Dance Books

I absolutely loved the series, but this book really just confirms it. This is the first day I got it and I already read half. I'm very impressed. I was reading in front of my boyfriend and his friend and they heard me laughing. My response was "this is halarious." (reading shanes botwins part) Hmmm. My boyfriends friends response was "I didn't know reading was fun." LOSER! In the Weeds is fun!

My very first buy on Amazon and, still, one of my best purchases ever. If you love the show, this book should be part of your collection 'cause it's the ultimate guide to Weeds characters. Highly recommended.

The interviews are awesome--you really feel like you're getting behind the scenes of one of the best shows on TV. And the character breakdowns make you want to watch the first 2 seasons all over again! If you love the show, you have to get this book. And if you've ever wanted to start watching the show, this book is a good primer.

I was so excited to see that there's a book about my favorite TV show, and even more excited to see that it's as smart, thoughtful and funny as the show itself. Companion guides can sometimes be formulaic and boring, but this one brings a fresh and intelligent perspective to one of the best written (directed and acted) shows on cable today. If you aren't already a fan of the show (what's wrong with you???), this book will draw you in for sure!

I have never been more inspired by the dialogue in any book I've ever read. I know that everyone fusses about Miller's THE CRUCIBLE and DEATH OF A SALESMAN, but INCIDENT AT VICHY is definitely the best of the three. It is one of those books that makes you really think about what the author is saying. I have an entire list of breathtaking quotes especially from this book. I had to read it in AP English, 12th grade, and was blown away.

Feel the tension build in this play (a short one, some seventy pages) as you wait to learn the fate of several detainees suspected of being Jewish detainees rounded up in occupied France. Courage and cowardice are the high and low roads chosen by the protagonists. These men are in a waiting room while, one by one, they are taken into the main office and interviewed by the Nazis as to their race. Life becomes cheaper and cheaper as the story builds. Will they sell each other out? Read it and find out. Read about and never forget certain of the characters.

Arthur Miller has captivated theater-goers for decades and his legacy will never grow short. One of his lesser known works, Incident at Vichy is perhaps the most chilling of his pieces. The play itself is entertaining enough to captivate audiences for about an hour (I know, I am directing it now). Its rhetorical power is absolutely amazing; its depth of coverage is inspiring. Most importantly, it begs viewers to think. That is, perhaps, its best trait. The energy of the performance coupled with the power of the dialogue makes Incident at Vichy a genuine treat.

In this stunning play, set in a holding room Vichy, France, in 1942, Arthur Miller introduces nine men who have been picked up on suspicion that they are Jews or Jewish sympathizers. As they are called, one by one, to be interrogated by Nazi officials before being released or put on the thirty-car freight train waiting at the station, they reveal their thinking, their rationalizations for having been picked up, and their belief that this is all a big mistake. A German major involved in the interrogations also begins to question his own role, reminding his colleague, a professor in charge of carrying out Nazi racial policies, that he is a "line officer," not trained for his role.

Waiting to be questioned are an actor, a waiter, a businessman, a psychoanalyst, a Marxist railroad worker, a gypsy, an ancient Hasid, a fourteen-year-old boy, and an Austrian prince. As they talk and begin to share bits of information, Miller examines the tendency of ordinary men, who are often victims, to become immobilized when faced with "an atrocity...that is inconceivable," to refuse to believe that such behavior can possibly happen in a civilized world. At the same time, he also examines those others, the Nazis and their collaborators in France, who serve an ideology, not mankind, those who subordinate themselves so completely to an abstract concept that they believe "there are no persons anymore."

As the truth about the waiting train and its destination slowly emerges, the sense of dread becomes palpable. The psychoanalyst, trying to rouse people to overpower the single guard on duty, cannot make his fellow captives understand that it is their belief that the world is essentially rational that keeps them from acting, and that the Nazis count on this belief. Pivotal to the action is von Berg, the young Austrian prince, a Christian who left his property and thousand-year-old heritage to escape to France, a man whose heart is in the right place but who does not understand that he himself must accept complicity in the rise of the Nazis.

