Class: Notes on Dance Classes Round the World, 1915-80

Dust jacket notes: This book is a record of an eclectic education in dance by a well-known dancer and choreographer who studied with some of the best teachers in the world and recorded their classes in notebooks. It takes us from early lessons in her hometown, Indianapolis, to New York, London, Monte Carlo, Paris, Germany, Austria, China, Indonesia, Siam, Cambodia, Burma, Spain, and back to her adopted city, Chicago. Among the masters with whom she studied were Enrico Cecchetti, Adolph Bolm, Alexander Volinine, Carmelita Maracci, Mary Wigman, Harald Kreutzberg, Mario, Maria Montero, Aurora Arriaza, and Jose Otero. Its fascination lies in her personal recollections of these great teachers and of how they conducted their classes as well as in her notes on their classwork. The ballet classwork can readily be tried by anyone who knows the vocabulary, while the modern and ethnic sections might be used by those who have studied the technique. All readers will appreciate the efforts of a trained dancer to translate into her own movement vocabulary the subtleties and complexities of dance forms other than her own. It also presents a plea to today's young dancer to pursue well-rounded dance training, develop an interest in a variety of styles, and never stop taking classes. Her introduction begins, 'Next to performing, class is the most important thing in a dancer's life.'