meadowblythe Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 I've been asked by some year 8s to acquire some dance books for our school library. Ideally they'd like some on technique (they said ISTD but I think they may be pushing their luck here!) and also a couple of biographies - we have Hope in a Ballet Shoe but I fear others are now pretty outdated. If anyone can suggest singing technique books along the same lines that would be wonderful. We have a number of older students who also dance so obviously I am hoping to stock titles that will also appeal to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 They might be a little too in depth for Year 8's (though my daughter read them) but I recommend This is a Voice and/or Singing and the Actor by Dr Gillian Kayes and Jeremy Fisher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadowblythe Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 They sound perfect! Better too in depth than too lightweight - they are quite a sophisticated bunch of readers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Maybe This is A Voice would be the best one to start with. Bit more user friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 My daughter bought a book called Safe Dance Practice at Move It one year (think she was in Year 9). It was expensive but she still uses it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadowblythe Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 I have also discovered Peril en Pointe by Helen Lipscombe which looks quite fun. Some of my readers have an insatiable desire for boarding school and/or whodunnit stories - Murder Most Ladylike, Mallory Towers (really!), Agatha Christie, Mysterious Benedict .. so I'm hoping this is as much fun as it looks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SissonneDoublee Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 (edited) My year 8 DD has Carlos Acosta’s biography, which she loves. A technical dictionary of ballet could be good too. The coffee table book ‘ballet’ edited by Viviana Durante is fantastic, but huge! If you have space for it, it is wonderful. Edited January 9, 2020 by SissonneDoublee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
margarite Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 56 minutes ago, meadowblythe said: I have also discovered Peril en Pointe by Helen Lipscombe which looks quite fun. Some of my readers have an insatiable desire for boarding school and/or whodunnit stories - Murder Most Ladylike, Mallory Towers (really!), Agatha Christie, Mysterious Benedict .. so I'm hoping this is as much fun as it looks. This sounds so up my DD’s street - I’ve just ordered it for her - thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bex does ballet Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 I haven’t actually read it so I can’t comment on it’s suitability for yr 8s but I personally would love to read Dame Gillian Lynn’s biography. What a woman! ( thanks for the reminder, off to order it on Am...n prime) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalletBear Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 (edited) I know it’s not really on technique and the students might not possibly enjoy it, but I loved reading Mao’s Last Dancer a few years ago xx Edited January 9, 2020 by BalletBear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadowblythe Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 3 minutes ago, BalletBear said: I know it’s not really on technique and the students might not possibly enjoy it, but I loved reading Mao’s Last Dancer a few years ago xx My DS's favourite ever dance book. I haven't bought it because I wasn't convinced what suited a vocational boy would sit well in a general library, but now there is another vote I can go ahead and add it to our stock. Living in a rural fairly insular part of the UK it's great to remind the students there's a big wide world out there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 I’m just impressed there is still a library. Ds’s school got rid of theirs and created a learning resource centre instead with computers but got rid of non essential books. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadowblythe Posted January 10, 2020 Author Share Posted January 10, 2020 I'm fortunate the head is a huge fan. Occasionally drops in just a bit of peace and quiet as do other members of staff. And our upcoming Harry Potter night is starting with students bieng sorted by mixing chemicals together - should produce one of the four house colours - head of chemistry is as big a kid as I am! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadowblythe Posted January 10, 2020 Author Share Posted January 10, 2020 I wondered if anyone had read the Young Reader's Edition of Life in Motion? I think the "full fat" version might be little too much for our younger students but is there enough to keep year 8s engaged in the cut down version? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Remind us which one that is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glowlight Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Not about technique - but on the fiction front look at 'No Ballet Shoes in Syria' by Catherine Bruton. A book about a Syrian refugee girl who is also a brilliant dancer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArucariaBallerina Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 For non-fiction I loved Darcey Bussell's ballet book, the Ballet Companion by eliza gaynor minden, and 'Dancing Star' an old biography on the life of Anna Pavlova. Fiction my favourite newer series is Ballet Stars by Jane Lawes or any by Mal Lewis Jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilyflower Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Acting and Singing With Archetypes (Janet Rodgers and Frankie Armstrong) and Acting the Song, Performance Skills for the Musical Theatre (Tracey Moore with Allison Bergman) are good, I used them for my dissertation on creating character in musical theatre, not sure if they’re what you’re wanting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalletBear Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 If you want any fiction books, the Royal Ballet School Diaries (I think they are by an author called Alexandra Moss) are a wonderful set of books that follow year 7 at the school. I believe they can be ordered off amazon (which is where I got my set ) as I don’t think I’ve seen them anywhere else. They are quite short and might possibly be a tad bit easy for year 8 but they are very interesting! