Dance Books

I loved this little book! Not only was it a quick read, but it was also filled with a variety of solidly helpful information for new and experienced screenwriters. I found the "10 Point Checklist for Completed Scripts", the "Big Eight" and the section on pitching particularly useful and now put the information to use on every project. The book is certainly worth more than you pay for it!!

After writing my first screenplay, I was stuck on how to sell it. I have ran my own business for over tens years and have a natural flare for marketing - thinking that selling a script would be commonsense WRONG! After reading The Script Selling Game I was blown away by the fantastic real life tips and jargon given. It's motivated me more than ever to see my projects on the silver screen. IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT breaking into Hollywood - You MUST BUY THIS BOOK! It's easy-to-read and only an insider would know how to write it's contents.

An industry veteran of 25 years, Kathie Fong Yoneda is both a story analyst at Paramount and a script consultant. Her background as a development executive gives her an excellent perspective for helping screenwriters can break down the gates to Hollywood. And this book aims to do just that.

The book is divided into four major parts: working on the script, meetings and pitches, submissions and relationships. It is a very clearly structured guide to the do's and don'ts for writers looking for their breakthrough (hint: the first step is to WRITE A GREAT SCRIPT!).

Yonada includes advice on how to behave towards executives, how to find an agent, the special vocabulary used in Hollywood, how to start a writers group, even how to prepare for a conference. All of this is written in a clear manner, making the book a very useful reference.

The downside to this is that most of this information is out there already. If you read screenwriting magazines and keep up with recent books on the business side of screenwriting, there will be very little here you don't know already. Moreover, the book is very "pro-system" -- there is no criticism of the way things are done, and the advice is very much "mainstream" common knowledge.

I don't think this book has very much to offer veteran writers who are already well acquainted with the vagaries of getting their scripts through the Hollywood maze. For writers who are starting out, however, the book will serve very well to inform them about the basics of getting your script sold to Hollywood.

The book never forgot who was reading it. If you are at a point in your career where you need guidance in what to do and what's important, this book offers you that. Kathie Yoneda, I feel, just got the balance right between fact, figures and emotion. Kathie actually cares.

The Script-Selling Game is your "Biedecker's", your "Fodor's", or your "Lonely Planet" guide to the exotic, exciting, sometimes confusing, sometimes dangerous yet ultimately rewarding territory of Hollywood Script Sales.

Kathie Fong Yoneda has not only explored this territory, she has actually carved out, tamed, and settled a lot of it in her years as a studio executive. Her expertise in the special jargon, the specific tools, and the appropriate approaches will help you craft an effective presentation of your unique creative project, be it a feature film, a TV series, or any other media production.

Read Kathie's book. Smile, frown, gasp.... Yes, Hollywood can be just as she says. It's a closed world unless you have an interpreter and a guidebook. Thank goodness hers is accessible, informative, specific, and comforting. Well then, follow her guidelines, learn to speak the language, do the currency exchange from creativity-to-commerciality, and watch the barriers go down and the doors open up for you.

After reading and being fascinated by Bengston's Chaplin book (Silent Traces), I really want a brand new copy of the Keaton book. I hope it gets published again. I don't want a used copy for $50. I heard him speak at the Academy last week and he is really interesting.

This book is a necessity for any Buster Keaton fan or any fan of Hollywood history. It is well researched and absolutely fascinating.

This is a great book. I love to watch Keaton's movies with this to hand, it gives a whole new insight to the films. It is easy to read and it is interesting to see the sights of LA from the 20's. Sometimes it is sad to see that some of these locations are gone, where the building of freeways have necessitated the removal of whole city blocks. If I ever get to visit LA I know that this book will be going with me.

Years ago I purchased Civil War historian William A. Frassanito's excellent books "Gettysburg: A Journey in Time" and "Antietam: The Photographic Legacy of America's Bloodiest Day," which examine and compare historic and modern photographs of these famous battle sites. John Bengtson has done essentially the same thing for Hollywood using Keaton's films, and the result is nothing short of miraculous. Here are scenes of what used to be but are no more, resurrected with the benefit of Bengtson's keen eye, detective-like mind, and obsessive attention to detail. This is one heck of a fun book, and you'll spend many hours going over the photographs.

Amazingly, many of the scenic backdrops that Keaton used in his films still exist, and they serve today as nostalgic reminders of a relatively primitive and innocent time that has all but disappeared.

