The MOST phenomenal ballet history ever written. A must read for dance students, professionals, educators or for anyone interested in history, art and inspired writing. Ballet evolved out of the complex fabric of social and political histories and Homans takes us on a journey through the art form and the context of the times that gave birth to it.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, LOS ANGELES TIMES, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

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Five Ballets from Paris and St. Petersburg offers fascinating new looks at five classic story ballets: Giselle (1841), Paquita (1846), Le Corsaire (1856), La Bayadère (1877), and Raymonda (1898), drawing on a treasure trove of manuscripts that offer explicit written information about how many nineteenth-century ballets were performed in their earliest incarnations. Bursting with details forgotten for more than a century, these manuscripts bring the ballets to life by disclosing steps, floor patterns, and mime conversations as well as valuable insight into how the music helped create the drama.

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Captivating, rich in vivid detail and character, and steeped in the glamour and grit of professional ballet, The Swans of Harlem is a riveting account of five extraordinarily accomplished women, a celebration of both their historic careers and the sustaining, grounding power of female friendship, and a window into the robust history of Black ballet, hidden for too long.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE • The forgotten story of a pioneering group of five Black ballerinas and their fifty-year sisterhood, a legacy erased from history—until now.

“This is the kind of history I wish I learned as a child dreaming of the stage!” —Misty Copeland, author of Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy

“Utterly absorbing, flawlessly-researched…Vibrant, propulsive, and inspiring, The Swans of Harlem is a richly drawn portrait of five courageous women whose contributions have been silenced for too long!” —Tia Williams, author of A Love Song for Ricki Wilde

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“Scheijen's magnificent biography, based on extensive research in little known archives, especially in Russia, brings fully to life a complex and powerful personality with boundless creative energy.

A major new biography of Serge Diaghilev, founder and impresario of the Ballets Russes, who revolutionized ballet by bringing together composers such as Stravinsky and Prokofiev, dancers and choreographers such as Nijinsky and Karsavina, Fokine and Balanchine, and artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Bakst, and Goncharova.

An accomplished, flamboyant impresario of all the arts, Diaghilev became a legendary figure. Growing up in a minor noble family in remote Perm, he would become a central figure in the artistic worlds of Paris, London, Berlin, and Madrid during the golden age of modern art. He lived through bankruptcy, war, revolution, and exile. Furthermore he lived openly as a homosexual and his liaisons, most famously with Nijinsky, and his turbulent friendships with Stravinsky, Coco Chanel, Prokofiev, and Jean Cocteau gave his life an exceptionally dramatic quality.”

A New York Times Editor's Choice

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Opium dreams, nodding geishas, feisty harem slavegirls, seductive temple dancers. . . .Performances on the great European stages often depicted "exotic" peoples, places, and plots, expanding the European imagination and providing innovation in opera and classical ballet. The outdated portrayals in traditional masterpieces no longer work for diverse contemporary audiences, and yet canceling them is not a good answer. In Banishing Orientalism, Phil Chan shows us that applying a dash of creativity improves cultural representation and eliminates cultural appropriation—allowing us to lovingly shepherd these works into the 21st century for diverse audiences.

"Through a thoughtful examination of ballet history, peppered with touching personal anecdotes, witty humor and candid--but never judgmental--observations, Chan provides a look at how classical ballets that have historically relied on Orientalism can be reimagined beyond harmful tropes. Banishing Orientalism is a glimpse into a more equitable future for the quickly diversifying world of ballet, making this an essential read for anyone invested in the art form." - Pointe Magazine

"This work has been game changing and enlightening for the ballet world." - Susan Jaffe, Artistic Director, American Ballet Theatre

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The revolutionary choreographer, director and founder of NYC Ballet George Balanchine had, as all humans do a layered and complicated story. Balanchine has come under quite a bit of fire recently as he is measured against the current social standards, and in this deep yet agile work Homans (yet another historical masterpiece) she brings us into the tapestry of his work, relationships and broader cultural times. A brilliant read!

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • “A fascinating read about a true genius and his unrelenting thirst for beauty in art and in life.”—MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV

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An engaging survey from the Middle Ages to the present, presenting fashion as a complex process that reflects economic, social, and political changes

This engaging volume tells the history of Western fashion, exploring how and why it has influenced people’s attitudes, actions, and beliefs since the Middle Ages. Back in Fashion focuses on themes specific to particular periods—such as the significance of medieval sumptuary laws that limited expenditure on clothing; the use of black in early modern Europe; the role of sports on clothing in contemporary times; and the rise of luxury in the new millennium. Author Giorgio Riello investigates how fashion has shaped and continues to characterize Western societies, impacting the lives of millions of people and their relationship to the economy and politics.

Making a masterful case for why fashion history demands academic consideration on par with other more traditional histories, Riello presents fashion as a complex and constantly evolving force that not only reflects but drives cultural transformation.

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Featuring more than thirty contemporary fashion designers, New York City Ballet Choreography & Couture highlights their distinctive work for ballet. From the shorts suits of Thom Browne accommodating the movement of dancers, and the leather harness detailing of Prabal Gurung to the baroque flounces of Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen or the jewel-encrusted slip dresses of Carolina Herrera, this enchanting volume highlights how fashion design is adapted for dance to amplify movement and music.

