Scott Speck - Ballet for Dummies

by Scott Speck and Evelyn Cisneros

Ballet For Dummies

Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com

Copyright 2003 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8700. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. SOME OF THE EXERCISES AND DIETARY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL INDIVIDUALS, AND CONSULTATION WITH A PHYSICIAN IS SUGGESTED BEFORE COMMENCING ANY EXERCISE OR DIETARY PROGRAM.

For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2003105854

1O/RS/QZ/QT/IN

ISBN: 0-7645-2568-9

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6

About the Authors

Scott Speck, award-winning conductor, has led the San Francisco Ballet in hundreds of performances at San Francisco Opera House, Washingtons Kennedy Center, the Paris Opera, Londons Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and on tour throughout the United States. He is currently Music Director of the Mobile Symphony and the West Shore Symphony, and Principal Guest Conductor of the China Film Philharmonic in Beijing.

Scott Speck is in demand as a guest conductor of ballet, opera, and symphonic performances throughout the world. In recent seasons he has led the orchestras of Paris (Orchestre Colonne), Moscow (State Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra), Shanghai, Beijing, Baltimore, Buffalo, Florida, Honolulu, Houston, New Orleans, Oregon, Rochester, San Diego, Virginia, and Windsor, Ontario, among many others.

Lisa Kohler

His commentaries have appeared regularly on National Public Radio, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Voice of Russia. A Fulbright scholar and summa cum laude graduate of Yale, he has written about the arts for several magazines and journals.

Scott Speck is the co-author (with David Pogue) of Classical Music For Dummies and Opera For Dummies, published by John Wiley and Sons.

Evelyn Cisneros, legendary Prima Ballerina, danced with the San Francisco Ballet for 23 years, creating innumerable roles, perform-ing nationally and internationally, and starring in several televised productions. She is the subject of the book Evelyn Cisneros: Prima Ballerina; the subject of the PBS special Evelyn Cisneros: Moving On; the former host of the PBS program Bay Windows; and the online ballet advice columnist Ask Evelyn for Dance Magazine. She has been featured on the covers of several major dance publications.

She has been honored for her activism as a role model for the Hispanic community as well as for her artistic achievement. She holds honorary doctorates from Mills College and from California State University at Monterey Bay.

Marty Sohl

When Evelyn Cisneros retired from the San Francisco Ballet with a gala performance in 1999, the Mayor proclaimed Evelyn Cisneros Week to commemorate the event. She is now Ballet Education Coordinator for the San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education, while continuing to teach ballet, stage ballets, and coach dancers.

About the Dancers

Stephen Legate (the male dancer featured in the studio demonstrations throughout this book) trained with the National Ballet School in Toronto and the School of American Ballet in New York City. While dancing with the National Ballet of Canada, he won the Erik Bruhn Prize as Best Male Dancer. He joined the San Francisco Ballet as a Soloist in 1991 and was promoted to Principal Dancer the following year.

His acclaimed roles include Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Prince Desir in Sleeping Beauty, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Colas in La fille mal garde, and Cassio in Othello. His immensely varied contemporary repertory includes leading roles in most of the Balanchine, Robbins, Kudelka, Morris, and Caniparoli ballets.

Stephen Legate has performed all over the world with the company and as a guest artist. In April 2000 he received the Isadora Duncan Award for best performance in an ensemble, with his wife and partner Evelyn Cisneros. Together they also performed in A Supernatural Evening with Carlos Santana, which aired nationally and was released on DVD. His most important role to date is that of husband and father.

Leslie Young (the female dancer featured in the studio demonstrations throughout this book) has danced with the San Francisco Ballet since 1985, and was promoted to Soloist in 1995. While studying at the San Francisco Ballet School, she won the Princess Grace Foundation Award.