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101 Stories of the Great Ballets: The Scene-by-Scene Stories of the Most Popular Ballets, Old and New
Authored by one of the ballet's most respected experts, this volume includes scene-by-scene retellings of the most popular classic and contemporary ballets, as performed by the world's leading dance companies. Certain to delight long-time fans as well as those just discovering the beauty and drama of ballet.
541 pages, Paperback
First published May 20, 1975
About the author
George Balanchine
13 books20 followersGeorge Balanchine, originally Georgi Balanchivadze, Russian-American artistic director of the ballet of New York City in 1948, choreographed more than one hundred, including
Firebird
(1949) and
Don Quixote
(1965).
George Balanchine of Georgian parentage of the 20th century foremost pioneered in the United States, co-founded and mastered. His deep knowledge of classical forms and techniques based his modern creative work. He expressed, not illustrated, music in dance and worked extensively with Igor Stravinsky, his contemporary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...
George Balanchine of Georgian parentage of the 20th century foremost pioneered in the United States, co-founded and mastered. His deep knowledge of classical forms and techniques based his modern creative work. He expressed, not illustrated, music in dance and worked extensively with Igor Stravinsky, his contemporary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 26, 2014
This book was obviously written for serious balletomanes and dancers, as some bits will be hard to follow unless you understand dance terminology. As a dancer myself, I find it really useful. You get spare, clean plot paraphrases with a decided lack of the busy pink illustrations so common in books of this nature. My complaint, however, is that there is a lot of page space given to obscure then-modern ballets not often performed today. It doesn't contain many of the older ballets brought up in dance history books, which is what I'd like to use it for. Because who really knows the plot of Paquita or Raymonda??? (Other than that they're supposed to be fabulously stupid.) Still, good resource for neat, alphabetical referencing. Also, with ballets that have multiple versions, a summary of each major one is provided. Very thoughtful
February 11, 2013
This book is a great expansion of knowledge about the great ballets. Once you have read the entire book, you realize how many ballets that you were unaware of. Which is really cool to discover and is a great challenge with some ballet words. I would recommend a ballet dictionary to help you, just in case. I would definitely recommend it to a friend that is interested in a ballet informational book!
November 19, 2023
I bought this book because I had recently bought 100 Great Operas and Their Stories by Henry W. Simon and LOVED IT. Because I was competing in a national trivia competition in Las Vegas, and I knew as little about ballet as opera, I decided to purchase this book on Amazon.
But as far as the writing goes, it couldn't be more different from Simon's book on opera. George Balanchine, one of the most famous ballet producers and choreographers or all-time, wrote a book that feels entirely inaccessible and boring.
Whereas Henry Simon wrote concise and entertaining summaries of famous operas, Balanchine dove deep into the inner workings and meanings of these works. This is fine if you're a dancer listening to a director in a rehearsal, or a ballet lover in an audience listening to a lecture. But for someone like me, who simply wanted to learn about these works, it was pretty much worthless.
Of course, this assessment probably isn't entirely fair....the stories in operas are slightly more coherent than ballets, on the whole. Ballets, which have no dialogue, really only need a semblance of a story, and nothing more.
It's also somewhat unfair in that Simon was a critic: he was paid to write about opera. Balanchine was a director: his passion was bringing these dances to life on stage. He wasn't a writer for the general audience....which is easily seen here.
But none of this changes the fact that for me, aside from reading the Table of Contents to see which ballets I should read about on Wikipedia, this book is completely worthless for me.
But as far as the writing goes, it couldn't be more different from Simon's book on opera. George Balanchine, one of the most famous ballet producers and choreographers or all-time, wrote a book that feels entirely inaccessible and boring.
Whereas Henry Simon wrote concise and entertaining summaries of famous operas, Balanchine dove deep into the inner workings and meanings of these works. This is fine if you're a dancer listening to a director in a rehearsal, or a ballet lover in an audience listening to a lecture. But for someone like me, who simply wanted to learn about these works, it was pretty much worthless.
Of course, this assessment probably isn't entirely fair....the stories in operas are slightly more coherent than ballets, on the whole. Ballets, which have no dialogue, really only need a semblance of a story, and nothing more.
It's also somewhat unfair in that Simon was a critic: he was paid to write about opera. Balanchine was a director: his passion was bringing these dances to life on stage. He wasn't a writer for the general audience....which is easily seen here.
But none of this changes the fact that for me, aside from reading the Table of Contents to see which ballets I should read about on Wikipedia, this book is completely worthless for me.
December 30, 2010
Ahh, ballet. My love. I've been looking for a book like this for so long- the stories of ballets. This book is a compilation of just that, from Cinderella to Symphonic Variations, Billy the Kid to Who Cares? and all in between. It also has some notes on the construction of the ballet, reviews and the like.
Of course, this is now very outdated. It was last updated in the early 70s. It could most definitely do with a revision, or at least another edition. Or perhaps somebody else could release another book, with more updated ballets. But it's still very nice to have around if you're a balletomane like myself.
Of course, this is now very outdated. It was last updated in the early 70s. It could most definitely do with a revision, or at least another edition. Or perhaps somebody else could release another book, with more updated ballets. But it's still very nice to have around if you're a balletomane like myself.
April 1, 2007
When you need to know the story behind a ballet, this is the book to turn to. An enjoyable read, but I used it only as a reference for a number of years before actually picking it up and reading it cover to cover.
January 31, 2013
I was so young when I read (most of) it, but I was taking ballet at the time and it was given to me as a gift. Some holes in my stories were evident as I tried to tell my son Joseph what was going on, during what part, that I resolved to reread. I will be ready when he is (to sit still that long).
February 22, 2016
Unsurprising considering Balanchine was one of the authors this book focused mainly on his ballets and did not provide the detailed stories I was hoping for about some of the major classical works or the modern works of other companies.
February 26, 2019
Never have I read a book on ballet written with such clarity and detail. Everything you need to know about the subject, you will find right here, whether you're a professional, an enthusiast or a layman looking to learn a thing or two.
Love it!
Love it!
March 23, 2007
There wasn't really a point to this book. If you love ballet, it's probably not for the plots of the stories they're based on.
April 10, 2013
A great basic resource.
One-stop shopping!
One-stop shopping!
September 26, 2023
This is a great ‘go to’ guide before heading to the ballet, and it makes me look smart with my friends, when I can talk about the characters, the plot line and a bit of history!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews