The first rule of Ballet Book Club, is you don't talk about Ballet Book Club and I think it's fair to say that was definitely the case in the year that was 2021, so here's what we didn't discuss at The Chequers, but most definitely worth a view.
Apollo's Angels is a major new history of classical ballet. It begins in the courts of Europe, where ballet was an aspect of aristocratic etiquette and a political event as much as it was an art. The story takes the reader from the sixteenth century through to our own time, from Italy and France to Britain, Denmark, Russia and contemporary America. The reader learns how ballet reflected political and cultural upheavals, how dance and dancers were influenced by the Renaissance and French Classicism, by Revolution and Romanticism, by Expressionism and Bolshevism, Modernism and the Cold War. Homans shows how and why 'the steps' were never just the steps: they were a set of beliefs and a way of life. She takes the reader into the lives of dancers and traces the formal evolution of technique, choreography and performance. Her book ends by looking at the contemporary crisis in ballet now that 'the masters are dead and gone' and offers a passionate plea for the centrality of classical dance in our civilization. Apollo's Angels is a book with broad popular appeal: beautifully written and illustrated, it is essential reading for anyone interested in history, culture and art.
It is a bit of a mighty tome, slightly less daunting in paperback, but my hardback copy looks like it would require a lectern, however it is a book I've been wanting to read for quite some time so Lockdown 3 seemed like the perfect opportunity (full disclosure, that didn't happen as I ended up relocating my studio during Lockdown 3, but I'm eyeing up Christmas 2021 as a potential reading substitute).
Other booksellers are available, but here's the Amazon link, with a variety of formats.
Marta Becket (August 9, 1924 – January 30, 2017) was an American actress, dancer, choreographer and painter. She performed for more than four decades at her own theater, the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction, California.
Marta had danced on Broadway and at Radio City Music Hall, she later took her own one-woman show across the country performing in small venues.
In March 1967, on hiatus from touring her one-woman show across America, Martaand her husband came to Death Valley Junction to repair a flat tire at the gas station, located across the street from the complex. While exploring the abandoned buildings, Marta peeked through a hole in the back door of Corkill Hall, the town’s old social hall, to find a room in terrible disrepair. Wooden floors were caked with muddy remains from floodwaters and walls were streaked with rust colored stains from the leaking roof. Marta later recalled that the building spoke to her, saying, “Take me. Do something with me. I offer you life!” She tracked down the property manager and inquired about renting the space and was told it could be rented for $45 per month as long as she was responsible for all repairs. The deal was secured with a promissory note and a dollar bill. She and her husband left for New York City to pack up their belongings and returned that August to begin a new chapter of their lives in the desert.
Available in Kindle format from Amazon
Available in Print format from a number of sellers on AbeBooks.co.uk
'Amargosa' is a beautiful and mesmerizing film, most definitely worth a watch and a fascinating companion piece to the book.
Todd Robinson's award winning documentary about Marta and the Opera House is available to rent or buy from Amazon Prime
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