Newsletter sign-up at the bottom of page.
If you feel that your site would be useful for our viewers, please e-mail me.
Most of the descriptions on this page came from Amazon.com, unless otherwise noted.
Books:
The Truth about Dance
A no-nonsense, inside look at the dance world, one page at a time, one truth after another. This book is a must for parents planning to have their child participate in the arts, particularly dance.
Nahvi discusses how a student with dreams of a career in dance can make the most of the class experience and how parents can educate themselves to make the right choices for their children’s career.
Part one, an extensive Q & A section, addresses commonly asked questions on:
• Starting at a late age
• Body type
• Technical issues
• Performance experience
• History and education
• Injury
Part two, a thoughtful exploration of issues salient to the dance community, including:
• Gender inequality, how it has progressed over time, and its impact on women in dance
• A new theory on the origin of the Swan Lake narrative
• How the absence of mythology, folklore, and fables in new choreographies is indicative of a lack of philosophy and purpose
• The problems created when young dancers turn professional before reaching maturity
• Cinderella Complex—the choices we make, and how we come to make them
Links Between Communication Competency and Social Competency During and After an Artist's Career: Impact and Ramifications Over Time for the Artist
Nahvi examines artists using his firsthand experience as an artist, film documentaries, and research articles discussing social and communication competency in order to deliver a clear explanation of what barriers artists face in communicating and relating with other artists and non-artists. Artists tend to deprive themselves of face-to-face communication for prolonged periods of time for the sole purpose of immersing themselves in their art, and in doing so social and communication difficulties arise. These deficiencies are a means to use and abuse artists, which are often times preserved through stereotype reinforcement. It is essential to recognize these weaknesses and find ways to improve them.
This study provides an inside look at artists and the interpersonal relations and social behavior and influence affecting this group, and provides recommendations for how artists can retrain themselves to develop their social and communication skills.
Ingrained Way of Living
A 317-page sensitive autobiography, ending in a socio-historical analysis, all designed to illustrate the cultural differences between the Middle East and the West, and to stimulate further discussion on the topic in order to find a solution to current conflicts...
Dancers in the Dark
A gritty, biting novel that exposes the excitement, grace, glamour and backstage of the ballet world with lusty dancers in cutthroat competition. Allison Fain's desperate hunger for love and fame drives her from the lights of the stage to the dark realms of jealousy, sex and deception destroying lovers and friends along the way.
Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet (Dover Books on Dance)
From Back Cover: "Extensive revision, expansion and the inclusion of more than 300 new terms have added immeasurably to the value of this concise, definitive manual."
Basic Principles of Classical Ballet
From Back Cover: "The principles of Vaganova's system are presented in this well-known book...Her book discusses all basic principles of ballet, grouping movements by fundamental types. Chapters cover battements, rotary movements of the legs, the arms, poses of the classical dance, connecting and auxiliary movements, jumps, beatss, point work and turns, as well as material for a sample lesson."
Classical Ballet Technique
Consists of 15 chapters, which includes "Allegro," "Turning Steps en L'Air," "Batterie," "Pointe Work," "Exercises at the Barre," plus chapter for teachers, etc.
The Pointe Book: Shoes, Training, Technique
Consists of 11 chapters, which includes "A Brief History of Pointe Dancing," "Preparing and Caring for Pointe Shoes," "Basics of Teaching Pointe," plus "Sample Pointe Classes," and "Pointe-related Injuries and Their Remedies."
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ballet (Oxford Paperback Reference)
A very thorough ballet encyclopedia--definite must-have.
Music:
Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet (2 CDs)
Tchaikovsky: The Ballets (Swan Lake / The Sleeping Beauty / The Nutcraker)
Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf; Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra; Saint-Saens: Carnival of the Animals (RCA Victor Basic 100, Volume 43)
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; The Firebird Suite (1919) / Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Op. 20
Ravel: Bolero
Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty
Khachaturian: Spartacus; Gayaneh / Glazunov: The Seasons
Prokofiev: Cinderella, Op. 87 / Glazunov: The Seasons, Op. 67