The Unmaking of a Dancer

by Joan Brady

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Joan Brady grew up in California, the daughter of a blacklisted economics professor and his strong-willed, powerfully jealous wife. Dancing lessons took Joan away from the tensions between these two and she turned out to be extremely gifted. By the Age of 20 she was dancing with the most important company in the Western world, the New York City Ballet, then at the height of its artistic powers. At the crucial moment, Joan lost her confidence and so her chance at stardom. Dance had taught her show more discipline, technique and courage and now she needed these qualities to fight her mother, whose vengeance had destroyed her prospects, and to claim for herself the love of Dexter Masters, whom her love had coveted for years. Joan won her man, a degree and a new family life in England. Then, years later, she decided to take up ballet again, retraining to performance level, and another chance. show less

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2 reviews
I've always liked stories and memoirs about people in environments like ballet, monasteries - the cloistered world of striving, the fascinating details - and this was satisfying. But the blurb on my edition really misrepresents the book. Yes, it's about her years in ballet, and how she eventually left it, but also about her unconventional family and her power struggles with her mother, who was quite a piece of work.
Ein Einblick in das Seelenleben einer Ballett-tänzerin - teilweise interessant zu lesen, teilweise bleibt es doch sehr oberflächlich. Diese Autobiographie diente sicherlich der Aufarbeitung und dem Abschluss mit dem Tanzen - auch wenn sie es sich mit über 30 selbst bewiesen hat, dass sie in die alte Form mit viel Disziplin zurückkommen kann.
Es wird deutlich, dass Ballett ein Knochenjob ist, in dem Eitelkeiten und Neid den Tänzern untereinander das Leben vermiesen kann. Bleibt offen, ob das Berufsfeld von erfolgreichen Tänzern auch so deprimierend dargestellt würde.
Die Stärken der Biographie liegen sicher in der Beschreibung der Jugendjahre, denn hier kann sich bestimmt so mancher drin wiederfinden.
Es war kein uninteressanter show more Lesestoff, aber meiner Meinung nach auch kein Buch, was man im Regal stehen haben muss. show less
½

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Common Knowledge

Original title
The Unmaking of a Dancer
Alternate titles
Prologue: An Unconventional Life
Original publication date
1982
Epigraph*
Waarom is de dans mooi? Kan het antwoord: omdat het een onvrije beweging is, omdat heel de diepe zin van de dans in de absolute, esthetische onderworpenheid, in de ideale onvrijheid schuilt?
- Jevgeny Zamjatin, Wij - 
... (show all)
Het is ons niet gelukt de hindernis te overwinnen, zoals we beslist van plan waren, maar het leven heeft ons eromheen gevoerd, erlangs geleid
- Marcel Proust, De Voortvluchtige - 

Ach mijn lief, laat ons
trouw blijven aan elkaar...!
- Matthew Arnold, 'Dover Beach' - 
Dedication*
Ter ere van
DWM
First words*
Een balletles begint altijd aan de barre met pliés.
Last words*
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)We wandelden ernaartoe en onder het lopen haalde ik het formulier dat Liane Daydé me had gegeven ut mijn zak, scheurde het doormidden, verfrommelde de stukken tot een balletje en rennend door de straat gooiden we het naar elkaar over tot het viel.
Disambiguation notice*
First published as 'The Unmaking of a Dancer'
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.

Classifications

Genres
Biography & Memoir, Nonfiction
DDC/MDS
792.8Arts & recreationRecreation, sports, and performing artsStage presentationsBallet and modern dance
LCC
GV1785 .B7 .A38Geography, Anthropology and RecreationRecreation. LeisureRecreation. LeisureDancing

Statistics

Members
70
Popularity
449,028
Reviews
2
Rating
½ (3.64)
Languages
Dutch, English
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
8
ASINs
2