This is a truly different kind of book. We get to see the locations that Buster made his films, and how they have changed through time. We also get to see how the author went about finding these places, a kind of historical research that takes a tremendous amount of time and effort.

This book is one that I automatically pick up when I'm not sure what I want to read, but want something interesting.

If there was a complaint, it would be that many of the pictures and some of the text is really too small. I have great eyesight, some of this is too hard for even me to see, and I know many people have a harder time with small text and pictures. Lay off of our eyesight, eh?


Still, a totally fascinating book. I can't get enough.

I'm a children's librarian, so I come across a lot of books and very few stand up to many readings. This book is one of them. It's fun for the parents to read aloud, with a rolicking beat and humorous story. We've owned this book since my son's first birthday. He loved it then and at eighteen months, it is still one of his favorites. The illustrations are simple and pleasing with enough detail to invite a closer examination. I highly recommend it!

This book has been taped and retaped over the past couple of years because my kids (now 5 and 3) have loved it so much. The rhythm allows for a sing-songy kind of reading that is delightful for me and for my kids -- unlike other stories that they want to have repeated over and over again, I never hesitate to read this one to them. The reveal/flap lift with the rhyming word is also especially fun!

This book is fantastic. I first heard it at a library "lapsit", and bought it for my daughter, when she was only 7 months old. She is 1 now, and still adores it. I get it for all the baby showers I go to. Highly recommended!

This book is truly wonderful. We had borrowed this book from the library and even extended the renewal time frame twice (the max!) When we finally had to return the book, we decided that we had to purchase this book, so we did - we even bought a copy for a good friend of ours! This book has a very catchy rhyme - very cute and our little girl loves the pictures (as well as the rhyme). We started reading her this book when she was about 4 months old and she is almost 8 months old today and still loves the book. i highly recommend this book to anyone with infants!

My 15-month old has loved this book since she was about 6 months old! I reccomend for every child! I'm so tired of reading this book.... ;)

amazing amazing amazing. get it, get it now! Perfect for those starting out or those needing quick access to info. contains everything

Great book, has everything you need to know and more about the backstage theatre just a useful book to have handy

The Backstage Handbook is the most comprehensive guide to technical theatre...and could serve as a reference beyond the stage. I was absolutely amazed at the sheer volume of information the author could fit in such a small book. It really has everything imaginable. It covers tools and machines as well as common production techniques. In addition, the Backstage Handbook covers the math and science needed behind the scenes. Need to know how to make a dodecahedron? This book will tell you how to scribe one inside a circle. The handbook also covers architectural details that are common for most American & European styles. I just received the handbook and my students and I have dubbed it the "bible" because of it's binding, but most definitely the content! This is a must-have for anybody who has a need for knowledge of practical math and science applications.

This book is an excellent resource for anyone working behind the scenes as a stage hand or anyone in show business.

This is an unusual book and I haven't seen another like it. I bought a couple of copies for co-workers in the TV studio I manage. Good reference.

I first read this book when I was in college. At the time, this beautiful, tear-jerking story became one of my favorites. Almost 18 years later, I feel the same way. This story of grief, loss, love, and healing holds even deeper meaning for me now. This is a book I will keep in my collection -- to read over and over.

I loved this book it is a great book to help with the lose of the loved one.

I really enjoyed this book. Terry Kay has a smooth, fresh writing style, and his story of Sam Peek and his White Dog is truly moving. I have just begun Valley of Light and I am already loving this one too. I recommend them both!

This is one of my favorite books of all time. It at first seems like a simple story of a man growing older. It mixes the touching and often amusing story of his frustration with the constant worrying of his adult children, about whether his mind is slipping, with one of the sweetest love stories I've ever read. When you think that you have finished, the author then tells the origin of the story and you are utterly amazed. It quite literally took my breath away. I immediately went out and bought copies of the book to share with family and friends who were equally touched. It is definitely a classic.

This was a nice book to read. Not my all time favorite but very enjoyable. It was easy to read and just told a man's journey with becoming old and alone. Sam Peek seemed like a "real" old man. I now see Sam Peek in every old man I pass on the street, in the store or at church. Made me want to reach out and be their friend. If someone you love is growing old you need to read this book.

