Every Step You Take: A Memoir - Hardcover

Soto, Jock

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061732389 ISBN 13: 9780061732386

Publisher: Harper, 2011

Synopsis

Jock Soto, one of the greatest ballet dancers of our time chronicles the unique circumstances of his extraordinary career, his life among other legends of dance, and his background as a half-Navajo, half-Puerto Rican gay man struggling to succeed in the straight white world of the arts. Regarded as the greatest ballet dancer since Baryshnikov, Soto has achieved a level of success and fame enjoyed by few. Ballet aficionados will be familiar with Soto from the award-winning PBS documentary, Water Flowing Together, which chronicled his life and career. Now, lifelong dance adherents and causal fans alike will have the chance to hear the captivating story of one of the world’s greatest living performers.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

In June 2005 Jock Soto, at forty years old, gave his farewell performance as a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. The program, an event of unprecedented ambition, showcased pieces from five legendary choreographers, and it capped one of the most storied careers in ballet history—an ascent that be­gan when Soto was just three years old. After retiring, Soto was determined to embrace a new future, but he found himself obsessed with questions about his past—where had he come from, and where had he been?

Every Step You Take weaves together the diverse strands of Soto’s life: being the half-breed offspring of a Puerto Rican–Navajo couple, the gay son of a fiercely macho man, a naive teenager from the desert running in the sophisticated art world of New York, and a driven artist by day and hard-core party animal by night. Soto recalls his professional relationships with such icons as George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, Darci Kistler, Lourdes Lopez, and many others. He shares his love of food throughout the book with recipes to mark the pivotal moments in his story. And he describes the newest chapter in his life: teaching at the renowned School of American Ballet.

Intimate and moving, Every Step You Take shows the honest and inspiring evolution of a remarkable man, a brilliant artist, and a living legend.

About the Author:

Jock Soto joined the New York City Ballet in 1981. He was promoted to soloist in 1984 and to principal dancer in 1985. He has danced featured roles in countless ballets, many of which were created specifically for him. He has been a permanent member of the faculty at the School of American Ballet since 1996, and in 2007 he was the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary Water Flowing Together. He lives in New York City with his partner, Luis Fuentes, a sommelier.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0061732389
• ISBN 13: 9780061732386
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288