6.1.2. General Ballet and Modern Dance History Books
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This article is from the Ballet and Modern Dance FAQ, by Tom Parsons twp@panix.com with numerous contributions by others.
6.1.2. General Ballet and Modern Dance History Books
Anderson, Jack. "Ballet and Modern Dance: a Concise History". Second
edition. Princeton: Princeton Book Company, 1986, ISBN 0-87127-172-9.
Shorter and less comprehensive than either Kirstein or Sachs, but more
recent and (IMHO) more readable. This is the history of dance I would
have written, if I could.
"Art Without Boundaries". University of Iowa Press, 1997, ISBN
0-87745583-X. A very thorough look at the evolution of modern dance
from both US and German perspectives.
Au, Susan. "Ballet and Modern Dance". Thames & Hudson, 1988, ISBN 0-500-
20219-2. Also a college text, slightly less focussed on the US than
Anderson, but no primary source materials.
"Dance and Music of Court and Theater--Selected Writings of
Wendy Hilton". Reprint, Pendragon Press, Dance & Music Series No.
101997, ISBN 0-945193-98-X. Facsimile of 1981 book, "Dance of Court
and Theater" with two other articles added. Includes a complete course
in reading dance notation of the period.
Kirstein, Lincoln. "Dance: A Short History of Classic Theatrical Dancing".
Princeton: Princeton Book Company, 1987, ISBN 87127-019-6. Covers
everything from ancient times to approximately the 1940s.
"Four Centuries of Ballet". New York: Dover Books, ISBN 0-486-
24631-0. Some general historical background followed by discussions of
fifty ballets. Generously illustrated.
Lawson, Joan. "A History of Ballet and Its Makers". London: Pitman Pub.
Corp., 1964. More narrowly focussed than Sorell, Kirstein, or Sachs
but, within its limits, more detailed.
Quirey, Belinda. "May I have the Pleasure?" London: Dance Books, 1976 (in
U.S., Princeton: Princeton Books), ISBN 1-85273-000-5. A history of
social dancing, apparently based on a BBC television series.
Interesting and informative.
Reyna, Ferdinando and Jean-Claude Dienis. "Histoire du ballet", second
edition. Paris: Editions A. Somogy, 1981. ISBN 2-85056-151-7. A
rather complete little book about dance history (but maybe focusing a
bit too much on French dance), with an interesting index of ballets and
many photographs and drawings.
Sachs, Kurt. "World History of the Dance". New York: Norton, 1953,
apparently out of print. The definitive history in its time, now dated
but not yet superseded.
Sorell, Walter. "Dance in its Time". New York: Columbia University Press,
1981, ISBN 0-231-06391-1. A social history of dance.
Tatchell, Judy. "The World of Ballet". Usborne Publishing, 1994, ISBN
0-7460-1692-1. Lots and lots of pretty pictures; at first glance it
seems to be ALL pictures, but there's a lot of info crammed in there,
too. Gives hints on watching ballets, describes the changing styles
from century to century, costumes, scenery, also describes (with photos
and captions) the basic moves, gives short bios of some famous dancers
and choreographers and companies, short synopses of about 30 ballets.
(Summary courtesy of svkeeley@aol.com.)
Zorina, Vera. "Vera Zorina". New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1986,
ISBN not known.
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