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PUSH COMES TO SHOVE

Name: PUSH COMES TO SHOVE
Author: Twyla Tharp
ISBN: 0-553-07306-0

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

by Twyla Tharp ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 16, 1992

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As direct, quirky and complex as Tharp herself: an illuminating self-portrayal of this important choreographer- dancer's struggle for artistic and personal growth. Born in Indiana, Tharp endured a traumatic move to California at age eight: Leaving behind her beloved extended family, she was plunged into a grinding schedule of art, music, and dance lessons that her driving mother believed might give the girl a Hollywood career. The rest of her life, Tharp says, has been an interplay between her complex feelings for her mother and her art. Those interested in the way that choreographic genius develops will be enlightened here. As a teenager, Tharp ruminated endlessly about movement: ``What would it feel like to twist the torso to the left and extend the leg to the right?''; ``I searched physical and emotional and musical motivations—all different, all valid.'' Tharp's choreographic career began with her move to N.Y.C. in the 60's: Goading Paul Taylor into firing her as a dancer, she was on her own. To Tharp, choreography was a must: ``I knew that until I took on the full responsibility for my art...I was only a tool, not a serious artist.'' Tharp imparts the full flavor of the city's 60's art scene during the time that she gradually developed a troupe of fiercely loyal performers. By 1975, she was running the only company in the country with enough work to pay its dancers 52 weeks a year. But the strain of being administrator, fund-raiser, and artist took its toll. Writing about the eventual disbanding of the company, her short-lived affiliation with ABT, work in Hollywood, and guest work with major international dance companies, Tharp pulls no punches: career flops, therapy, affairs, abortions, troubled marriages, and turbulent motherhood are all related without excuses. Tharp is the major female choreographer in the dance world now, and her articulate, honest voice describing how she reached this status offers a lesson in how an artist grows—and a riveting read.

Pub Date: Nov. 16, 1992

ISBN: 0-553-07306-0

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Bantam

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1992

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.