Like Art? Read This Book!

Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans. Random House. 2010.



I've just finished an amazing book by dance critic Jennifer Homans. Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet captures the flow and intersection of ballet with music, poetry, painting and fashion as well as politics and national identities across the world. Angels is a long read (550 pages) but, even as someone with no experience in ballet, I was hooked from beginning to end. I've never read a book that so smoothly combines dance and art into a historical timeline. Dance and art as a whole have been judged by their accessibility and Angels expertly describes the role art plays in the lives of those who have access to it and those who do not. National tragedies and triumphs, the rise and fall of monarchies are all told through the story of ballet. The attention to detail and intense discipline and fluidity of ballet is reflected in the discipline and fluidity of Homan's writing.

If you have an interest in art, history, and culture I recommend you read this book!