this is a continuation thread from trina's "TOP 20 DANCE BOOKS - a subjective list" at <A HREF="http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000026.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000026.html</A> <P>anyone is welcome to kick this off.... <p>[This message has been edited by grace (edited July 02, 2000).]

<BR>i am reprinting this photo due to the arrival of new information. thanks to carol and maria los for advising me that the boofhead on the left is STELLA -it's a girl- and they confirm that, as expected, "she won't take s___ from no one!" <P>apologies for this indulgence, to any non-cat-loving readers. i know that at least Maggie & Trina will appreciate this......<P>btw, for anyone who hasn't read the previous thread (linked to, above), these cats rule over:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.toronto.com/E/V/TORON/0011/85/01/" TARGET=_blank>Les amis de/Friends of Terpsichore:</A> <P>"a mail-order service dealing in second-hand and out-of-print dance books.<BR> We mail anywhere in the world"<P><p>[This message has been edited by grace (edited July 10, 2000).]

I love cats and I've been delighted to find these kitties gracing the website. If I had even one tenth of the grace and agility my precious 7.5 yo tortie and white cat has.......<P>Actually - I don't remember seeing this book on the top ten, but the Joffrey Schools' Joffrey Ballet Fit is a must for people who started ballet as adults and excellent reading for plenty of other dancers too. It's tone is realistic but encouraging and it's written by one author who teaches adults at the Joffrey School and one who is an adult student there. It addresses basics such as what you might gain from ballet, what you should look for in a teacher or school (and they give a full range of options), what you might expect from classes, problems you might encounter and even what to wear (and why), including how to choose your ballet slippers. <P>Then they talk about the basic concepts amd terms in ballet, do a detailed section on stretches and warm ups and getting 'ballet fit' and then give instructions for a beginners workout (barre only I think) which is supposed to take around 40 minutes (I've only had the book 2 days so I haven't had a chance yet!). It contains great photos and detialed descriptions of all the exercises. <P>It also has a chapter on adults and pointe work - everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask.<P>Finally there's a resources list which is only US specific unfortunately, but which looks impressive and includes mail order services.<P>Sorry this is such a long post but really, this is one great book. <P>Danni

danni, please don't apologise for a 'long post' when it's THIS informative, relevant, well-composed and interesting - and anyway - it's NOT long, by SOME standards around here (cheap shot at michael goldbarth, in a forum where he probably won't see it! )<P>this book sounds worth a look - thank you - i can tell i'm going to have to get over my reluctance to purchse online, since amazon.com have books at about half the price we pay in australia, even taking the exchange rate into consideration.<P>

US $18<BR> <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312194706/qid%3D963295221/102-9587968-2646555" TARGET=_blank>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312194706/qid%3D963295221/102-9587968-2646555</A>

Actually, this is the first order I placed on line too (Amazon). I've been very reluctant to do it but it was easy and I got the books in 14 business days (World Mail option). One good idea for extra security is to have a credit card with a very low limit that you use ONLY for purchasing stuff on the internet - that way, if someone manages to break the code (which is pretty impressive anyway), you at least have a limnited amount of money on the card. You're right - it does work out a little cheaper, even with the exchange rate and postage - and I couldn't even get this book here, so it's well worth it.<BR>Danni <BR>

thanks for that, danni. i notice that some things seem to be hugely cheaper, and some just a little cheaper, as you say.<P>that's a good idea about the credit card limit - i'm told by reliable sources that it actually is safer on the internet (at a secure site) really, than physically handing your card over in a restaurant, for example, which we don't think twice about.<P>trouble is, i'm one of those painful 'holdouts' on progress who refuses to own a card! <P>amazon.com sure is full of temptation, though!

Here is a review by Elizabeth Zimmer, in the Village Voice, of a recent crop of dance books:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>History, the truism has it, is written by the winners. But the growth of dance history as a discipline has produced a crop of books by women that break new ground, applying contemporary cultural theory to eras past, uncovering stories we have not yet heard about people who rarely made headlines.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR><B><A HREF="http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0034/zimmer.shtml" TARGET=_blank>Read the full article</A></B>