchase Alvin Ailey: A Life in Dance on Amazon
By Isadora Duncan
“The visionary choreographer and dancer Isadora Duncan (1877–1927) not only revolutionized dance in the twentieth century but blazed a path for other visionaries who would follow in her wake. While many biographies have explored Duncan’s crucial role as one of the founders of modern dance, no other book has proved as critical―as both historical record and vivid evocation of a riveting life―as her autobiography. From her early enchantment with classical music and poetry to her great successes abroad, to her sensational love affairs and headline-grabbing personal tragedies, Duncan’s story is a dramatic one. My Life still stands alone as “a great document, revealing the truth of her life as she understood it, without reticence or apology or compromise” (New York Herald Tribune). Now, in this fully restored edition, with its risqué recollections and fervent idealism, My Life can be appreciated by a new generation.”
By Karen Valby
“At the height of the Civil Rights movement, Lydia Abarca was a Black prima ballerina with a major international dance company—the Dance Theatre of Harlem, a troupe of women and men who became each other’s chosen family. She was the first Black company ballerina on the cover of Dance magazine, an Essence cover star; she was cast in The Wiz and in a Bob Fosse production on Broadway. She performed in some of ballet’s most iconic works with other trailblazing ballerinas, including the young women who became her closest friends—founding Dance Theatre of Harlem members Gayle McKinney-Griffith and Sheila Rohan, as well as first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells. These Swans of Harlem performed for the Queen of England, Mick Jagger, and Stevie Wonder, on the same bill as Josephine Baker, at the White House, and beyond. But decades later there was almost no record of their groundbreaking history to be found. Out of a sisterhood that had grown even deeper with the years, these Swans joined forces again—to share their story with the world. Captivating, rich in vivid detail and character, and steeped in the glamour and grit of professional ballet, The Swans of Harlem is a riveting account of five extraordinarily accomplished women, a celebration of both their historic careers and the sustaining, grounding power of female friendship, and a window into the robust history of Black ballet, hidden for too long.”
By Suzanne Farrell with Toni Bentley
“Suzanne Farrell, world-renowned ballerina, was one of George Balanchine’s most celebrated muses and remains a legendary figure in the ballet world. This memoir, first published in 1990 and reissued with a new preface by the author, recounts Farrell’s transformation from a young girl in Ohio dreaming of greatness to the realization of that dream on stages all over the world. Central to this transformation was her relationship with George Balanchine, who invited her to join the New York City Ballet in the fall of 1961 and was in turn inspired by her unique combination of musical, physical, and dramatic gifts. He created masterpieces for her in which the limits of ballet technique were expanded to a degree not seen before. By the time she retired from the stage in 1989, Farrell had achieved a career that is without precedent in the history of ballet. One third of her repertory of more than 100 ballets were composed expressly for her by such notable choreographers as Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Maurice Bejart. Farrell recalls professional and personal attachments and their attendant controversies with a down-to-earth frankness and common sense that complements the glories and mysteries of her artistic achievement.”
By
“Why do I dance? Dance is my medicine. It’s the scream which eases for a while the terrible frustration common to all human beings who because of race, creed, or color, are ‘invisible’. Dance is the fist with which I fight the sickening ignorance of prejudice.”—Pearl Primus
“Pearl Primus (1919–1994) blazed onto the dance scene in 1943 with stunning works that incorporated social and racial protest into their dance aesthetic. In The Dance Claimed Me, Peggy and Murray Schwartz, friends and colleagues of Primus, offer an intimate perspective on her life and explore her influences on American culture, dance, and education. They trace Primus’s path from her childhood in Trinidad, through her rise as an influential international dancer, an early member of the New Dance Group (whose motto was “Dance is a weapon”), and a pioneer in dance anthropology. Primus traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, Israel, the Caribbean, and Africa, and she played an important role in presenting authentic African dance to American audiences. She engendered controversy in both her private and professional lives, marrying a white Jewish man during a time of segregation and challenging black intellectuals who opposed the “primitive” in her choreography. Her political protests and mixed-race tours in the South triggered an FBI investigation, even as she was celebrated by dance critics and by contemporaries like Langston Hughes and Paul Robeson. For The Dance Claimed Me, the Schwartzes interviewed more than a hundred of Primus’s family members, friends, and fellow artists—among them Maya Angelou, Geoffrey Holder, Judith Jamison, Donald McKayle, and Archbishop Granville Williams—to create a vivid portrayal of a life filled with passion, drama, determination, fearlessness, and brilliance.”
By Allegra Kent
“Allegra Kent joined the New York City Ballet at age 15 and within two years had become one of Balanchine’s favorite dancers, inspiring numerous works including The Unanswered Question. By turns beautiful, sensuous, and mysterious on stage, her life was as dramatic as her dancing style: marrying at age twenty and having three children in the middle of her career; battling an overbearing mother, depression, and financial troubles; and experiencing health problems. Fired from the company on the day Balanchine died, she remains one of the most influential and inspiring principal dancers from the early years of the New York City Ballet.”
