Toba Singer
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813044026
- eISBN:
- 9780813046259
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044026.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
The Cuban names we know best are Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and the exquisite ballet star, Alicia Alonso. Yet there is another Cuban whose fascinating story has until now been circulated exclusively ...
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The Cuban names we know best are Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and the exquisite ballet star, Alicia Alonso. Yet there is another Cuban whose fascinating story has until now been circulated exclusively by Cubans and ballet insiders: that of Fernando Alonso, Alicia’s first husband, and the architect of a teaching method that has produced a bevy of classical ballet box office favorites the world over. Alicia and Fernando danced in Broadway musicals and were founding members of New York’s groundbreaking Ballet Theatre. Returning to Cuba, they joined Fernando’s brother Alberto to build a national ballet company on the eve of Batista’s fall. The triumph of the 1959 revolution brought with it long-awaited support for ballet and the encouragement Alonso welcomed to share the method he created on Cubans with the world. Readers will welcome Fernando Alonso’s rich reminiscences and those of such ballet luminaries as Alicia Alonso, Carlos Acosta, Menia Martínez, Jorge Esquivel, Lorena and Lorna Feijoo, and Yoel and Lázaro Carreño. Singer’s interviews transport us to the Cuban ballet studio and stage, just as the Buena Vista Social Club brought us the bountiful legacy of Cuban music.Less
The Cuban names we know best are Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and the exquisite ballet star, Alicia Alonso. Yet there is another Cuban whose fascinating story has until now been circulated exclusively by Cubans and ballet insiders: that of Fernando Alonso, Alicia’s first husband, and the architect of a teaching method that has produced a bevy of classical ballet box office favorites the world over. Alicia and Fernando danced in Broadway musicals and were founding members of New York’s groundbreaking Ballet Theatre. Returning to Cuba, they joined Fernando’s brother Alberto to build a national ballet company on the eve of Batista’s fall. The triumph of the 1959 revolution brought with it long-awaited support for ballet and the encouragement Alonso welcomed to share the method he created on Cubans with the world. Readers will welcome Fernando Alonso’s rich reminiscences and those of such ballet luminaries as Alicia Alonso, Carlos Acosta, Menia Martínez, Jorge Esquivel, Lorena and Lorna Feijoo, and Yoel and Lázaro Carreño. Singer’s interviews transport us to the Cuban ballet studio and stage, just as the Buena Vista Social Club brought us the bountiful legacy of Cuban music.
Rory Foster
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813034591
- eISBN:
- 9780813046297
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034591.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
This chapter traces the historical development of ballet pedagogy, covering ballet in Russia, the Italian influence, ballet in the Soviet Union, the Royal Academy of Dancing, August Bournonville, ...
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This chapter traces the historical development of ballet pedagogy, covering ballet in Russia, the Italian influence, ballet in the Soviet Union, the Royal Academy of Dancing, August Bournonville, George Balanchine, the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum, and Romantic ballet and the introduction of pointe dancing.Less
This chapter traces the historical development of ballet pedagogy, covering ballet in Russia, the Italian influence, ballet in the Soviet Union, the Royal Academy of Dancing, August Bournonville, George Balanchine, the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum, and Romantic ballet and the introduction of pointe dancing.
Dean Speer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813034386
- eISBN:
- 9780813046280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034386.003.0010
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
This chapter describes the career and teaching philosophy of Roni Mahler, who has been a principal with the National Ballet of Washington, D.C., and a soloist with the American Ballet Theatre. She is ...
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This chapter describes the career and teaching philosophy of Roni Mahler, who has been a principal with the National Ballet of Washington, D.C., and a soloist with the American Ballet Theatre. She is on the faculty of the Juilliard School, and defines technique as the vehicle which moves you around the stage so that you can communicate with the audience. Mahler also says that a true teacher knows how to guide every different body—to stand up, not fall down—and to make people care about what you are doing onstage.Less
This chapter describes the career and teaching philosophy of Roni Mahler, who has been a principal with the National Ballet of Washington, D.C., and a soloist with the American Ballet Theatre. She is on the faculty of the Juilliard School, and defines technique as the vehicle which moves you around the stage so that you can communicate with the audience. Mahler also says that a true teacher knows how to guide every different body—to stand up, not fall down—and to make people care about what you are doing onstage.
Dean Speer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813034386
- eISBN:
- 9780813046280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034386.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
This chapter describes the career and teaching philosophy of Cynthia Harvey, who has been a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Ballet in London. Harvey currently teaches ...
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This chapter describes the career and teaching philosophy of Cynthia Harvey, who has been a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Ballet in London. Harvey currently teaches in Europe and around the world, and defines technique as the detail that is applied to create the ultimate ease of expression. She imparts technique by trying to draw upon the years of methodology or training that has been influential upon her own path of knowledge. This includes ideas and concepts acquired from teachers with whom she has studied.Less
This chapter describes the career and teaching philosophy of Cynthia Harvey, who has been a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Ballet in London. Harvey currently teaches in Europe and around the world, and defines technique as the detail that is applied to create the ultimate ease of expression. She imparts technique by trying to draw upon the years of methodology or training that has been influential upon her own path of knowledge. This includes ideas and concepts acquired from teachers with whom she has studied.
