Ballet: The Definitive Illustrated Story

by D.K. Publishing, Viviana Durante (Foreword)

This visual guide to ballet history goes beyond other ballet books, with evocative photography that captures famous ballet dancers and key ballet stories, written with ballet legend Viviana Durante as Editorial Consultant.

Discover more than 70 of the most famous ballet dances, from The Nutcracker and Swan Lake to The Rite of Spring. Learn the stories behind renowned companies such as The Royal Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet. Explore the lives and achievements of ballet dancers across the centuries, such as Margot Fonteyn, Carlos Acosta, and Darcey Bussell, and meet composers and choreographers, from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to Matthew Bourne.

From its origins at court and the first national ballet companies, to the contemporary scene and extraordinary venues that stage the production, this ballet book covers an impressive history of ballet and provides an invaluable overview of the subject. Filled with rarely seen photographs covering all the key figures, pieces, and performances, and compelling facts about each dance - the sources they draw from, their production history, and their reception over time - Ballet: The Definitive Illustrated Story is an essential gift for all ballet enthusiasts.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, History, Research, Reference, Music

360 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2018

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and informative, if you’re at all interested in ballet and would like to know more about its genesis, those that have distinguished themselves in this art form and the majestic venues in which ballet is performed, then this is a great place to start. If you’re an aficionado, then you might appreciate some of the back stories and history to the most famous ballets from Giselle to The Winter’s Tale and so many more.

I would have given this five stars for the depth of knowledge and span of history, but it is skewed in depicting the stars of the modern era. Not surprising since it was published in concert with the Royal Ballet of London, but any book about ballet that sidelines Gelsey Kirkland and Alvin Alley to a couple of end notes (among others) is not a definitive compendium in my book. Still, a beautifully illustrated and enlightening book.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous, coffee table book, which has substance as well as style. This tells the history of ballet, looking at: the Beginnings of Ballet (1550 – 1830), Romantic Ballet (1830-1860), Classical Ballet (1860-1905), Modern Ballet (1905-1945), International Ballet (1945-1975) and Ballet Today (1975-Present).

Both myself, and my daughter, love ballet and this is full of magnificent photographs, the history of ballet, timelines, famous dancers, facts about different ballets and more. My daughter, who loves drawing, has found lots of inspiration in this book, with all of the beautiful photographs.

I think would appeal to lovers of ballet – from the ages of about 10 years upwards. It would make a beautiful gift for ballet lovers; although I find it a little large to read comfortably. Still, that aside, it looks beautiful and is very well designed and excellent quality. A lovely addition to my daughter’s bookshelf.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very beautiful 'coffee table' book about ballet--the history and the spectacle. I really appreciated the story lines for the ballets. I would have like some details about how the equipment, such as pointe shoes, are constructed and what kind of toll the sport takes on dancer's bodies.

The pictures are beautiful and it's interesting to see how much this art form has changed over 500 years.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Instilling ballet into a book necessitates a lush treatment like this book received. Absolutely splendid photography dominates, as it should. Focusing on biography and history (as opposed to technique, staging, et c.), Ballet is a gorgeous treatment of the art form, for the adult balletomane (like me) or the aspiring/professional dancer.

Like so many little girls, I grew up in dance class, eventually settling down in a small classical school until I was 14. Memories like seeing the Kirov perform Swan Lake in Chicago on a rare American tour, annual Nutcracker trips, and performing in the mini ballets put on by my school define my childhood. Getting my first pair of pointe shoes was more important than picking out a prom dress. I memorized all the ballet books at my library: the ones on Maria Tallchief and Anna Pavlova, the pictorial technique books made for children, every single one I could find about the history of ballet, and the endearing story of three mismatched sisters in Ballet Shoes.

Marianela Nuñez and Carlos Acosta are some of my favorite dancers, and they make plenty of appearances here (Acosta gets his own spread for his contributions as a dancer and choreographer). I got to see Nuñez onstage at Covent Garden, which was enchanting, and also a performance of Carmen--bless those £5 tickets that fit my student budget, even though I couldn't see 1/3 of the stage. The last live performance I saw was the Joffrey Ballet's Nutcracker and is my absolute favorite rendition of the story. It's set in pre-World's Fair Chicago among the immigrant community building the fair, which makes Clara's international dreams incomparably enjoyable because they star her family friends.