By Helen Caldwell
“How did Michio Ito–charismatic dancer, choreographer, and theatre director-become the “forgotten pioneer of American modern dance”? Ito was born in Tokyo in 1893 and died there in 1961. His life was extraordinary in its artistic accomplishments, visionary ideas, and disastrous experiences. From childhood, Ito tended to exaggerate actual adventures and fabricate stories, many of which he repeated in interviews and in his own “autobiographical” essays.”
“In a post World War II memoire, Ito wrote: “Japan is the land of my birth. America gave me my education and reared me. That these two countries should be at war astounded and confused me. As time passed the seriousness of this situation filled me with a trembling fear. As an artist, my hope was to build a bridge between Japan and America…so that a new and higher civilization could be developed. That such a destiny could be fulfilled was my fondest dream.”
- Not available on Bookshop.org at this time
- Purchase Michio Ito: The Dancer and His Dances on Amazon
By Jacques D’Amboise
“In this rich, expansive, spirited memoir, Jacques d’Amboise, one of America’s most celebrated classical dancers, and former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet for more than three decades, tells the extraordinary story of his life in dance, and of America’s most renowned and admired dance companies. He writes of his classical studies beginning at the age of eight at The School of American Ballet. At twelve he was asked to perform with Ballet Society; three years later he joined the New York City Ballet and made his European debut at London’s Covent Garden. As George Balanchine’s protégé, d’Amboise had more works choreographed on him by “the supreme Ballet Master” than any other dancer, among them Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux;Episodes; A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream; Jewels; Raymonda Variations. He writes of his boyhood—born Joseph Ahearn—in Dedham, Massachusetts; his mother (“the Boss”) moving the family to New York City’s Washington Heights; dragging her son and daughter to ballet class (paying the teacher $7.50 from hats she made and sold on street corners, and with chickens she cooked stuffed with chestnuts); his mother changing the family name from Ahearn to her maiden name, d’Amboise (“It’s aristocratic. It has the ‘d’ apostrophe. It sounds better for the ballet, and it’s a better name”). We see him, a neighborhood tough, in Catholic schools being taught by the nuns; on the streets, fighting with neighborhood gangs, and taking ten classes a week at the School of American Ballet. D’Amboise writes about Balanchine’s succession of ballerina muses who inspired him to near-obsessive passion and led him to create extraordinary ballets, dancers with whom d’Amboise partnered—Maria Tallchief; Tanaquil LeClercq, a stick-skinny teenager who blossomed into an exquisite, witty, sophisticated “angel” with her “long limbs and dramatic, mysterious elegance . . .”; the iridescent Allegra Kent; Melissa Hayden; Suzanne Farrell, who Balanchine called his “alabaster princess,” her every fiber, every movement imbued with passion and energy; Kay Mazzo; Kyra Nichols (“She’s perfect,” Balanchine said. “Uncomplicated—like fresh water”); and Karin von Aroldingen, to whom Balanchine left most of his ballets. D’Amboise writes about dancing with and courting one of the company’s members, who became his wife for fifty-three years, and the four children they had . . . On going to Hollywood to make Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and being offered a long-term contract at MGM (“If you’re not careful,” Balanchine warned, “you will have sold your soul for seven years”) . . . On Jerome Robbins (“Jerry could be charming and complimentary, and then, five minutes later, attack, and crush your spirit—all to see how it would influence the dance movements”). D’Amboise writes of the moment when he realizes his dancing career is over and he begins a new life and new dream teaching children all over the world about the arts through the magic of dance. A riveting, magical book, as transformative as dancing itself.”
By Misty Copeland
“Determination meets dance in this New York Times bestselling memoir by the history-making ballerina Misty Copeland, recounting the story of her journey to become the first African-American principal ballerina at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. When she first placed her hands on the barre at an after-school community center, no one expected the undersized, underprivileged, and anxious thirteen-year-old to become one of America’s most groundbreaking dancers . A true prodigy, she was attempting in months roles that take most dancers years to master. But when Misty became caught between the control and comfort she found in the world of ballet and the harsh realities of her own life, she had to choose to embrace both her identity and her dreams, and find the courage to be one of a kind. With an insider’s passion, Misty opens a window into the life of an artist who lives life center stage, from behind the scenes at her first classes to her triumphant roles in some of the world’s most iconic ballets. A sensational memoir as “sensitive” and “clear-eyed” (The Washington Post) as her dancing, Life in Motion is a story of passion, identity and grace for anyone who has dared to dream of a different life.”
By Misty Copeland
From celebrated ballerina and New York Times bestselling author Misty Copeland, a heartfelt memoir about her friendship with trailblazer Raven Wilkinson which captures the importance of mentorship, shared history, and honoring the past to ensure a stronger future. Misty Copeland made history as the first African-American principal ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre. Her talent, passion, and perseverance enabled her to make strides no one had accomplished before. But as she will tell you, achievement never happens in a void. Behind her, supporting her rise was her mentor Raven Wilkinson. Raven had been virtually alone in her quest to breach the all-white ballet world when she fought to be taken seriously as a Black ballerina in the 1950s and 60s. A trailblazer in the world of ballet decades before Misty’s time, Raven faced overt and casual racism, hostile crowds, and death threats for having the audacity to dance ballet. The Wind at My Back tells the story of two unapologetically Black ballerinas, their friendship, and how they changed each other—and the dance world—forever. Misty Copeland shares her own struggles with racism and exclusion in her pursuit of this dream career and honors the women like Raven who paved the way for her but whose contributions have gone unheralded. She celebrates the connection she made with her mentor, the only teacher who could truly understand the obstacles she faced, beyond the technical or artistic demands. A beautiful and wise memoir of intergenerational friendship and the impressive journeys of two remarkable women, The Wind at My Back captures the importance of mentorship, of shared history, and of respecting the past to ensure a stronger future.
