Barnett Serchuk

BWW Reviews: Anna Pavlova, Twentieth Century Ballerina

Jane Pritchard, the curator of the dance collection at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, was responsible for much of the success of its 2009 Exhibition, Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes. This exhibition, or parts of it, continues to travel around the world. Anyone with an interest in the history of ballet owes it to themselves to get even a small glimpse of what Ms. Pritchard and her colleagues assembled for that magnificent event.

BWW Book Reviews: BALLERINA by Deirdre Kelly Reviewed by Seyna Bruskin

"Like Emma Livry!" cried Janine Charrat,a French dancer in 1961, as her costume caught fire. She survived, but Livry, one hundred years earlier, had not. So begins "Ballerina," a new book by Deirdre Kelly, who vividly describes the treatment of women in ballet from a historical perspective. Ms. Kelly examines the dance form's roots as an amusement of kings (in France, in the 15th and 16th Century), to today's amusement for anyone who can afford a ticket.

BWW Book Reviews: THE CAGE: Dancing for Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine, 1949-1954 by Barbara Bocher and Adam Darius.

For many dance enthusiasts the question persists: do we need another book unearthing more about George Balanchine or Jerome Robbins? Barbara Bocher answers that question in her memoir The Cage, named after one of Robbins' most noted ballets. If any ballet could serve as a metaphor for her brief career, The Cage would certainly be it.