Literary/dance critic Teachout turns examines the work and achievements of legendary ballet choreographer George Balanchine.
Critic Reviews
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Outstanding
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Kirkus Reviews
The perfect first book to read about Balanchine, and intelligent enough to have value for more knowledgeable admirers as well.
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Outstanding
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Library Journal Carolyn Mulac
Intended as an introduction rather than a full-scale biography, this book goes right to the essence of the Balanchine aesthetic, offering artful observations and insightful commentaries on several of the master's pivotal works. [1 Nov. 2004, p. 87]
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Favorable
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Boston Globe Barbara Fisher
This is more a personal appreciation of the artist than a biographical study of the man, choreographer George Balanchine.
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Favorable
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Entertainment Weekly Joan Keener
Lively and opinionated.
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Favorable
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Publishers Weekly
This is highly recommended as a first book on the life and art of George Balanchine for students and the general reader.
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Favorable
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San Francisco Chronicle Rachel Howard
If the portrait is a smidge simplistic -- and dismissive of 19th century ballet's achievements -- it's still a highly recommendable introduction.
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Favorable
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The New York Times Benedict Nightingale
[Teachout] writes well and writes short.
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Favorable
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Wall Street Journal
There are still some of us... who would like to understand better Balanchine's achievement -- to "see" more knowledgeably the dances he made and to grasp more firmly his claim to artistic greatness. It is precisely such instruction that Terry Teachout, the Journal's theater critic, undertakes in "All in the Dances," a brief biography of Balanchine and a critical guide to the choreographer's major works.
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Mixed
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New York Review Of Books Toni Bentley
While his brief telling of Balanchine's life is correct in most particulars (the facts are well documented in numerous sources), his former ignorance of Balanchine's fifty-year venture surfaces periodically.
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Mixed
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The New York Times Book Review Jennifer Dunning
Mr. Teachout begins his examination on an irritatingly ingenuous note. He makes no pretense, he writes, of thoroughness or originality. (Why bother, then?) He admits to having had little experience of ballet before his conversion but makes a number of sweeping and mostly unsupported generalizations.
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Unfavorable
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Los Angeles Times Mindy Aloff
This reductive picture of a genius is more than inadequate and flattening: It is grotesque. [24 Oct. 2004, R6]
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Unfavorable
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Washington Post Laura Jacobs
Teachout's puffed-up performance is decidedly un-Balanchinian.
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