Description
Presenting for the first time Akim Volynsky's (1861-1926) pre-balletic writings on Leonardo da Vinci, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Otto Weininger, and on such illustrious personalities as Zinaida Gippius, Ida Rubinstein, and Lou Andreas-Salome, And Then Came Dance provides new insight into the origins of Volynsky's life-altering journey to become Russia's foremost ballet critic. A man for whom the realm of art was largely female in form and whose all-encompassing image of woman constituted the crux of his aesthetic contemplation that crossed over into the personal and libidinal, Volynsky looks ahead to another Petersburg-bred high priest of classical dance, George Balanchine. With an undeniable proclivity toward ballet's female component, Volynsky's dance writings, illuminated by examples of his earlier gendered criticism, invite speculation on how truly ground-breaking and forward-looking this critic is.
About the Author
Stanley J. Rabinowitz is Professor Emeritus of Russian at Amherst College.
Reviews
Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals. * L. K. Rosenberg, CHOICE *
Akim Volynsky, an idealist's idealist, abandoned philosophy for literature, then literature for Russian classical ballet. He wrote obsessively and compellingly about the female dancer as martyr, oracle, and cipher of an art he hoped might change the world. Rabinowitz has produced a mesmerizing, provocative collection of his writings, beautifully translated. * Simon Morrison, Princeton University *
Praise for Ballet's Magic Kingdom: Selected Writings on Dance in Russia, 1911-1925 (2011): This is a fantastic book ... The book is a must for anyone claiming a love of ballet ... [Volynsky's text] is always hugely entertaining and surprising, you will never look at a toeshoe, a tiara or a tendu ... the same way again. * Toni Bentley, The New York Times Book Review *
Book Information
ISBN 9780190943370
Author Stanley J. Rabinowitz
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 155mm * 231mm * 18mm
About the Author
Stanley J. Rabinowitz is Professor Emeritus of Russian at Amherst College.
Reviews
Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals. * L. K. Rosenberg, CHOICE *
Akim Volynsky, an idealist's idealist, abandoned philosophy for literature, then literature for Russian classical ballet. He wrote obsessively and compellingly about the female dancer as martyr, oracle, and cipher of an art he hoped might change the world. Rabinowitz has produced a mesmerizing, provocative collection of his writings, beautifully translated. * Simon Morrison, Princeton University *
Praise for Ballet's Magic Kingdom: Selected Writings on Dance in Russia, 1911-1925 (2011): This is a fantastic book ... The book is a must for anyone claiming a love of ballet ... [Volynsky's text] is always hugely entertaining and surprising, you will never look at a toeshoe, a tiara or a tendu ... the same way again. * Toni Bentley, The New York Times Book Review *
Book Information
ISBN 9780190943370
Author Stanley J. Rabinowitz
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 155mm * 231mm * 18mm
