Teens interested in any and all aspects of a career in dance will find useful and entertaining information here.
From ballet to Broadway and from Hollywood to hip-hop: a how-to.
Brief histories of different dance forms are interspersed with frequent boxed highlights, sidebars, and profiles of current and former members of the dance world. Van der Linde begins by stating her belief that “[e]arly people did not consider dance as entertainment but as an essential form of expression.” Dance as religious ritual in India, Japan and Thailand receives mention as does dance as court entertainment in France and in Italy. She moves on to the realms of ballet, Broadway and Hollywood musicals, contemporary dance, sports dance squads, college programs, and related careers in costume design, dance therapy and photography. She even encourages couch potatoes to try social dancing. Librarians should note that some of the activities, such as a word search and matching ballet scores with the composer, are write-ins. The book is copiously illustrated with line drawings, although curiously, only text is used to describe the five ballet foot positions and hip-hop steps. Readers may well feel the absence of diagrams.
Teens interested in any and all aspects of a career in dance will find useful and entertaining information here. (resources, glossary, notes, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: April 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-58270-451-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Beyond Words/Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
A stereotype about people with disabilities is shattered by this introduction to a dance company known as Dancing Wheels, a group composed of “sit down” and “stand-up” dancers. The story begins with Mary Fletcher-Verdi, born with spina bifida, a condition that causes weakness in the legs and spine. Mary always wanted to dance, and, encouraged by a family who focused on what she could do rather than what she couldn’t, she studied the art and eventually formed a mixed company, some who dance on their legs, and some who dance in wheelchairs. What she accomplished can be seen in this photo journal of the group’s dance workshop in which beginners and experienced dancers study and rehearse. Along the way, McMahon (One Belfast Boy, 1999, etc.) intersperses the history of the group, some details about the dancers, their families, and the rehearsal process that leads up to the final performance. Three children are featured, Jenny a wheelchair dancer, Devin, her stand-up partner, and Sabatino, the young son of Mary’s partner. The focus on these youngsters gives the reader a sense of their personalities and their lives with their families. Godt’s (Listen for the Bus, not reviewed, etc.) color photographs detail every aspect of the story and show the dancers at home and in rehearsal, interacting with each other, having fun, and finally performaning. They convey the dancer’s sense of joy as well as the commitment to the dance as an art form felt by the adult directors and teachers. An excellent book for helping children and adults expand their understanding about the abilities of the “disabled.” (Nonfiction. 7-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-395-88889-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Only for the most dedicated fans of the company.
A sanitized retrospective on the days before Nike was Nike.
In 1962, Phil Knight is 24 years old, an MBA living in his parents’ house again, searching for a direction for his life. While on a run, he returns to an idea he had in college: importing Japanese track and field shoes and selling them in America. Knight heads to Japan and a meeting with the Onitsuka shoe company, makers of the Tiger flat—a term Knight never explains. Through luck and moxie, he forms a partnership with Onitsuka and names his company Blue Ribbon Sports. With the help of dedicated employees, over the next 10 years Blue Ribbon sells more and more shoes, held back only by bankers and Onitsuka itself. Knight is personally successful, too, falling in love, getting married and having a child. When Blue Ribbon is renamed Nike, it is a turning point that concludes the memoir. A final chapter covers the next eight years, detailing some of Nike’s successes and setbacks. This memoir is more focused on 1960s accounting practices and interpersonal dynamics than the shoes—and what else would you want to read about when it comes to Nike?
Only for the most dedicated fans of the company. (Memoir. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0118-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
SEEN & HEARD
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