By: Gerald Jonas, Preface By: Rhoda Grauer
1992 Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, in association with Thirteen/WNET
Copyright 1992 Educational Broadcasting Corporaton and Gerald Jonas. Paperback edition published in 1998 by Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated, New York
This is a companion volume to an eight-part television series. The Dancing series is a production of Thirteen/WNET in association with RM Arts and BBC-TV
ISBN: 0-8109-2791-8
Although I did enjoy the many pictures and cultures explored in this book I was dissapointed by the lack of diversity. The book talks briefly about dances from around the world (mostly asia) but, it's main focus is Ballet, Tap, and Jazz. I was extremely dissapointed by the fact that they didn't have much of anything to say about dance in the Middle East. It also was annoying that they chose pictures that made bellydancers seem humerous, instead of more current photos that show off the true beauty of the dance. It made me feel as though they did not veiw the dance as a serious art form. I felt that the pictures they had of other dance forms were beautiful and depicted the dance in an acceptable fashion. It seemed to me as though the author didn't really know much about Middle Eastern Dance and just Threw it in there without any real knowledge of what it was. Compared to the other pieces on dances from around the world it was seriously lacking effort. If your looking to learn more on middle eastern dance this book would not help you much at all however, if your looking to get a brief overview of world dances and ballet, tap, or jazz then it's well worth your money. It does give a brief biography of Ruth St. Denis though.
