Alicia Alonso: First Lady of the Ballet

A biography of the Cuban ballerina who founded her own ballet school and company, performed with the Ballet Russe, and continued to dance even after she lost her sight

Grade 8-12-A biography of the Cuban-born dancer who was one of the principal ballerinas during the early days of the American Ballet Theatre and founder of her own company in Cuba during the rules of Batista and Castro. The book begins promisingly with Alonso's youth in her native land, giving a good picture of her training and the problems she faced trying to establish a professional career in a culture that at that time did not encourage women in such efforts. But as her story progresses, it becomes merely a recitation of her life, with scant mention as to how the politics of the day influenced her career. Readers are told that the United States would not allow Alonso into the country for a time due to her association with the Castro regime. Young readers unaware of the events of the '60s will need some background in U.S.-Cuban relations after the rise of Castro to understand its impact on the woman's life and work. Still, libraries looking for information on dancers may want to consider this one.
Kay McPherson, Central Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, GA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 6-10. Alicia Alonso grew up in Cuba, which had no resident ballet company or professional dance school, yet she managed to become a prima ballerina, dancing in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Although detached retinas in both eyes left her virtually blind in her early twenties, she retrained herself to dance without vision, relying on her partners or on strategically placed lights to guide her. Eventually, she started the first professional ballet troupe and school in Cuba, where she still studies, teaches, and occasionally performs, though she is now in her seventies. Arnold's book chronicles Alonso's performances so extensively that those uninterested in classical ballet may become bored, but aficionados will thrill to descriptions of her triumphs in Giselle and Swan Lake. This book should be welcome in the many libraries where demand for biographies of Latino women exceeds supply. To be illustrated with photographs. Sheilamae O'Hara