International Theatre and Film Books to Offer Life Behind the Metaphor Exclusively in Amsterdam

We're pleased to announce that International Theatre and Film Books (ITFB) retail store will soon be carrying Life Behind the Metaphor for interested readers in Amsterdam. Life Behind the Metaphor examines Nureyev's collaboration with the Dutch National Ballet's long-time Artistic Director Rudi van Dantzig during the company's U.S. tour in 1978. And the historic book presents a significant photographic reference for admirers of Dutch ballet. Our partnership with ITFB is a wonderful opportunity to bring the book to the Netherlands. Look for Life Behind the Metaphor on the ITFB Web site soon. You can contact our new retail partner at:

International Theatre & Film Books
Leidseplein 26
1017 PT Amsterdam
(tel) 020-6226489
(fax) 020-6272148
(e-mail) info@theatreandfilmbooks.com
(web) www.theatreandfilmbooks.com

UPDATE: Life Behind the Metaphor is now available on the ITFB Web site. Take a look and order a copy!

Dance Magazine Recommends Life Behind the Metaphor In Its December 2007 Issue

We're pleased to note that Dance Magazine included Life Behind the Metaphor in its article "Gift Ideas for Dance Lovers." Reviewer Kina Poon calls the book "beautifully produced," saying:

While Nureyev inevitably shines with his glorious ballon and charismatic looks, his sound bites are also pungent. Among other gems, there's Nureyev insisting that the photographer never crop out the stage floor from under his soaring jete. His quotations also reveal periods of darkness and his tumultuous relationship with [v]an Dantzig. Equally remarkable is [v]an Dantzig's unaffected prose. His musings on being airborne are framed by shots of dancers soaring off a diving board, arms out-stretched, toes pointed.

It's great to see that the dance community appreciates the quality and uniqueness of Life Behind the Metaphor!

You can read the article in PDF format here.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Free preview chapter of Life Behind the Metaphor

For those of you who would like to know more about our new book of Nureyev photographs, Life Behind the Metaphor, you can now download a sample PDF of an entire book chapter.


The chapter, "The Barre," details the ritual and work of professional dancers. Choreographer Rudi van Dantzig writes:

In America, in China, in Holland, In Russia, in Australia; about ten o’clock in the morning all over the world, dancers take their positions at the barre, ready for another dancing day.

From there, hard and strenuous working hours begin. First, there is half an hour barre, then an hour center exercises: adagio movements, turns, balances, small jumps, beats, big jumps, and pointe-work.

When class is finished the dancers usually have a fifteen minute break for coffee, a giggle, or for using the empty studio space to go over some steps for themselves.

People who don’t know anything of a dancer’s profession usually are exhausted from just watching a class, and are astonished to learn that this is just the preparation for the real work, which, if there is no performance, will go on until five or six o’clock. The real work means rehearsing and “cleaning” of old ballets in the repertoire, and the constructing, the searching and the experimenting with a choreographer on a new piece, the next ballet-to-be.

But at the barre it all begins...

Download the sample chapter here. And stay tuned: New, exclusive online chapters—ones available not even in the print edition of the book—will appear soon!

2007 Is “The Year Of Nureyev” in the Publishing World

Three new books on Rudolf Nureyev will make 2007 a special year for commemorating the ballet great: Nureyev: The Life, a biography by Julie Kavanagh; an English translation of Trail of a Comet, choreographer Rudi van Dantzig’s book of reminiscences about Nureyev; and Life Behind the Metaphor, a book of rare photographs of Nureyev.

One year shy of his 70th birthday, the late ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev is set to be celebrated with a serendipitous occurrence: The publication of three major, complementary books on his life and art. Julie Kavanagh puts forth a comprehensive, 750-plus-page biography of the dancer in Nureyev: The Life. Famed choreographer and dance director Rudi van Dantzig shares personal reminiscences of his friend in Trail of a Comet, the first English translation of his book Het Spoor van Een Komeet. And photographer Roger Urban presents to the public for the first time his collection of photographs of Nureyev in performance and behind the scenes with Life Behind the Metaphor, a book of 80 black-and-white photographs taken during Nureyev’s 1978 tour of the United States. While Nureyev: The Life and Trail of a Comet tell the story of Nureyev’s legacy, Life Behind the Metaphor shows the great dancer in all his glory, in photographs that ballet lovers have never seen before.

The fortunate timing of these three very different titles should give ballet aficionados plenty to chew on. From Kavanagh, devotees will find a broad and deep look at Nureyev’s life and art, and from van Dantzig, an intimate look at the man who was his friend and artistic collaborator. But fans of Rudolf Nureyev will be particularly delighted with Life Behind the Metaphor, a previously unseen glimpse of his fantastic physical feats while in performance and his intensity, dedication, and humor backstage, preserved in a collection of 80 rare black-and-white photographs.

Life Behind the Metaphor will be available in October 2007 online at www.nureyevlegacy.org, and at select museum shops and art booksellers.