The stunning photography by Pari Dukovic features breathtaking images of the dancers in motion, along with detail shots highlighting the couture elements of the costumes. Author Marc Happel, NYCB’s Director of Costumes, has collected the designers’ original sketches along with quotes discussing their process and inspiration for each ballet.

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“A new photography book featuring more than eighty of today's most famous dancers, captured in movement and styled in garments designed by some of fashion's biggest names.

From renowned photographers Ken Browar and Deborah Ory, the husband-and-wife team behind NYC Dance Project and the best-selling photography book The Art of Movement. Spotlighting today's greatest dancers--from ballet to modern--in clothing by today's and yesterday's most celebrated designers, this stunning volume takes the relationship between style, fashion, and dance as its subject. Whether in couture gowns from Dior, Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, vintage Halston, Moschino, and Bill Blass, or in costumes designed by Martha Graham herself, the world-renowned dancers featured in these pages--including Tiler Peck, Daniil Simkin, Misty Copeland, Christine Shevchenko, Xander Parish, and Olga Smirnova--bring movement to style. The book has won an International Photography Award (IPA).”

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“A gorgeously illustrated look at the profound influence that classical ballet and the ballerina have had on high fashion.

Ballerina: Fashion’s Modern Muse is a revelatory, irresistible treat for dance aficionados and fashionistas alike. Couturiers such as Balmain, Balenciaga, Chanel, Schiaparelli, Charles James, Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent designed ballet-inspired dresses and gowns, many featuring the boned bodices and voluminous tulle skirts of classical tutus. And ready-to-wear designers such as Claire McCardell found inspiration in ballet leotards and other practice clothing, creating knitted separates, bathing suits, and wrap dresses. Written by fashion and ballet experts, the book is illustrated with archival photography by such masters as Richard Avedon, Edward Steichen, Irving Penn, Man Ray, and Cecil Beaton, along with newly commissioned photography of contemporary ballerinas wearing ballet-influenced couture.”

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“This beautiful book explores for the first time the synergy between dance and fashion, and is an original and inspired contribution to the study of both art forms.

Dress and adornment have long played an important role in the visual allure of dance, and fashion designers have often been inspired by the way dancers look. The tutus and pointe shoes of the Romantic ballerina, for example, have influenced designers from Christian Dior to Christian Louboutin. Cristóbal Balenciaga was inspired by the drama of flamenco, Yves Saint Laurent by the Orientalism of the Ballet Russes, and Rick Owens by the dynamism of African-American steppers. Fashion designers are also increasingly collaborating with choreographers to create stylish new dance costumes—from the “bump” dresses by Comme des Garçons for Merce Cunningham to Valentino’s “Bal de Couture” designs for New York City Ballet.

Lavishly illustrated with both contemporary and historical images, the book features essays by ten fashion experts, who explore various aspects of the reciprocal relationship between dance and fashion, from the liberating effects of the tango to the influence of ballet on Japanese girl culture. Designers featured include Leon Bakst, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Comme des Garçons, Christian Dior, John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier, Halston, Barbara Karinka, Isaac Mizrahi, Rodarte, Yves Saint Laurent, Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy, Valentino, and Iris Van Herpen.”

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“The Ballets Russes was a phenomenon of the early twentieth century, permeating daily life wherever the company traveled and leaving a lasting impact on dance, theater, and the visual arts. Sergei Diaghilev, impresario from 1909 until his death in 1929, fused the most avant-garde, groundbreaking movements in dance, choreography, art, design, and costume into unique and stunning productions. The work was exciting, and always new, and it stretched the limits of the possible in art. The color, form, and material in costume and set design astonished audiences, transforming every corner of Western culture in the twentieth century.

Fashion and decor designers and visual artists in particular―including Coco Chanel, Natalia Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, Léon Bakst, and Pablo Picasso―found inspiration in the Ballets Russes. Designers and artists moved past old boundaries and created costumes and set designs for these extravagant productions, bridging the gaps between tangible and abstract artistic genres. The Ballets Russes and the Art of Design explores these revolutionary icons and ideas, illuminating Sergei Diaghilev's profound revitalization of the arts, which continues to influence us today. “

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Costumer Barbara Karinska was one of countless emigrees flung westward from czarist Russia by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s. Costumes by Karinska chronicles the life and work of this remarkably talented woman, a consummate perfectionist who brought unprecedented quality, innovation, and beauty to costumes designed and executed for film, theater, opera, and dance.

Working behind the scenes as one of Balanchine's closest and most important collaborators, Karinska made an enormous contribution to many of the great ballet masterpieces of this century, dressing over seventy-five of the choreographer's productions.

This was, however, by no means her only professional association in a career spanning forty-five years. She worked with many other renowned choreographers, producers, and directors, such as Frederick Ashton, Agnes de Mille, Bronislava Nijinska, Jerome Robbins, Louis Jouvet, Franco Zeffirelli, Mike Todd, Victor Fleming, and George Cukor. She took sketches by such artists as Andre Derain, Marc Chagall, Isamu Noguchi, Balthus, and Salvador Dali and transformed them into tangible, wearable apparel.

The lively text by Toni Bentley, a former dancer with the New York City Ballet, is full of anecdotes from those who knew the designer, revealing a sophisticated, independent woman with great style and aristocratic flair.

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