First Lessons in Ballet - Hardcover

Bailey, K.C.; Friedman, Lise

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Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0761118047 ISBN 13: 9780761118046

Publisher: Workman Publishing Company, 1999

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Introducing a ballet class in a book. Created by Lise Friedman, a passionate ballerina as a little girl who grew up to dance with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and photographed by K.C. Bailey, whose dance photography is part of the Lincoln Center Dance Collection, First Lessons in Ballet is an intimate and innovative approach that takes the reader right into the studio and teaches basic steps and positions.

Each spread works as a lesson. On the left, in a full-length, silhouetted photograph with callouts, a young ballerina named Rebecca demonstrates each move. On the right, a group of younger kids who might be the reader's fellow students practice the moves, while brief text, written in the voice of a master teacher, explains exactly what to do. Covered are the five basic positions of ballet, followed by a series of exercises just as they would be performed in class--barre exercises, such as plie and rond de jambe; centerwork exercises, including arabesque and pas de bourree; and such jumps and turns as changement, pique, and emboite. Class finishes with reverence--a formal way dancers thank their teacher--and the book ends with a brief discussion of the next steps in ballet--pointe work and partnering.

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From the Back Cover:

Premiere and placement. Turnout and tendu, which is training the feet to point. Plus arabesque, or balancing on one leg, sissone, little energetic jumps, and learning to "spot"--to focus your eyes on one place so as not to get dizzy during pique turns.

Illustrated with dozens of engaging photographs, this introduction to ballet is for any young reader who wants to dance or is already enrolled in class. Each spread works as a lesson, balancing a visual how-to with instruction written in the succinct, clear voice of a masterful teacher. Beginning with the basic positions, FIRST LESSONS IN BALLET is the first step toward a lifelong love of dance.

About the Author:

K.C. Bailey's dance photography can be viewed in the Lincoln Center Dance Collection, and in the book Dance Ink Photographs.

Lisa Friedman is currently the dance writer for Microsoft's New York Sidewalk. A former dancer with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, she also served as founding editor of the award-winning quarterly Dance Ink and author of First Lessons in Ballet and an adjunct professor at New York University. She is also a contributing editor at Elleand a journalist who writes about the performing arts for various publications. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York, just a short cab ride from the Great White Way!

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