My Book Of Ballet Stories

The Sunday Age

Sunday June 10, 2007

Frances Atkinson

My Book Of Ballet Stories

Marcia Hatfield

New Holland, $19.95

Do you confuse Odette with Aurora? Raymonda with Coppelia? My Book of Ballet Stories is a collection of abridged stories based on famous productions. In this new edition (the original was published in 1974), Marcia Hatfield (who worked with Robert Helpmann) has spruced things up by including industry news and a foreword by Australian Ballet artistic director David McAllister. Beginning with Swan Lake, Hatfield re-tells the stories with flair, emphasising the emotional peaks in each tale. Seeing the real thing on stage will be even more thrilling when you can follow the story. There's also room at the back of the book to stick in personal ballet momentoes.

© 2007 The Sunday Age

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