Christensen Brothers
An American Dance Epic
Debra Hickenlooper Sowell author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Published:1st Jul '98
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
With members of four generations deeply involved in music and dancing, the Christensen Brothers are indisputably the United States' closest equivalent to the European tradition of dance dynasties. Their story sheds light on the history of ballet in twentieth-century America, both through their accomplishments as dancers, teachers, and company directors, and through their association with some of the most significant figures of the dance world such as Lincoln Kirstein, George Balanchine, Sol Hurok, and the Ford Foundation's W. McNeil Lowry. This triple biography encompasses the brothers' Mormon pioneer heritage, the circumstances that led them to enter vaudeville with a ballet act, and the rise and fall especially in the American West of companies with which they were associated for over six decades of their lives. This book provides an alternative to the New York-oriented volumes that so often pass as histories of American dance.
Debra Hickenlooper Sowell received the De la Torre Bueno Special Ci
"Almost everyone who knows anything about American ballet history has at least heard of the Christensen Brothers, Willam, Harold and Lew...In her biography of the three brothers, Debra Hickenlooper Sowell has done a marvelous job of digging out information and, in addition to presenting facts, she makes the Christensens come alive as people...Sowell's book vividly tells the story...What Sowell has given us may inspire further researches into the Christensens. It certainly suggests both the liveliness and the richness of American ballet history." -- Jack Anderson of Dance Chronicle
"Meticulously documented bio of the three dancing Christensen brothers...The best aspect of Sowell's painstaking research is the even-handed way she paints the brothers' very different personalities...An entertaining read." -- Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco
"One of the fascinating sagas in dance has finally been addressed in The Christensen Brothers: An American Dance Epic." -- Denver Post
"Each of the brothers comes alive through Sowell's shrewd perceptions of his basic character... Sowell's fascinating, most readable study of the Christensens celebrates an ironclad alliances and an indestructible loyalty among three brothers who, despite unique biases, maintained strong ties with each other and the Western communities where they flourished." -- Leland Weindrich, Ballet Review
"An important book that fills in some hidden history of America's dance..." -- Glen Griffin, Dance Magazine
"In her biography of the brothers, Debra Hickenlooper Sowell has done a marvelous job of digging out information and, in addition to presenting facts, she makes the Christensens come alive as people." -- Jack Anderson, Dance Chronicle
ISBN: 9789057550294
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 1110g
600 pages