Does anybody know of any memoirs written by professional dancers?
Does anybody know of any memoirs written by professional dancers?
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Does anybody know of any memoirs written by professional dancers?
I just ordered “Distant Dances” by Sono Osato who was a Japanese American dancer. I have no idea if it is any good, but I ordered it because of her being JA which is of personal interest to me. It’s out of print, but I got it through an indie seller on Amazon.
A few of my favorites are: Dancing on my Grave by Gelsey Kirkland, Holding on to the Air by Suzanne Farrell, and Once a Dancer by Allegra Kent.
Dancing on my Grave is the best of the three.
David Hallberg’s book “A Body of Work:Dancing to the Edge and Back” is supposed to be good also, but I haven’t read it yet.
Also, I’ve heard great things about “Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina” by Michaela DePrince. Her story is truly inspiring.
Read ‘Mao’s last dancer’ a while back. No literary masterpiece but a true and touching story.
Try Tops in Taps by Ann Miller. There is another one also. There must be a Ginger Rogers. And probably Gene Kelly.
Look up Modern Dance see who you find.
Life In Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland
I believe Gelsey Kirkland has one. There is also a book from the 70s called Dance Is a Contact Sport, about the New York City Ballet.
Dancing on my Grave was excellent
Push Comes to Shove by Twyla Tharp or Life in Motion by Misty Copeland both are ballerinas
Twyla Tharp has the best book on creativity I have ever read.
It’s fiction, not a memoir but Granny Dan is about a ballerina raised in the Russian ballet from age 6 and was a great read. Granny Dan by Danielle Steele
Hey all thanks for all the awesome suggestions. Perhaps I should have been more specific in my post. I’m an amateur swing dancer and I was looking for something inspiring to keep me going. Unfortunately I don’t thing books on ballet are going to be my first choice.
“Swingin’ At The Savoy: The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer” by Norma Miller https://www.amazon.com/Swingin-at-Savoy-Norma-Miller/dp/1566398495
Misty @Copeland
Life in Motion by Misty Copeland