By Merce Cunningham
“Leading dance innovator Merce Cunningham not only describes his development as a dancer and choreographer, but also discusses individual compositions including Torse, Inlets and Squaregameâ revealing a great deal about his collaborations with such modern masters as John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, David Tudor, Jasper Johns and Morris Graves.”
- Not available on Bookshop.com at this time
- Purchase The Dancer and the Dance on Amazon
By Georgina Pazcoguin
“In this love letter to the art of dance and the sport that has been her livelihood, NYCB’s first Asian American female soloist Georgina Pazcoguin lays bare her unfiltered story of leaving small-town Pennsylvania for New York City and training amid the unique demands of being a hybrid professional athlete/artist, all before finishing high school. She pitches us into the fascinating, whirling shoes of dancers in one of the most revered ballet companies in the world with an unapologetic sense of humor about the cutthroat, survival-of-the-fittest mentality at NYCB. Some swan dives are literal: even in the ballet, there are plenty of face-plants, backstage fights, late-night parties, and raucous company bonding sessions. Rocked by scandal in the wake of the #MeToo movement, NYCB sits at an inflection point, inching toward progress in a strictly traditional culture, and Pazcoguin doesn’t shy away from ballet’s dark side. She continues to be one of the few dancers openly speaking up against the sexual harassment, mental abuse, and racism that in the past went unrecognized or was tacitly accepted as par for the course―all of which she has painfully experienced firsthand. Tying together Pazcoguin’s fight for equality in the ballet with her infectious and deeply moving passion for her craft, Swan Dive is a page-turning, one-of-a-kind account that guarantees you’ll never view a ballerina or a ballet the same way again.”
- Purchase Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina on Amazon
- Purchase Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina on Bookshop.com
By Annie-B Parson
“Soloing on the page, choreographer Annie-B Parson rethinks choreography as dance on paper. Parson draws her dances into new graphic structures calling attention to the visual facts of the materiality of each dance work she has made. These drawings serve as both maps of her pieces in the aftermath of performance, and a consideration of the elements of dance itself. Divided into three chapters, the book opens with diagrams of the objects in each of her pieces grouped into chart-structures. These charts reconsider her dances both from the perspective of the resonance of things, and for their abstract compositional properties. In chapter two, Parson delves into the choreographic mind, charting such ideas as an equality in the perception of objects and movement, and the poetics of a kinetic grammar. Charts of erasure, layering and language serve as dynamic and prismatic tools for dance making. Lastly, nodding to the history of chance operations in dance, Parson creates a generative card game of 52 compositional elements for artists of any medium to cut out and play as a method for creating new material. Within the duality of form and content, this book explores the meanings that form itself holds, and Parson’s visual maps of choreographic ideas inspire new thinking around the shared elements underneath all art making.”
- Purchase Drawing the Surface of Dance on Bookshop.com
- Purchase Drawing the Surface of Dance on Amazon
By Dana Tai Soon Burgess
“Renowned Korean American modern-dance choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess shares his deeply personal hyphenated world and how his multifaceted background drives his prolific art-making in Chino and the Dance of the Butterfly. The memoir traces how his choreographic aesthetic, based on the fluency of dance and the visual arts, was informed by his early years in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This insightful journey delves into an artist’s process that is inspired by the intersection of varying cultural perspectives, stories, and experiences. Candid and intelligent, Burgess gives readers the opportunity to experience up close the passion for art and dance that has informed his life.”
- Purchase Chino and the Dance of the Butterfly on Bookshop.com
- Purchase Chino and the Dance of the Butterfly on Amazon
By Sasha Anawalt
“The Joffrey Ballet is a comprehensive history of the quintessential American dance troupe and a textured portrait of Robert Joffrey, the creative maverick who led and inspired it. Broadly researched, richly anecdotal, and elegantly written, The Joffrey Ballet probes the complex relationship that exists between a culture and its artists through the prism of this company’s story.”
- Not available on Bookshop.com at this time
- Purchase The Joffrey Ballet on Amazon
Am I missing your favorite dance biography or memoir? Please share it in the comments!
Can’t get enough dance books? Check out my other reading lists:
- Recommended Reading: Books on Jazz Dance
- Recommended Reading: Books on Choreography and Creative Practice
- Recommended Reading: Books on Dance Pedagogy and Teaching Practice
- Recommended Reading: Books for Back-to-Dance Season
Visit my Resources page for tools that support a holistic teaching and creative practice, sign up for my monthly newsletter, or join me on Facebook at The Holistic Dance Teacher.
