Dancing Through It: My Journey in the Ballet - Hardcover

Ringer, Jenifer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670026492 ISBN 13: 9780670026494

Publisher: Viking, 2014

Synopsis

A behind-the-curtains look at the rarefied world of classical ballet from a principal dancer at the New York City BalletIn her charming and self-effacing voice, Jenifer Ringer covers the highs and lows of what it?s like to make it to the top in the exclusive, competitive ballet world. From the heart-pounding moments waiting in the wings before a performance to appearing on Oprah to discuss weight and body image among dancers, Dancing Through It is moving and revelatory.Raised in South Carolina, Ringer led a typical kid?s life until she sat in on a friend?s ballet class, an experience that would change her life forever. By the age of twelve she was enrolled at the elite Washington School of Ballet and soon moved to the School of American Ballet. At sixteen she was a professional dancer at the New York City Ballet in Manhattan, home of the legendary George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.

About this title

About the Author

Jenifer Ringer was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, retiring in 2014. Before joining NYCB as an apprentice in 1989, she studied at the School of American Ballet. Ringer has a BA in English from Fordham University and is a recipient of the Dance Magazine Award and the Jerome Robbins Award. She is married to former NYCB principal dancer James Fayette. They live in Los Angeles, California, with their two children.

Reviews

Dancing has always been essential to Ringer. As a child, a student, and a principal dancer for the New York City Ballet, dance and her strong faith in God were at the center of her life. And she has danced with the best over the course of her extremely successful career while also becoming a wife and mother. With ballet dancers, body image can become an obsession, and like so many others, Ringer suffered from anorexia and bulimia—until she ended up gaining enough weight to be fired from the company. Perseverance, prayer, family, and church helped her to get past these issues and return to the company. Then, just when she finally came to terms with her body type, a New York Times critic suggested that she was fat, creating a publicity storm that drove her to the talk shows. Ringer now offers a frank and open account of her demanding dance life, revealing seldom-seen technical aspects of this rigorous art form. A sure hit for balletomanes and everyone concerned about body-image issues. --Danise Hoover

Edition details

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0670026492
• ISBN 13: 9780670026494
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288