Publication date UK format 28/1/23 book 304 pages
I would like to thank the author, publishers and Netgalley for allowing me to pick this to read and review. all my reviews are honest.
Synopsis
Relatively little has been written about how ballet teachers become teachers themselves and how each generation passes on its experience to the next. The teacher-dancer relationship within the context of the Russian classical tradition is a theme of “A Life Well Danced”. It is presented through the lens of a young girl who lived through emigration and displacement at the time of the Russian Revolution, who experienced this again as an adult after the Second World War and who went on to establish a successful career as a teacher, examiner and choreographer. The book also touches on the teaching and performing of European character dance which is also an under-appreciated field. “A Life Well Danced” was inspired by the author’s direct connection through Zybina and her teachers, Nicolai Legat in London, Evgenia Eduardova in Berlin and Elena Poliakova in Belgrade, to the flowering of Russian classical ballet in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when Marius Petipa was choreographing works such as Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. An interview with Zybina provides the framework for material in memoirs and first-hand accounts that are drawn upon for their lively descriptions of the Imperial Theatre School and the Mariinsky ballet company in St. Petersburg. Born in Moscow, Zybina and her family fled to Europe at the time of the Russian Revolution. Her first marriage to an English diplomat took her to Belgrade and a career as a dancer and ballet mistress in Yugoslavia. The Second World War saw her still in Yugoslavia with her second husband when they and a number of close friends worked in intelligence on behalf of the Allies. A strange twist of events, brought them to England where Zybina established her ballet school and became an examiner for the Federation of Russian Classical Ballet and the Society of Russian Style Ballet Schools.
My Review
This was a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It was difficult to put down. I knew nothing previously about this dancer, so it was so interesting learning about the difficulties of a life dancing. It made for fascinating reading learning about trying to get out of a war-torn country. Then the training and dancing during the war. I also loved learning about the different styles of training each choreographer had. It was well written and kept my attention throughout. I love the pictures, especially the caricatures. They had me chuckling. I love how it was obvious that she had talent in the early days, yet she was told she had to start her training again from scratch. I really recommend reading this book if you love dance.
So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for bringing us this very interesting book.
Where you can buy this book Amazon US K $7.99, PB $13.99 https://www.amazon.com/Life-Well-Danced-Classical-Character-ebook/dp/B0BT7Y62KX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3W0TIUV7EEFF3&keywords=a+life+well+danced+jane+gall+spooner&qid=1675355040&s=books&sprefix=a+life+well+danced+jane+gall+spooner%2Cstripbooks%2C245&sr=1-1 Waterstones PB £10.99 https://www.waterstones.com/book/a-life-well-danced-maria-zybinas-russian-heritage-her-legacy-of-classical-ballet-and-character-dance-across-europe/jane-gall-spooner/9781803134826 B&N EB $7.99 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-life-well-danced-jane-gall-spooner/1142989192?ean=2940186591085 Kobo EB £4.99 https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-life-well-danced-maria-zybina-s-russian-heritage-her-legacy-of-classical-ballet-and-character-dance-across-europe#ratings-and-reviews Amazon UK K £5.99, PB £9.67 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Well-Danced-Classical-Character/dp/1803134828/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2U3DCB4KI2BQ3&keywords=a+life+well+danced+jane+gall+spooner&qid=1675355244&sprefix=a+life+well+danced+jane+gall+spooner%2Caps%2C121&sr=8-1 All prices are subject to change at any time. Please remember to review all books you finish reading so others can find these amazing books. All reviews help just remember not to tell people what the book is about as everyone has already read the synopsis. Just include what you liked and felt when reading the book. HAPPY READING
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