First published 2010
Ballet has shaped Western culture for over four centuries. Jennifer Homans examines how this art form evolved from Renaissance Italy and France to today's global stages. She shows how dancers carry forward traditions without written texts, passing steps from teacher to student across generations. The book follows ballet's journey through European courts, where Louis XIV codified basic positions, to Russian Imperial theaters that created The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. Homans explores how French, Italian, Danish, Russian, English, and American styles developed distinct expressions shaped by political upheavals and cultural shifts. She traces the twentieth century transformation when emigrant dancers brought their knowledge to the United States and Western Europe. As both historian and former professional dancer, Homans combines scholarly research with practical understanding of technique and performance. Her analysis reveals how ballet reflects broader movements from Classicism and Romanticism to Modernism and Cold War tensions.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, non-fiction, 21st-century, art-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-nonfiction
Setting: Europe, France, Italy, Russia, United States
Period: 16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century
643 pages · Hardcover · Random House