This coverage of the making and cast of the show Xena: Warrior Princess is downright hilarious. Granted, I have an odd sense of humor, but you can tell that the author went out of his way to make this as entertaining as possible. There are lots of spiffy pictures, and two sections of large, full-color photos. The cast bios are particularly interesting, in my opinion; many things you might not know about these crazy actors/actresses (ie. apparently, Ted Raimi is a fantastic swing dancer; who'd have guessed, oh, wait, I always have...never mind). There are little mini-interviews and comments scattered throughout the pages, along with amusing production anecdotes, and episode synopses in the back (paired with commentary by Lucy Lawless/Xena). My only complaint is that this book only covers the first couple seasons. Perhaps there's an upgrade version that I missed, and if not, there should be. I highly recommend this book for even the casual Xena: WP fan, and particularly the rabid ones, though if you're a rabid fan, you probably already own this...

....being a hardcore nutball Xena fan ranked for me - but only for a short while - among the highest!But then,now that I've embraced this pleasure wholehartedly, let's put things like this: if anyone wants to understand the ideological linings of postmodernity, understanding the Xena phenomenon provides one of the shortest roads, and if anyone wants to study XWP one has to begin gathering extra information here. I would recommend, however to order this book with Ariele Dorfman's & Armand Mattelart's _How to Read Donald Duck_, if the purpose is scholarly; if you just like Xena, order the two neverthless.

What can I say? If you love Xena, you gotta have this!

Robert Weisbrot's paperpback book `Xena: Warrior Princess, The Official Guide to the Xenaverse' is an entertaining and informative presentation which chronicles the first two seasons of the immensely popular television series that lasted six delightful seasons.

Making good use of the same format used in his episode companion for the Hercules series, he provides not only a synopsis of each show from season 1 and 2 but also loads of behind the camera information providing the reader with a thorough grasp of what is involved in bringing the Xenaverse into existence.

Definitely an enjoyable and informative read sure to be treasured by Xena fans everywhere. The only question I have for the author is "When are you going to complete what you've begun and release a follow-up covering seasons 3, 4, 5 and 6?"

This book is great. I have the Warrior Princess Costume all ready! Lucy Lawless Looks sharp on the front cover of this book and I got this with my staff at the Joyce Warner House... I really have to say is that it has great pictures! :) <3Cheeeeeyyyyaaa!Young Xena Warrior Princess

I own several screenwriting books and consider this one to be in the top 3 (McKee and Vogler being the other 2). The reason is because this is one of the few screenwriting books with information coming straight from successful screenwriters. This is key, because through their insights you can better understand how they work, think, and live. And this ultimately affects your writing positively because a lot of the uncertainties during the writing process are discussed. It won't teach you about structure etc, but it contains information that to me was equally vital: how to think as a successful screenwriter.

In real estate they discuss the three "L's" Location, location, location. This is the three "W's" Write, Write and Write more. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to write a screen play.

I always find it frustrating when I go to Amazon and look at the reviews that are posted and find that they are at least 2 to 3 years old. So I decided to at least make a more up-to-date review.

First and foremost, this book is NOT a `How to Write a great Script' book. This book is about screenwriters and their knowledgeable insight on the practice we all know as Screenwriting. These established screenwriters ( Akiva Goldman: A Beautiful Mind, A Time to Kill, and the up coming The Da Vinci Code Steven E. de Souza: Die Hard, 48 Hours.) reference their past experience on what works, what does not work, and what habits you need to establish to have a successful career in the shark infested waters of Hollywood. Not sure how many hours you need to write day in day out? Thinking that you are the only one with a spouse and kids, fearing that you will not have enough time to write? Arrived at Hollywood lost with no plan of action on how to get your script read? Worried that you born yesterday and began sending inquiry letters to agents and producers? Fear of rejection (it is inevitable) from everyone? All these topics are discussed and more in this book.

This book is required reading for all serious screenwriters. I also suggest Breakfast with sharks by Michael Lent, The Art of Dramatic writing by Lajos Egri, Story by Robert Mckee, Making a good script Great by Linda Seger, and The Writer Got Screwed by Brooke A. Wharton.

This is a must read for anyone who aspires to be a screen writer. Any wannabe writer has their own personal favorite blogs, a blog that helps inspire, motivate and teach them. This book is almost a best of those blogs from successful writers whose movies they have written have actually BEEN PRODUCED.
The one main theme of this book is just write and write and write because you love writing and not because you want the Hollywood celebrity lifestyle. Great writing will open a lot of doors for one and most importantly, keep that door open.
In my opinion, I like to study and and read how successful writers from all genres got their first break, their work ethic and how most importantly they work through writer's block and rejection. Again, Karl Iglesias' book does that successfully.

