Synopsis
Traces the life of the British choreographer who introduced the psychological ballet, and discusses his major dance pieces
Reviews
In a ballet world rife with eccentricity, choreographer Tudor (1908-1987) shone. This first full-length biography of the creator of such modern classics as Jardin aux Lilas and Dark Elegies commits to print many of the spicy stories about the man born William John Cook that have long circulated in dance studios. Tudor was a Cockney Londoner who transformed himself into the ranking nobility of American ballet. And while his dances examine the emotional lives of "ordinary" people, he often left the psyches of his dancers in shambles. After assisting at the birth of 20th-century British ballet with Marie Rambert, Tudor joined the 1939 inaugural season of what was to become American Ballet Theatre in New York City--a rocky but persistent association. His remarkable and difficult love relationship with dancer Hugh Laing began in 1932 and lasted until his death in Laing's arms. Perlmutter, a dance critic for the Los Angeles Times , provides a serviceable account of Tudor's life, yet her 41 short chapters fail to illuminate the man behind the work. Bitchy ballet-company politics and Tudor's notorious verbal intimidation of his dancers take precedence over serious consideration of the masterworks that endure--precariously.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Antony Tudor was born to a working-class family in London in 1908. By the time of his death in New York in 1987, he was universally recognized as one of the major forces in the development of modern American ballet. In the ballet world, he was equally recognized as one of the most emotionally manipulative, at times even cruel, of choreographers to work with. Perlmutter (dance critic for The Los Angeles Times) herein argues that this was the flip side of Tudor's contribution to dance: His fervent interest in intense emotion and human reaction was the cornerstone both of his ballets and of his working methods. She traces Tudor's development from his beginnings in London, where he was student, dancer, administrator, and general dogsbody with Marie Rambert's fledgling company. He emigrated to the US just before WW II at the invitation of what was then called simply Ballet Theatre (later, A.B.T.). Perlmutter describes the emotional backdrop for the creation of his ballets: Jardin Aux Lilas (1936), Pillar of Fire (1942), and Dark Elegies (1937) among the most enduring. Throughout, she stresses the impact of Tudor's lifelong, tangled, tempestuous relationship with dancer Hugh Laing (portrayed here as being wildly unstable), calling him Tudor's ``lover, his Doppelganger-Muse-Soulmate, the only one with whom he shared his innermost thoughts.'' And on the inevitable comparison to Balanchine, Perlmutter quotes Tudor himself: ``George concerns himself with motion and I concern myself with emotion.'' Other differences stand out: In spite of a long association with A.B.T. and its precursors, Tudor never found the kind of home, support, and financial backing that Balanchine did at the New York City Ballet. Certainly, it is the Balanchine style that is in vogue now. But to see a well-performed Tudor ballet is to realize anew the haunting impact and drama of his work. Perlmutter provides some real insights into the atmosphere in which Tudor's ballets were born. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Given choreographer Tudor's importance in the development of ballet, it is surprising that this is the first biography to be written about him. Born William Cook in cockney London, Tudor was drawn to the ballet late in his youth and found a mentor in Marie Rambert. His intensely dramatic, psychological ballets revolutionized the style of modern ballet, and reflected the internal conflicts of Tudor's difficult personality. With his lifelong companion, dancer Hugh Laing, he emigrated to the United States in 1939, where he became involved with Ballet Theatre (later American Ballet Theatre) then in its infancy. Perlmutter, who is dance critic for the Los Angeles Times , uses a lively vernacular style to bring Tudor fully to life with all his contradictions and eccentricities, as well as his genius. This well-researched biography is an important addition to ballet literature.
- Marcia L. Perry, Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield, Mass.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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