Dynamic women dancers

Anne Dublin.
Toronto : Second Story Press, c2009.
128 p. : ill., ports. ; 23 cm.

Annotations:

Includes bibliographical references: p. 119-126.

Reviews:

Shelly Feit (Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter, September/October 2009 (Vol. 29, No. 1))

Anne Dublin’s newest book is a lovely look at women dancers who were and are leaders in their fields, written as a collective biography. Each chapter covers one dancer and is eight to ten pages long. The dancers--several of whom are Jewish--range chronologically from Anna Pavlova, who danced with Nijinsky, up to Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, who created Urban Bush Women, a dance company that is still performing. They are from Canada, Cuba, India, Russia, Spain, and the United States, representing forms as diverse as Spanish flamenco and the classical Indian Bharatanatyam. Each entry includes biographical information, the subject’s dance history, and her attempts to change the world for the better through dance. What really works for young readers is that some of the dancers are still creating new dances. Others continue to choreograph and some are still dancing or are leaders in their fields. Photographs illustrate each chapter, helping to round out the portraits created in the clear, succinct text. Included are several appendices: a two-page introduction to types of dance; a glossary of terms relating to dance; and a bibliography, called Sources and Resources, on each dancer included in the book. This excellent resource is recommended for middle school students who are doing reports or reading for pleasure. Women’s Hall of Fame Series Category: n/a. 2009, Second Story Press, 129p, $10.95 Pbk. Ages 11 to 15.

BBKT (Best Books for Kids & Teens, 2010)

Meet ten women who have transformed their respective styles of dance and made a difference in the dance world and beyond. Those profiled include Karen Kain, Judith Marcuse and Anna Pavlova. Black-and-white photos appear in this energizing and inspiring text. A glossary, a bibliography and a “Forms of Dance” section are included. Thematic Links: Performing Arts - Women Dancers. Category: Biography & Memoir. 128 pages, b&w, 6" x 9". Ages 9-13. (Women’s Hall of Fame) 2009, Second Story Press, $10.95 PB.

Mary Ann Cree (Canadian Children’s Book News, Summer 2009 (Vol. 32, No. 3))

The fourteenth title in The Women’s Hall of Fame Series focuses on dancers from around the world. There are two Canadians profiled -- Karen Kain and Judith Marcuse -- and dancers from Cuba, Spain, India, Russia and the United States. What distinguishes these dancers is that not only are they successful artists, they are also involved in social issues and committed to helping others in their communities. From Anna Pavlova, who inspired generations of dancers around the world to our own Karen Kain, now the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada, these biographies take the reader on a tour of many styles of dance. We meet Alicia Alonso, the great Cuban dancer who overcame near blindness to become a world-famous ballerina and start a Cuban ballet company. Modern dancers Pearl Primus, Anna Sokolow, Willa Jo Zollar and Judith Marcuse are profiled. We also meet a Spanish flamenco dancer, Carmen Amaya, and a classical Indian dancer, Geeta Chandran, who teaches this ancient dance form while also working to address social issues in her country. I am always happy to see another book in this useful and informative series. Anne Dublin is an accomplished biographer with a passion for dance. She has chosen an interesting cross-section of dancers for this collection, most of whom are not well known. Young readers with an interest in dance will find this a satisfying read. Grades 4 and up. 2009, Second Story Press, (pb) $10.95. Ages 9 up.

Julie Chychota (CM Magazine, September 11, 2009 (Vol. XVI, No. 2))

Anyone under the impression that dancers are mollycoddled prima donnas will revise that opinion upon reading Dynamic Women Dancers. The newest member to join the chorus line of "The Women's Hall of Fame Series" at Second Story Press, Dynamic Women Dancers assembles the biographical profiles of 10 professional dancers from seven different countries around the world. Through their untiring devotion to the art, these women have transformed the way in which dance is performed and perceived. Not only that, they have used their celebrity to champion humanitarian causes besides. Dynamic Women Dancers gracefully follows the lead of previous "Hall of Fame" titles with respect to form, content, and scope. Its bold cover and graphic flourishes are hallmarks of the series, as are its mini-biographies of like-minded women who have overcome impediments to success. In this case, although the toe shoes on the cover foretell the presence of ballerinas, the book also incorporates dancers in flamenco, Bharatanatyam, and modern traditions. The women hail from Russia, the United States, Spain, Trinidad, Cuba, Canada, and India, the earliest having been born in 1881, the most recent in 1962. With her varied selection, author Anne Dublin evokes an atmosphere that couples the local and the exotic, the historical and the contemporary. Dublin's warm-up to the primary text is an introduction in which she recounts the wonder of seeing her first ballet as an adolescent, and how that experience fuelled her lifelong fascination with dance. She then launches into the biographies, all of them laid out according to a familiar pattern. That is, a half-page portrait of a dancer heads up each one, framed by a thick inner gray border and a thin outer black line, plain at the top and bottom, but enhanced by scrollwork on the right and left sides. The dancer's name appears above the photograph while the year she was born appears below, as does the year she died, where applicable. Beneath the date(s), a caption synopsizes that dancer's career, such as "Capturing People's Hearts," "Helping Every Body Dance," or "Telling the Stories." The chapters sort the women chronologically by year of birth and run to between 10-12 pages apiece. Over and above the discipline demanded of them by their profession, these 10 dynamic women variously endured poverty, blindness, depression, racism, injury, and family opposition. Alicia Alonso, for instance, lost much of her sight despite three retinal surgeries; nevertheless, she continued dancing into her seventies, "an unheard-of age for a classical ballerina to be dancing," writes Dublin (p. 57). For Anna Sokolow, whose mother opposed her career choice, pursuing dance meant being turned out of her home at 15, quitting school, working odd jobs, and sharing living quarters with half a dozen people for starters (pp. 17-18). The racism Pearl Primus encountered only sharpened her determination to locate and express authentic African-American experiences in dance. Whether the pressures they faced were physical or emotional, familial or societal, all summoned the willpower to continue forward. Not only did these women persevere despite difficulties, but they also used their influence and abilities to assist others. For example, Anna Pavlova and Carmen Amaya performed benefits in support of orphans and widows, victims of war, and other charitable causes. The Dancer Transition Resource Centre, over which Karen Kain presides as the president for life, eases retired dancers into new career paths so they can find alternative meaningful ways to contribute to society. Liz Lerman, Judith Marcuse, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and Geeta Chandran, respectively, have collaborated on, and participated in, projects that explore and initiate dialogue on social issues, such as teen suicide, bullying, racism, violence, and gender issues. For these women, dance does not exist in isolation on some remote aesthetic plane but also has an obligation to make a difference in the pragmatic dimension. True to form, Dynamic Women Dancers embraces the main visual conventions at play throughout the series. For example, accompanying the text are 19 photographic reproductions that depict the dancers in motion. In conjunction with the portrait photos that begin the chapter, these images satisfy readers' curiosity about what the dancers look like. They also reveal glimpses of the dynamism referenced in the title and apparent in the women's life stories. In addition and at irregular intervals throughout the text, 19 gray sidebars, ornately circumscribed along the top and bottom edges of their thin black borders, repeat information in the primary text, usually verbatim. Since the sidebars do nothing to develop the narratives, they, like the pairs of tiny dancers that straddle the page numbers, fulfill a strictly decorative purpose. Yet these graphic "intermissions" give younger readers a short respite from what would otherwise be lengthy blocks of text. Concluding the book is the back matter which, aside from the usual photo credits and acknowledgements pages, contains sections entitled "Forms of Dance," "Glossary," and "Sources and Resources." "Forms of Dance" elaborates on the origins and characteristics of the four forms represented in this particular book. Meanwhile, the glossary is a strange concession: of the 14 entries, at least half are already sufficiently defined in the chapters. It would have been better either to choose in-line explanations for all and forego a glossary, like Nobel's Women of Peace did, or to use boldface or italics on the vocabulary in question and reserve explanation exclusively for the glossary. As for the "Sources and Resources" that informed the author's writing, they consist of an impressive mix: books, articles, websites, videos, and even personal interviews with four of the dancers. In fact, Dublin lists between six and 12 items for each dancer. A note beneath the heading identifies with an asterisk those sources expressly "for children"—as opposed to the intended "young adult" readership—five out of a total of 77. In a confusing move, at least from the perspective of aiming for continuity within a series, this section organizes the dancers alphabetically by surname whereas, in previous books, "Sources and Resources" listed subjects in the order in which the chapters introduced them. Furthermore, the company of sentence fragments (six at last count) did not dance its way into my heart, yet there have been marked improvements since earlier books in this respect. However, Dublin's use of journals and periodicals make up for the foregoing by generating a heightened academic sensibility around Dynamic Women Dancers, a step that ups the ante for the next title in the series. While Dynamic Women Dancers may not be as overtly feminist in tone as Extraordinary Women Explorers or Nobel's Women of Peace, it does uphold the strong female characters and humanitarian issues valued by Second Story Press. Especially compelling from a feminist perspective are the stories of Lerman and Zollar, who did not fit into established practices, but who forged their own approaches to dance, approaches to better honour the plurality of human experience. Yet the other dancers are equally as important in their own ways, and the hand of the former teacher-librarian and dance enthusiast is evident in Dublin's even, sensitive treatment of her subjects' personal and professional selves. The "Women's Hall of Fame Series" seems inherently flexible. Marketed to adolescents, it is suitable for adults, too. Individual books might be worked into a curriculum, or recommended for recreational reading. At a price of $10.95 per book, the series is affordably collectible, and one could easily stash a handful of titles in a tote bag for on the road or at the cottage. Highly Recommended. Rating: *** ½ /4. Grades 4-8. (The Women's Hall of Fame Series) 2009, Second Story Press, 128 pp., pbk., $10.95. Ages 9 to 13.

Sarah Camus (Kutztown University Book Review, Spring 2010)

This book is a great nonfiction book on dance and makes for a good starting place on bibliographies. As a lover of dance myself, I find it an excellent source to learn about many different styles and dancers. It focuses on ten women dancers and their stories, and how they affected not only dance but the world also. Perfect for researching, this book includes a glossary of terms and sources and resources on each dancer. There’s also a small section that covers four different types of dance: ballet, modern, flamenco, and Bharatanatyam (a South Indian style of dance.) Overall, a great book for girls interested in learning more about certain dancers. Category: Biography.. 2009, Second Story Press, $10.95. Ages 10 to 14.

Lesley Little (Resource Links, October 2009 (Vol. 15, No. 1))

Changing the world through the pursuit of dance might seem unrealistic at best, but this surprisingly engaging book shows how it all works. The reason I say “surprisingly engaging “ is that at the outset, the author’s tone is just short of profoundly condescending. However, once she gets past the self-consciousness and becomes immersed in her subject, she takes the reader on a tour of fascinating women who made an impact on their worlds and the world in general by being true to themselves and refusing to hide their dreams and talents under a leaf. From the impoverished youth of prima ballerina Anna Pavlova in Imperial Russia through the turn of the 20th century to traditional and modern American, European, Canadian and Indian dancers, author Dublin fleshes out the lives of devoted artists with a conscience who could be an example to 21st century girls who might not have considered dance as a life choice.. This title is part of Second Story Press’s Women’s Hall of Fame Series, aimed at - but not limited to - middle school audiences. Titles cover a broad range of exceptional women ranging from the familiar (writers, artists, and athletes) to the less conventional, like women in space, explorers, environmentalists, filmmakers, inventors, and women who work for peace, to name a few. What makes this book so interesting is the author’s truly extensive research into the life of each dancer. The diversity of these dancers’ lives offers something for any reader; one need not be a dancer or even particularly interested in dance to benefit from the value this book offers. Category: Non-Fiction Grades K-6. Thematic Links: Dance; Social Justice; Perseverance. Resource Links Rating: G (Good, great at times, generally useful!), Gr. 4 up. 2009, Second Story Press, Illus., Pbk. $10.95. Ages 9 up.

Brenna Shanks (VOYA, December 2009 (Vol. 32, No. 5))

Beginning with the great Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, Dynamic Women Dancers profiles ten dancers, each from different countries and backgrounds. Most of the dancers performed ballet or modern dance, but a flamenco dancer and a South Indian classical dancer are also included. Entries are brief, detailing their backgrounds, studies, and the challenges each woman faced. Some of these obstacles were physical, but they also faced social and political challenges. Many of the women are associated with breaking some sort of barrier: Alicia Alonso was a Cuban ballerina who was partially blind. Pearl Primus was an African American modern dancer whose life and work influenced later dancers like Alvin Ailey. Their work affected world society at large, not just the world of dance or the arts in general. Although not always the most famous dancers, these women are interesting, positive role models. One of the strengths of this series is that it profiles women from diverse backgrounds and nations. These books are no exception. Black-and-white pictures help break up the text, and a few inset boxes offer supplemental quotes or information. Although not flashy, the books present information well, and the lives profiled are both interesting and inspirational. (Women’s Hall of Fame) VOYA CODES: 3Q 2P M J S (Readable without serious defects; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2009, Second Story, 228p.; Glossary. Source Notes. Further Reading., $10.95 Trade pb.. Ages 11 to 18.