The life and accomplishments of one of America's most famous ballerinas is highlighted in this monumental portrait of Suzanne Farrell, the celebrated muse to George Balanchine. (Performing Arts)
Toni Bentley Libri
1 gennaio 1958
Toni Bentley attinge dal suo decennio come ballerina del New York City Ballet di George Balanchine, portando una prospettiva unica alla sua scrittura. Le sue opere, spesso nominate Libri Notevoli del New York Times, si immergono nelle profondità dell'esperienza umana, esplorando temi come il sacrificio artistico, l'incarnazione e la ricerca dell'intimità. Bentley impiega una prosa precisa ed evocativa che cattura le complessità sensoriali e psicologiche dei suoi soggetti. I suoi saggi e le sue memorie sono celebrati per la loro incrollabile onestà e per le loro penetranti intuizioni sull'arte e sulla vita.
Toni Bentley, a dancer for George Balanchine, the greatest ballet maker of the 20th century, tells the story of Serenade, his iconic masterpiece, and what it was like to dance—and live—in his world at New York City Ballet during its legendary era. At age seventeen, Toni Bentley was chosen by Balanchine, then in his final years, to join the New York City Ballet. From both backstage and onstage, she carries us through the serendipitous history and physical intricacies and demands of Serenade: its dazzling opening, with seventeen women in a double-diamond pattern; its radical, even jazzy, use of the highly refined language that is ballet; its place in the choreographer’s own dramatic story of his immigration to the United States from Soviet Russia; its mystical—and literal—embodiment of the tradition of classical ballet in just thirty-three minutes. Bentley takes us inside the rarefied, intense, and thrilling world Balanchine created through his lifelong devotion to celebrating and expanding female beauty and strength—a world that, inevitably, passed upon his death. An intimate elegy to grace and loss and to the imprint of a towering artist and his transcendent creation on Bentley’s own life, Serenade: A Balanchine Story is a rich narrative by a dynamic artist about the nature of art itself at its most ephemeral and glorious.
Exploring themes of eroticism and self-discovery, this memoir delves into a woman's journey through an unconventional sexual experience that challenges societal norms. Bentley candidly recounts her awakening through a transformative relationship, embracing the joy found in risk and pleasure. By navigating complex psychosexual landscapes, she offers a fresh perspective on female desire, positioning her story alongside other iconic works of sexually subversive literature, yet uniquely highlighting the profound personal revelations that accompany her journey.
