Dance Anecdotes
Stories from the Worlds of Ballet, Broadway, the Ballroom, and Modern Dance
Edited by Mindy Aloff
Reviews and Awards
"A heartfelt homage to dance's best.... Browsing these pages will make an afternoon disappear."—Dance Magazine -
"It is wonderful to read a book which takes you past the curtain, not back stage, but into the very heart and soul of the dancer." — Yvonne Marceau, Founder of the American Ballroom Theater and Associate Director of Dancing Classrooms -
"Esteemed dance critic Aloff offers up a delicious and provocative pastiche of anecdotes from the world of dance.... The stories are insightful, witty, occasionally juicy and often dark. Aloff is delightfully subjective and partial in her choices.... This volume is destined to be bedside reading for those fond of backstage insight and intrigue."—Publishers Weekly -
"A fascinating glimpse into the minds of dance greats."—Dance Teacher -
"In this delightful collection, Mindy Aloff redefines the notion of anecdote as topical fluff. While her book has its share of today's amusing stories, the reader will also find a range of subjects from Ancient Greece to the courts of France to Balanchine and a look, both serious and humorous, at such issues as stagefright, criticism, creativity, and backstage politics. Her selections are not only entertaining but informative."—Nancy Reynolds, Director of Research at the George Balanchine Foundation, and co-author of No Fixed Points: Dance in the Twentieth Century -
"Dance Anecdotes is a collection of amazing originality and range and variety. Mindy Aloff's selections are all new to me, despite fifty years as a dancer and teacher, and of reading on dance. Many of her sources are people we do not usually hear from, and all of them have something precious to tell us. I learned new details about choreography and performance quality. I now know about some important lives. Sometimes I laughed, sometimes I felt very sad, sometimes I felt the warmth of fond memory, sometimes I felt regret over what I missed. I gained fresh insight even into dance people I knew well myself. I have better understanding of many from the past and present whom I did not know. This book is a necessary addition to any dance-lover's collection." —Suki Schorer, Brown Foundation Senior Faculty Chair at the School of American Ballet, and author of Suki Schorer on Balanchine Technique -