I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Iglesias at the Screenwriting Expo. He knows his craft, he loves the business. And he's brutally honest in conveying the realistic odds of breaking into Hollywood. While no one ever says it's easy, he can tell you just how hard. This book is a must read for any aspiring screenwriter. Interviewing some of the greatest screenwriters, they all are forthcoming in telling their own tales of struggle, achievement, success, and most of them, frustration.

This book may be geared toward all screenwriters, however it succeeds in leaps and bounds, by telling the realistic truth any up-and-coming screenwriter needs to hear. Too often people are putting together a script hoping to win the lotttery, sell it for mid-six figures, and not taking the time to understand that the money should never be the motivating factor of writing any script. And if that's your only motivation, you'll never succeed in making your dream come true. This book reminds those of us that do it for a different reason, what that reason is. It's the love of writing. Anything else, any other reason, is simply a waste of time and energy.

Mr. Iglesias lays it out in plain view, through interview after interview, just how much of an uphill battle it is get someone to simply give your script a look, and even then, chances of your selling it are slim. Nicholas Kazan once spoke at a seminar. He told them to go turn in their registration forms and go home. He then told them that if any of them seriously entertained that advice, they would never make it. It's all about challenge and it's all about sacrifice. This book will help you realize how important both of those things are.

I never wanted to 'get into' dancing or acting as a child, but this book makes the
world of a child theatrical performer (70 years ago) come alive. I read this so many times. It was just so entertaining. Great book!

"Ballet Shoes" is probably the most popular book in the "Shoes" series, but "Dancing Shoes" is also very good. It tells the story of two girls, Hilary and Rachel, who are training to become dancers on the stage. It is similar to "Ballet Shoes," but for anyone who enjoyed any of the other of the "Shoes" books it is worth reading.

I've been wanting these books for years now. I'm glad I finally got 2 of them. They came very fast and I love them. Thanks.

I received this book when I was about 8 years old. I took one look at it and thought, "I am NOT going to read this. It's a BABY book!" I never touched the book again until 3 years later, when I was 11 years old, and decided just to try out the book. OMG! Was I wrong! This was not a baby book! The story of Rachel and Hilary Lennox and their lovable (in a villainy way)conceited cousin, Dulcie Wintle, is a charming book that every one (and I mean EVERYONE) will love.

Rachel and Hilary come to live with their Aunt Cora, who runs a dancing (ballet, acrobatics, musical comedy, etc.) school, when their mother dies. Aunt Cora is set on making them both "little wonders" but Rachel finds that she disdains it, having no talent for those types of things. Hilary, however, finds that she loves it, and has a real talent for it, too! But Rachel doesn't want Hilary to be a "little wonder," let alone love it! Hilary was going to go to the Royal Ballet School of Dancing before their mother died, and Rachel is set on making her go after her mother's last words for her were to make sure Hilary went on with her dancing.
Misunderstandings will get in the way, as Hilary grows more and more with the "bad" type of dancing, becomes competition with Dulcie, and Rachel comes to find that dancing may not be her thing, but that doesn't mean that stage is not...

Dancing Shoes is a similar formula compared to Streatfeild's other books. After Rachel and Hilary's father dies, they are sent to live with their Aunt Cora, who owns a talent school and troupe. While Hilary is a very talented dancer, she wants nothing more than to have fun. Her sister, Rachel wants nothing to do with dancing, but she does want Hilary to go to the Royal Ballet School to study proper ballet, as her family and old dance teacher wished for, even though Hilary doesn't want to. So everyone, including their mean and selfish Aunt Cora, believe that Rachel is jealous of Hilary. Meanwhile, Aunt Cora's talented, and conceited, daughter now has competition with Hilary.

The book is full of the same charm as her others. While not as endearing as Ballet Shoes and Theater Shoes, maybe only due to the nastiness of Aunt Cora and how mean she is to Rachel, it is still a wonderful read. Any fans of Streatfeild's other books will surely love this book as well.

The book "Sound Design", the expressive power of music, voice, and sound effects in cinema, is one of my favorite in my collection. I always recommend it to colleagues and customer. During my technical seminars-workshop and product training sessions, I have often taken inspiration from the book, particularly the sections "TRY THIS" that the author has included in various parts inside it.

The book is written with great passion!

Sonnenschein effectively covers the theory behind shaping the soundtrack, and gives great examples of the ideas in action. I loved the candid quotes from masters like Ben Burtt, Gary Rydstrom, Walter Murch, Dane Davis, and others. I started noting down all of the films he mentions as examples of good sound design, until I noticed Sonnenschein was one step ahead and had already noted them all in the back. Only 4 stars 'cause I personally wanted more technique and a little less theory.

