Allegra Kent

Sophie the swan joins a ballet class and works hard to earn a part in the end-of-year performance of Swan Lake.

"This Christmas, join a young girl and her grandmother as they embark on a holiday adventure to see The Nutcracker together! Her grandmother, known as Grand Jetae, was once a prima ballerina and danced in The Nutcracker herself, and now she's sharing themagic of this special ballet"--

From the beginning, American dance has been an exciting fusion of many disparate influences, with European traditions of ballet and social dancing encountering Native American rituals and African American improvisations to create something new and extraordinary. In this landmark collection, dance critic Mindy Aloff brings together an astonishing array of writers—dancers and dance creators, impresarios and critics, and enthusiastic literary observers—to...