Far from Denmark

by Peter Martins

Photography at its best! This dancemaster and his partners/company in color and detail; the perfect gift for every dancer!

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe I would have gone the rest of my life without ever remembering this book, but today my brother mentioned that Peter Martins has a forthcoming memoir where he says how great he is (presumably), and jogged my memory about this older memoir. I recalled the title but said that I wasn't sure if I really had read it or if I had only seen the documentary about Martins which was the same vintage. My brother asked me did I remember the part where he's having dinner at the hotel and there's a phone call for him from Vera Volkova, and I said yes. He mentioned a bunch of other incidents and I remembered them too. When I got home I looked up the book on Internet Archive and I absolutely remembered reading it, and I vividly remember the photos. The pictures are sensational.
My brother and I also reminisced about the time that Per Kirkeby referred to this memoir as "A Far Cry from Denmark."

The co-author, uncredited on Goodreads, was Bob Cornfield. My mom took him to his very first ballet performance, so I'm going to say this book is thanks to her in a "butterfly effect" kind of way. I don't know what the program was though.

I realize that was all incredibly irrelevant so let me just say this was an interesting memoir of a dancer leaving the Danish Royal Ballet and the Bournonville tradition to dance for Mr. Balanchine at New York City Ballet in the 1970s. And this is the most sympathetic view we will ever have of Peter Martins--it's like reading about Annakin Skywalker before he turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader.

[Tracy Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far From Denmark, a memoir published in 1982 by Peter Martins, traces his early career from the Royal Danish Ballet School to the New York City Ballet. Published a year before George Balanchine’s death, the book shares anecdotes about Peter Martins as a principal dancer and developing choreographer during a golden era of NYCB that included Suzanne Farrell, Patricia McBride, Edward Villella, Jacques d’Amboise, etc. - including the brief but intense tenure of Mikhail Baryshnikov. Excellent photos.

[Mills College Library]

792.82092 M3867 1982