This eloquently written book describes the rhyme and reason behind all the sounds - music, effects, and dialogue - that are blended together to create the sophisticated soundtracks we're accustomed to. Sonnenschein, a director, musician, and award-winning sound designer, combines practical wisdom with sound theory and exercises to inspire and educate both new and experienced sound professionals. The book will appeal to non-professionals and other filmmakers as well because it's fun, entertaining, and enlightening. The author clearly loves and knows the world of sound and it's a joy to be brought into this world.

This was an interesting book, and it really gave me some new perspectives on sound design. Sonnenschein focuses on the organization and mindset of sound design, rather than the technicalities. I especially liked the excerpts from top sound designers such as Dane Davis (The Matrix, Drugstore Cowboy), Gary Rydstrom (Backdraft, Saving Private Ryan), and Ben Burtt (Star Wars, Indiana Jones).

My only knock on the book is that Sonnenschein was repetitive at times. The book would be about 30 pages shorter if he didn't repeat points that were made in previous chapters. Never the less, it was an interesting read, and I still think it is a great resource.

I am very glad, that I found this book. It helps me think about making sound design in a very deep point of view.
I love it!!!
Thank you David Sonnenschein:-)

Jan Sleska
student of sound engineering

Tango will change your life and this book tells you how and why.
This is one of the best of many books on the subject of life transformation experienced by a very large number of people outside of Buenos Aires.
Highly recommended.
However, it has even greater meaning when you have attempted the Argentine Tango.
So, hug a partner and dance with your heart.
Abrazos!

A quick read, packed with philosophical and insightful concepts. If you're a tango dancer, this book will speak to you as you compare what she is writing with what you already know. The Tao of Tango will have you nodding your head vigorously, agreeing that what she says is in fact true. Johanna Siegmann's
comparison of female/male energy to tango is a thought provoking, but compelling theory filled with accuracy. I couldn't put this book down .

This book is not so much about steps or sequences, so don't expect to learn cool moves from it. It's more about what lays beyond the movement. A balance between two energies: feminine and masculine that is what creates that strong unforgettable connection between people in dance or in life.

I recommend this book to anyone, either you are dancing tango or not; it's short and very easy to read. And if you don't find a nice dance technique suggestion in it, you might find something that would be applicable in your every day life in a relation with your significant one or friends, or colleagues at work.

The Tao of Tango is successful because it probes the right questions.
As the result of "feminism", we can enjoy a fairer balance of power with men, but what femininity is still remains a complete mystery to us. The book dares to praise passivity, surrendering and following, and reminds us that those words can still carry derogative connotations. At the same time it tells us about male and female energies present in each one of us and with that, it frees us of limiting patterns of behavior.

Dancing Tango is a beautiful way to play, rehearse and observe how we are as women and men. The Tao of Tango refers to it in a provocative, measured and grounded way.

Valeria Solomonoff
Tango performer, teacher and choreographer
Co-founder of TangoMujer
www.valetango.com

The Tao of Tango by Johanna Siegmann is a delightful chronicle of her discovery of the inner world of Argentine Tango - plus an insightful look at the application of Taoist philosophy to both Life and Tango.
On the surface, Tango is rooted in the sensuality and seduction that goes on between a man and a woman. But deeper things are going on. As Ms. Seigmann discovered, it is a conversation "in some language of the soul that resided in some part of me I never knew existed."
Drawing on key principles of Taoism, Ms. Siegmann shows how all people, whether men or women, are mixtures of characteristics that are either yang (masculine) or yin (feminine), and in order to be successful, in either Life or in Tango, each person must have these energies in balance within themselves. Yet in our post-Feminism world, this is rarely the case, for either gender. Johanna Siegmann discovered, as have many others, that learning to tango is much more than learning a new dance.
In order to dance tango properly, whether we are a man or a woman, we must be in touch with both our halves, both the confident masculine part, and the sensitive feminine part. Per Ms. Siegmann, "True happiness lies in the mutual embrace of both our [masculine and feminine] energies." Only when we can draw on both these qualities will our tango have the deep character for which it is so justly revered. In a real sense, it is a journey of self-discovery and healing. We find that, whether interacting on the dancefloor or in a Life relationship, having our energies in balance promises nothing less than a resolution of the age-old "battle of the sexes."