Oh, how I wish covid wasn't a thing so theaters were open. I've got to think about some creative ways to support the arts in these difficult times...and as always, I miss ballet, though I lack the physical discipline (and height) to pursue it myself. There's nothing quite so transportative to me as going to the ballet. It's a sensual feast that makes me feel like I have a foot in another world for days.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tämä ei ole mikään kerralla hotkaistava tietokirja, vaan pikemminkin olohuoneen pöydän kaunistaja, josta aina välillä lukee pätkän ja ihailee kuvia. Kirja on täynnä nimiä: baletteja, tanssijoita, koreografeja, muusikoita, jopa lavastus- ja pukusuunnittelijoita ja arkkitehteja. Faktoja piisaa joka lauseelle, eikä niistä millään jää kovin moni päähän. Jostain tämän faktavyöryn keskeltä saa silti melko hyvän kuvan baletin historiasta, kehityksestä ja nykypäivästä. Myös tunnettujen balettien tarkat juoni- tai sisältökuvaukset olivat hyödyllisiä.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you wanted to know about the history of ballet. And then some.

[Tiffani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative with lots of beautiful pictures.

[Kristýna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complete bible for every lover of the ballet. The base is absolutely stunning but I missed the latest productions but it's question of time.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reread after seeing a recent ballet, I LOVE ballet, from traditional to Matthew Bourne and this covers everything with GORGEOUS pictures to boot! A must have coffee table book for every ballet fan 🩰 Though one criticism, I was interested in reading about Rudolf Nureyev but no mention of his male partners or dying of AIDs, when most of the bios mention partners and reasons for deaths, I had look up why he died at 54! Surely I shouldn’t have to use Wikipedia to find out why such a famous ballet dancer died at such a young age when I have a book like this in my hands, homophobic much? 😕 Also I’ve never had a book give me so many PAPER CUTS! 😂 I mean it’s a MASSIVE book with sharp pages lol, so knocking off a few stars for all that, but really I’d encourage any ballet fan to get this book 👍

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful, engaging reference material for those looking to learn about the history of ballet. I'm very much a dilettante when it comes to dance, but I found much to enjoy in this volume. My biggest complaint is that entries could have used a little more analysis, not just historical fact. For example, I often felt that in the entries about specific dancers, the emphasis was on which companies they performed with and what ballets made them famous, but I often wanted to know more about what was engaging about their styles or what made them unique. But, overall, this is a great introduction and reference material.

[Aziza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful gift given to me by my love. For my love and passion of dance. So educational and very thoroughly informative; which I loved about that. I learned so much while reading this book, it added more to my ballet education.... which wasn’t as much (within the historical background) but I thought that reading through these pages added more to it. I loved reading every bit of this book. I loved the fact that there were also pictures within it of the famous figures and ballets. Beautiful book.

[Arthur Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful overview of famous dancers, ballets, and people in the ballet world. Beautiful pictures and very easy to reference, introduced me to ballets and dancers I would not have known of otherwise. A perfect starting point for anyone interested and the photos used are just gorgeous. Lacking a narrative throughline or close emotion but it is after all a reference book so I can't knock it for that!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautiful book with tons of information. With that being said I did not like the set up of this book. I wish that there was a division between people and ballets, then withing that the era of ballet. With all of the people and everything else it was a little much to try and keep straight and know what was going on.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely more than just a coffee table book. While there are gorgeous pictures throughout, it's also a very dense history of ballet and biography of many key dancers and choreographers. It is not something you can read long chunks of at a time, but was very entertaining and gave me several clips to look up on YouTube or ballets to add to my list I would love to see!

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Undoubtedly a limited study of ballet. More like the most sumptuously illustrated, abridged, coffee-table-book-sized encyclopedia of ballet persons throughout history. The choreographers, collaborators, composers, dancers, and important patrons; covering a smattering of the socio-political influences of the various epochs.

[Grafton-Midview Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful compendium of all things ballet, this beautiful book was a journey from the foundations of the art to the fascinating diversity of styles present in ballet today.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

721 - 2019

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A definitive and helpful guide to the ballet, this book includes synopses of famous ballets, choreographers, and dancers and is interesting and easy to read. I enjoyed it!

[Timi Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect

[N F]

Decade of Disunion

[Ming's fantasy myth library · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars