Ballet For Dummies Paperback – October 3, 2003

I bought this book because it was written by my adult open dance class instructor at the Boston Ballet School. (She is also the principal of the school and was a prima ballerina for 20 years, so as an adult beginner, how lucky are we?) I was looking for a way to study the french names for ballet steps and learn the sequence of classic ballet exercises at home so I could keep up in class. This book saved me! There is a photo for each step explaining the technique, as well as the counts to music to complete each step.Explaining movement and music simultaneously on a page can be very difficult to translate to practice and sometimes tedious to read, but I'm glad they wrote it that way. The narratives are written exactly how she explains things in class. Not a word is wasted! Absent of a phenomenal instructor correcting your technique in person, this is how to hear how a professional teaches a class.There is a chapter on music as well as ballet history sprinkled throughout for enthusiasts of the art form.

I'm used to ballet being very structured and precise, but the book doesn't stress the importance of correct form. If you're searching for a book that is very detailed about form, I'd recommend one that is produced for dedicated dancers rather than a commercial addition to the Dummies series. In a more serious book you get the raw and less humorous version, but an accurate one.As far as learning ballet technique it really only gives the name, pronunciation, and a picture of the position, but honestly I found it more productive to search for the move on YouTube or VideoJug. I'm not one of those "you don't learn ballet from a book" people either, there are good books out there that describe the proper techniques and it depends on how different people utilize that information.I rather enjoyed the guides on how to begin participating in watching ballets and what they consider to be ten great classical and contemporary ballets. They cover performances that ballet enthusiasts, dancers or not, should be familiar with.- M.

This is the BOOK for me. Amazon got it to me before the date it was to come. It has everything I need to know. I was fortunate to take a 6 week class when I was 8 years old. My family couldn't afford classes, costumes, or transportation to a ballet studio. At the young age of 70, according to my 92 year old grandmother, I have just started my first ballet class.I am loving every minute and am doing better than some or the younger students, age30-60, in my class. I love Amazon.com

I really like it because it breaks down the difficult terminology into layman's terms. I enjoy the wittiness and the way it works. The two authors go through the basics, the barre, center work and other stuff. I wish it had more on fouttee turns but hey it's the best thing after an actual ballet class. I do like Classical Ballet Technique by Warren but it's too difficult to understand. This one breaks it down better for those beginning ballet students.

This is the book to read when you've never heard of a plie or releve or anything ballet. This is also the book to go to even if you have. Great way to teach yourself or another person from scratch! Takes you through the port-de bra exercises...you know...those mysterious arm movements you see them do when they are at the barre. It actually explained it to me, and I've been around ballet for a little bit.

I purchased this book after reading the intro online, and I was excited for the high quality product I thought I would be getting. This was my first experience with "for Dummies" books, and I was, quite frankly, disappointed. I have yet to really read the entire book after the initial disappointment, considering I bought two other ballet books at the same time that were just amazing. This book has the dry "newspaper" paper, black and white pictures of people in bad leotards, and an odd teaching style for newcomers. I wish the book had captured the beauty, grace, elegance, hard work, determination, muscle control, strength training, and passion that all come with ballet. It was quite humorous, so it was a less cumbersome read, but, all in all, I was disappointed.

It seems to be a copy of the original book. The pictures are not in color, its a bad black and white copy. Can't really make out the pictures. Other then the pictures, I think I got everything that the original has. Im going to a book store to fine out. I belive its missing some things. Not sure yet.

This book goes deeply into steps for beginners. This could be lightened as the teachers teach with their particular flair their way. I enjoyed suggestions for online dance clothes ordering. There was description of some basic ballets.

Bought book as started a ballet group for older people and wanted to understand terms used. Book easy to read and understand. Promptly arrived after purchasing, liked how it explained in detail what things meant, this proved useful.

Will this book teach you how to do ballet? No. No book would be able to teach such a complex skill. What this book does, is go through various aspects of ballet technique, terminolgy and conventions (eg dress, class structure) It is a great all round guide to ballet, and a good support to someone starting ballet classes, or looking to start. It breaks through the mysterious cliques that many percieve there are in the ballet world, and make ballet an approachable and attainable form of excercise and entertainment.

A good reference for a beginner. The humour can be funny, descriptive but sometimes a little annoying. This is an overview of all aspects of ballet.

it helped me a lot with my ballet good value and very amusing. Olyvia aged 12

I liked this books no nonsence approach and its scope of coverage. Covers simple and complex moves so will be of use to many dancers. Delivered quickly and in excellent condition.