• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Menu
Community Library Logo
Search
  • Search the CATALOG for books and more
  • Search the CALENDAR for programs and events
  • Search the WEBSITE for general information
  • I Want To
    • Use My Library Account
    • Get a Library Card
    • Reserve a Room
    • Find Books and More
    • Renew or Place a Hold
    • Request an Item
    • Digital Collections
    • Computers and Printing
    • Ask a Librarian
  • Visit
  • Use the Library
    • Books, eBooks, and More
    • Children’s and Young Adult Library
    • Research and Learn
    • Center for Regional History
    • Reserve a Room
    • Library Policies
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Programs
    • Calendar of Events
    • Event Archive
    • Adult Summer Reads
    • Book Club
    • Bookmobile
    • Community Speaker Series 2025
    • Hemingway Distinguished Lecture
    • Sun Valley Early Literacy Summit
    • Youth Summer Reading
  • Wood River Museum
    • Wood River Museum Current Exhibits
    • Online Collections Database
    • Exhibition History
    • History in Your Hands-Free App
    • Museum History
  • Hemingway
    • Hemingway House and Preserve
    • Writer-in-Residence Program
    • Ernest Hemingway Seminar
    • Hemingway House Online Collection
  • Our Story
    • Staff and Board of Trustees
    • Library Blog
    • Newsletters and Reports
    • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
Give and Support
  • The Community Library
  • Gold Mine Stores
  • Center for Regional History
    • Wood River Museum of History + Culture
    • Regional History Reading Room
    • Historic Photographs
The Community Library Association
  • The Community Library
  • Gold Mine Stores
  • Center for Regional History
  • Get a library card
  • I want to
    I Want To
    • Use My Library Account
    • Reserve a Room
    • Find Books and More
    More
    • Renew or Place a Hold
    • Request an Item
    • Use Our Digital Collections
    • Use a Computer/Print/Scan
    • Ask a Librarian
Community Library Logo
  • I Want To
    • Use My Library Account
    • Get a Library Card
    • Reserve a Room
    • Find Books and More
    • Renew or Place a Hold
    • Request an Item
    • Digital Collections
    • Computers and Printing
    • Ask a Librarian
  • Visit
  • Use the Library
    • Books, eBooks, and More
    • Children’s and Young Adult Library
    • Research and Learn
    • Center for Regional History
    • Reserve a Room
    • Library Policies
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Programs
    • Calendar of Events
    • Event Archive
    • Adult Summer Reads
    • Book Club
    • Bookmobile
    • Community Speaker Series 2025
    • Hemingway Distinguished Lecture
    • Sun Valley Early Literacy Summit
    • Youth Summer Reading
  • Wood River Museum
    • Wood River Museum Current Exhibits
    • Online Collections Database
    • Exhibition History
    • History in Your Hands-Free App
    • Museum History
  • Hemingway
    • Hemingway House and Preserve
    • Writer-in-Residence Program
    • Ernest Hemingway Seminar
    • Hemingway House Online Collection
  • Our Story
    • Staff and Board of Trustees
    • Library Blog
    • Newsletters and Reports
    • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
Search
  • Search the CATALOG for books and more
  • Search the CALENDAR for programs and events
  • Search the WEBSITE for general information
Give & Support

Book Review: Reading Dance

Director of Gold Mine Stores Raeghen Peavey recommends Selected Reading Dance, edited by Robert Gottlieb.

Raeghen Reading Dance

Robert Gottlieb, former editor in chief of Simon & Schuster, Alfred A. Knopf, and The New Yorker magazine, has complied an excellent book on dance. Reading Dance contains interviews with well-known dancers, criticism, profiles, reportage, and excerpts from some of the best people in the business of dance. This compilation is easy to follow and broken up in a way that allows you to skip from section to section without any prior knowledge. Not knowing at first if I would be able to follow the writing or context, I found that I did truly enjoy this book.

My favorite section has been on Fredrick Ashton, the famous British Choreographer. His work in ballet is exceptional and he is regarded as one of the best in the business. The pages dedicated to Ashton contain remarks on his choreography and excellent criticism on his ballets. My favorite article from this section is Julie Kavanagh’s criticism of “Symphonic Variations,” known to be Ashton’s signature ballet pieces. Her analysis and breakdown of the ballet is done with rigor and professional insight; it makes understanding dance clear and meaningful. As with all Humanities, dance is an art form that requires some basic knowledge to understand, and Kavanagh’s critique is excellent in providing a guideline for understanding the ballet.

Another area I found interesting is the section on criticism. Joan Acocella authored a remarkable essay on the ballet, Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato by Mark Morris. Morris uses a full orchestra, five solo singers, and forty choral singers for a ballet running two hours. He based this ballet on two poems by John Milton with music by Handel. Acocella provided an in-depth analysis of the ballet, coupled with enough history to understand the process and accomplishment that Morris engineered.

As readers, we should not be surprised by the interconnectedness of the humanities. Being a student of ballet myself in my younger years, the fact that we have a ballet that culminates these art forms together is extraordinary. As students of humanity, we need a large contextual canvas to pull all these varying and independent art forms together.

I will say Robert Gottlieb’s book is no light reading. It spans history and runs about 1,300 pages. The information is essential for anyone who is looking for an overview of dance literature. This book is recommended for anyone who loves the humanities and wants some background in the field of dance.

Find it here.

Filed Under: Staff Reviews: Books, Films, Music, and More

Primary Sidebar

Comlib

Support the Library

The Community Library’s free resources and services reflect the generosity of community members like you!
Donate
Gold Mine Stores
Volunteer

The Community Library

Location

415 Spruce Ave. North
PO Box 2168
Ketchum, ID 83340

Hours

Sunday
closed
Monday
10:00am - 6:00pm
Tuesday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Wednesday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Thursday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Friday
10:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday
10:00am - 6:00pm

Contact

208.726.3493
info@comlib.org

About us

  • Our Story
  • Staff and Board
  • Give & Support
  • Volunteer

Site Map

  • Home
  • Visit The Community Library Association
  • Events
  • Events and Programs
  • Use the Library
  • Catalog
Got a question? Ask Us

THE COMMUNITY LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

  • The Community Library
  • The Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History
  • The Gold Mine Stores

MAILING ADDRESS

PO Box 2168
Ketchum, ID 83340
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
2025 © The Community Library Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved | The Community Library is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization | Federal Tax ID 82-0290944