Beautifully paced, the play is an unusually sophisticated treatment of this subject. Miller does not see events purely in black and white, showing instead that everyone creates his own reality to keep from accepting the unthinkable. Written in 1964, while Miller was representing the New York Herald Tribune at the Frankfurt war crimes trials of officials from Auschwitz/Birkenau, this play is Miller's creative reaction to the atrocities he has heard first-hand--and one of his most powerful plays. Mary Whipple

I bought this book last year, to teach my self to tap along with Bonnie Franklin's dvd and it has been great. It is so easy to understand. I am slowly working through the step and drills. I love referring back to this and I think I will forever. It is fantastic. A great teacher reference also.

This book has been a wealth of ideas and information. I use many of the drills and combinations in my classes. They are clearly notated and easy to understand (which is unusual for a "book" on tap dance). I would recommend this book for anyone at an intermediate level or higher. Well worth the money!

I was trained in traditional and flash tap dancing, so I knew very little about rhythm tap. This book goes over the basics of tap and many traditional tap steps. What makes it so great, though, are the in-depth explanations of rhythm, dynamics, syncopation, accents, and new forms of tap, including rhythm tap and orchestrated tap. The explanations are clear and easy and the practice exercises are excellent. This is a must-have book for anyone wishing to expand their tap knowledge and artistry.

I'm an advanced tapper who just recently began teaching an intermediate tap class. I decided to find a dictionary of tap in case one of my students asked me about a step I may not know. I ordered this book and realized that it was no dictionary. So if you're looking for a dictionary I suggest looking somewhere else. It is a wonderful how to book though! For instance it talks about syncopating the beat, has pictures of proper placement of your your foot on shuffles, tons of combinations, etc. I suggest this book to tap teachers of all levels and students interested in bettering themselves!

Good guide for MHP and OCAP standards. It helps understand basic things of these standards

The authors give a well-written introduction as well as many insights into the design of interactive tv systems. This is a must-have for anyone new in this field. The book presents much more information than those on the interactive-mhp.org website.

We started our OCAP project prior to the arrival of this book and had to rely on digging through all of the different, confusingly referenced, standards. Every chapter of this book caused a light bulb to click on with a big "ah ha!" Don't get started without reading a copy of this book. It's a 10 to 1 reduction in pain.

This an excellent book! A must have! I strongly recommend it to anyone willing to have a broad and at the same time in-depth view into the numerous concepts and APIs necessary for designing IDTV applications. Several code snippets are provided to illustrate how each API can be used: this can help save a lot of time as the DVB MHP and OCAP specs are a little bit large.

If I had been a shaker and a mover in some area of broadcasting, it might have beem hard for me to read Donna Halper's new book, "Invisible Stars"--without feeling some embarrassment. Her story is the story of women who succeeded in American broadcasting, many of whom succeed in spite of the fact of their gender. It seems that back in the 1920s when radio was considered a toy, women were quite welcome to announce, sing or play an instrument, become program directors, and even in rare cases, own a radio station. But when radio began to be commercially profitable, when more and more people had radios, when networks came into being, then women were not so welcome, especially in the ranks of management. By the decades, Halper takes us through the history of how women made their mark, or were denied even the opportunity of trying to do that. The struggle of women for recognition and equality in radio and television reads something like the struggle for the same things by black people and other minorities. One of the mysteries that Halper brings to our attention is the developments before, during, and after World War II. Before the War, women's place was in the home, being the dutiful wife, keeping house, cooking the meals, taking care of the kids. During the War, women were encouraged to take jobs in war manufacturing plants, AND to do all the traditional stuff. When, after the War, the men came back and wanted their jobs back, women were expected to go back to the kitchen and nursery. And the same thing happened in broadcasting. The sad thing is that even though some women in radio and television have made important gains, much of the picture of broadcasting in the 2000s is not much different from what it was in the 1950s. Halper has done an excellent job of research, witness her extensive bibliography, in this well-written account of women in American broadcasting. Let Halper have the last word: "Perhaps one day soon, the pioneering women of radio and television will be given the same respect for their accomplishments that society has accorded their male counterparts. I hope this book will contribute to the process and keep women of broadcasting from remaining invisible stars."

