Ballet across Borders: Career and Culture in the World of Dancers

Description

This absorbing book is ballet's 'biography' -- a revealing examination of a closed world, its competition and camaraderie, sexual politics, intimacies, pressures and, not least of all, its magic. Ballet companies have endeavoured to hide what is going on backstage lest the reality of highly strung nerves, constant fatigue and pain from injuries tarnish the illusion of ethereal figures and seemingly weightless steps in polished performances. But the audience's perceptions of fairy-tale worlds onstage are far removed from the experiences of the dancers themselves. The author, who trained to be a dancer, has been given an entree to this private world that few outsiders ever see. Books on ballet tend to focus on performance. In contrast, this book, which draws on extensive fieldwork with major companies such as London's Royal Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre in New York, the Royal Swedish Ballet and the Ballett Frankfurt, is about dancers - how their careers are made and unmade and what happens in dance companies offstage. Anyone interested in the culture of ballet or the theatre, as well as students of anthropology, dance, performance and cultural studies, will want to read what really goes on when the curtain comes down.

Helena Wulff Senior Lecturer,Stockholm University

'Ballet Across Borders is path-breaking, opening up new territory in our understanding of the social nature of art by exploring the way art worlds exist in an international space. It lays the groundwork and sets the terms for future research on the increasingly worldwide organization of the arts.' Professor Howard Becker, author of 'Art Worlds' and 'Tricks of the Trade' 'A revealing and straightforward view of the world of ballet, which only an insider would know.' Kevin McKenzie, Artistic Director, American Ballet Theatre 'If one test of an ethnography is for participants to recognise themselves and their world, this ethnography of the Western classical ballet world succeeds amply ... This book is a rare attempt to raise the curtain on backstage activities, revealing tantalising glimpses of this "closed" ballet world.' The Australian Journal of Anthropology 'A wealth of anecdotal information about backstage life.' Ethnos 'Wulff begins with a vivid and interesting remembrance of being spellbound at seeing her first ballet; she discusses exceptional experiences of ballet art as experiences that cannot be permanently suppressed ... The chapter "Classical Ballet Culture" offers some excellent observations from the companies.' Choice