There is never a dull moment in this collection of interviews with dancers associated in one way or another with the various companies collectively described as the ‘Ballets Russes’. The book tells their story from the Diaghilev period, through the de Basil, Blum and Denham years, right up to the final days of the Marquis de Cuevas’ company, and concludes with an ‘Afterword’ with John Neumeier. Tamara Karsavina, who died in 1978, is included, by means of an interview with her friend the dancer Rachel Cameron, but it is the later generations, from Alexandra Danilova (born 1903) to Maina Gielgud (born 1945) that are best represented. (more…)
October 6, 2019
Behind the Scenes at the Ballets Russes: stories from a silver age, by Michael Meylac, translated by Rosanna Kelly – Maggie Watson reviews
Posted by susiecrow under Dance and Academia, reviews | Tags: Alicia Markova, Anatoly Joukowsky, ballet, Ballets Russes, Behind the Scenes at the Ballets Russes: stories from a silver age, Ethéry Pagava, Hélène Sadowska, I B Tauris, Ismene Brown, Jean Babilée, John Neumeier, Léonide Massine, Lubov Egorova, Maina Gielgud, Michael Meylac, Natasha Krassovska, Nicholas Polajenko, Nini Theilade, Olga Preobrajenska, oral history, Rachel Cameron, Rosanna Kelly, Tamara Geva, Tamara Karsavina, Tamara Toumanova, Tatiana Leskova |1 Comment