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Brown Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 my daughters are 10 and 12. We have Misty Copeland's autobiography young readers edition, Peril on Pointe, The Tsar's Ballet Slippers which went down very well here. Might be a bit young but The Secrets of the Ballet Book (think it is called that, will check when I go back upstairs) was good too. Otherwise the younger one (who prefers ballet, eldest going off dancing rapidly) is working her way through the Lorna Hill old Sadlers Wells books. A Girl called Faithful Plum is in the cupboard to be read as well. That one is about a young chinese dancers life. Will see if I can think of any more. Got a couple I need to put on ebay actually. thanks for reminding me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadowblythe Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 Thanks - would the young readers' Misty Copeland be suitable for late Year 8/Year 9? That awkward age - I can't (won't!) let them at the senior section (year 10 and above) , but they need something to get their teeth into. Meadowblythe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Brown Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 well I would err on the side of caution and go with the young readers edition myself as I have no idea how different the other version is. I think if you have a particular interest in something like dance then you will read biographical work even if it is aimed at a different age group. Let me take some photos of pages and see if I can private message them to you so you can see what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Brown Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 I have just found some others upstairs to suggest too but have jusst noticed the time and I need to go and buy bread and dinner before picking my daughter up. So I will be back later with info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdageKitty Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Thank you so much for this thread, I just went and ordered 4 of the books mentioned here 😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Brown Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 ok ones I have found floating around in my daughters rooms. No ballet shoes in Syria - Catherine Bruton. Not read yet so no idea what it is like A Girl Called Faithful Plum by Richard Bernstein Ballet Shoes for Anna - Noel Streatfeild Misty Copeland Young Readers Edition Life in Motion Pirouett by Robyn Bavati Dancing on the Inside by Glen C Strathy The Secret of the Ballet Book by Navita Dello The Tsar's Ballet Slippers by Angela Riley Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker and Peril on Pointe. Am about to put The Secret of the Ballet Book, The Tsar's Ballet Slippers and Music Boxes on ebay. Might be getting rid of Peril on Pointe too but need to check with one of the girls first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Brown Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 My daughter says the young readers edition of Life in Motion is brilliant and she thinks perfectly suitable for year 8, also opens it up for not so confident readers more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Brown Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 I think technique books wise would be quite difficult as all the boards vary. We have a ballet dictionary and a tap dictionary. Both I bought through the ISTD. They are quite thin pamphlet type books though rather than book books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Brown Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 what about something like this? I have no idea what it is like, just seen it. https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/jennifer-homans/apollo-s-angels/GOR004385575 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 It’s pretty complex for adults so I don’t think children could follow it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Brown Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 On 10/01/2020 at 14:47, meadowblythe said: I'm fortunate the head is a huge fan. Occasionally drops in just a bit of peace and quiet as do other members of staff. And our upcoming Harry Potter night is starting with students bieng sorted by mixing chemicals together - should produce one of the four house colours - head of chemistry is as big a kid as I am! My daughters say they want to come fo hour school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Brown Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 On 11/01/2020 at 21:45, BalletBear said: If you want any fiction books, the Royal Ballet School Diaries (I think they are by an author called Alexandra Moss) are a wonderful set of books that follow year 7 at the school. I believe they can be ordered off amazon (which is where I got my set ) as I don’t think I’ve seen them anywhere else. They are quite short and might possibly be a tad bit easy for year 8 but they are very interesting! I have just ordered these for my youngest. Thank you 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalletBear Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Mrs Brown said: I have just ordered these for my youngest. Thank you I hope that they enjoy them! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Brown Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 14 minutes ago, BalletBear said: I hope that they enjoy them! oh I am sure they will be popular. she has devoured Lorna Hill Sadlers Wells books. I told her about them this afternoon after seeing your post and she got very excited and gave me Christmas money to pay for them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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