Mr. B

George Balanchine's 20th Century

De: Jennifer Homans

Narrado por: Cassandra Campbell

Arguably the greatest choreographer who ever lived, George Balanchine was one of the cultural titans of the twentieth century—the New York Times called him "the Shakespeare of dancing." His radical approach to choreography—and life—reinvented the art of ballet and made him a legend. Written with enormous style and artistry, and based on more than one hundred interviews and research in archives across Russia, Europe, and the Americas, Mr. B carries us through Balanchine's tumultuous and high-pitched life story and into the making of his extraordinary dances.

Balanchine's life intersected with some of the biggest historical events of his century. Born in Russia under the last czar, Balanchine experienced the upheavals of World War I, the Russian Revolution, exile, World War II, and the Cold War. A cofounder of the New York City Ballet, he pressed ballet in America to the forefront of modernism and made it a popular art. None of this was easy, and we see his loneliness and failures, his five marriages—all to dancers—and many loves. We follow his bouts of ill health and spiritual crises, and learn of his profound musical skills and sensibility and his immense determination to make some of the most glorious, strange, and beautiful dances ever to grace the modern stage.

©2022 Jennifer Homans (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Brilliant bio

One of the best artist's biography I've read in years and the narration is superb. The artists I most admire are the risk takers - the ones who continue to follow their muse into unknown realms and never stop evolving. Balanchine was one of these. Because of her training and familiarity with the subject and his world Ms. Homans is uniquely qualified to do justice to this complex man and his art.

Wow!

Reviewed on Goodreads. Comprehensive and authoritative bio of Balanchine by a scholar and dancer. No detail is too small!

Interesting.

I thought the writing style very appropriate for young adults and older. It's helpful to get an inside view. They all gave so much to establish ballet in America. I admire them, So much sacrifice! The audible narrator used the correct voice and pace. The Russian pronunciations must have taken a lot of time to get right. She did a great job!. One of my favorite narrators. 4 stars because the author, it seems to me, included everything. Book could have been much shorter. I learned SO much . I'm glad I listened, and read, Mr. B.

A haul

This book was informative but it was a slog! Long read, good for anyone interested in Balanchine’s life + career.