The Right Moves: A Dancer's Training

Hurford, a freelance writer and former magazine editor, focuses in her first book on Max Fuqua, a young dancer at the School of American Ballet in New York. This anecdotal, behind-the-scenes look at ballet training describes Fuqua's aspirations, exertions, lapses, working and social relationships, while also presenting an overview of the ballet world in general. The stress, pain and frustration of young adulthood in a demanding profession are explored, but so are the satisfactions of associating with Peter Martins, Lincoln Kirstein, Alexandra Danilova, William Christiansen and other prominent dancers and teachers. Interspersed are glimpses of ballet history, funding and administration, the problems of parenting gifted children, and the dance scene in San Francisco, Seattle and elsewhere. Photos not seen by PW. (July 28)