Donna Halper's book Invisible Stars sheds daylight on the dim careers of American women in broadcasting. It's a lively book, and the women in it are a lively bunch: not only the expected announcers and managers, but station owners and transmitter engineers have braved minority odds to follow the muse of radio. Arranged by decades from the pioneering 20s through the era of big networks to the fragmented markets of the new millennium, Halper's book traces a good double handful of female achievers as their careers changed with the times.

Halper's own achievements are noteworthy, not just in radio but in writing. The book is intensively researched and lavish of detail, yet written in a bright, wry style that continually absorbs and entertains. It's a serious work, but an accessible one, and not for hyper-feminists only. Halper doesn't suffer anit-feminists gladly, but clearly shows that anti-feminists aren't all male. Her just exasperation at sweeping stereotypes is tempered with humor and an admirably balanced tone. She chronicles the unfairness these women faced in their careers and is never unfair herself: when there are extenuating or alternative explanations for blatantly sexist acts, she always takes the time to point them out.

Gender interaction in the 20th century workplace isn't simply a tale of oppressors and their victims, and Halper knows that. She charts the ambiguous, hypocritical and sometimes schizophrenic attitudes in the minds of both sexes, and uncovers their roots in recession and war, as well as in the less excusable manipulations of the media. The women in this book aren't pure rebels or pure conformists. They're competent people trying to do their jobs, though power-structures are rigid, privilege is stacked against them, and shifting media mantras about how women ought to behave this time hum obsessively in the background.

Invisible Stars, in short, is no partisan screed, but an honest examination of its topic. Rational readers of both genders can expect to learn a lot from it about the workings of radio and of reality.

Halper has finally given readers a book that highlights the formidable contributions of women in electronic media. The book is an important addition to the canon of broadcast history, and the author deserves credit for her thorough and ground-breaking research. The book is an enjoyable read and offers a wealth of information on how the so-called "ladies of the air" brought something of real substance and value to a hitherto male-dominated industry. It should be required reading for all student's of media as well as for those individuals who occupy executive and managerial positions in radio and television.

Donna Halper really knows her stuff, and she knows how to tell it in an interesting way. Everyone interested in how media affects us and society will be grateful for reading this. The struggles women had (and have) provide a significant glimpse into a world that is vital for us to understand. Highly recommended.

I have read many biographies, from Saint-Exupérie to Rockefeller, and thanks to the feedback system of Amazon and the editioral reviews, it is quite possible to filter out the good ones from the mediocre.
Needless to say this biography stands out from many others and I think it is one of my favourites I have read so far. I said in the title that it should have won the Pulitzer price, although I do not know whether biographies are eligible for this. But it shows why Peter Kurth, the author, needed 10 years to complete it.

What can my review add on the information available?
First of all, read the editiorials, they give good information on what this book, and what Isadora is about. Usually only the positive reviews are kept, but in this case, for a reason. This biography is indeed written as all biographies should be written; well researched, not confusing, as detailed as possible without getting boring, and intertwined with the times that in this case Isadora lived, and finally neutral in style yet intriguing.
Peter Kurth does all these things. Even the title does her life justice, for after reading this book, one can only conclude her life, as well as her death, truly was sensational. Especially for a woman in those days to achieve and do what she did is amazing. Even now, a Madonna would not make the grade in comparison to Isadora.
Isadora virtually created the 'natural' modern dance as opposed to the Russian ballet, which she considered merely as stiff and hysterical hopping that proved flying indeed was impossible for human beings. As some said, it was as if she gave something back to the people, something natural that was lost and found again.
She was probably as influential as Martha Graham was later in the century, but totally opposite style. Some said you should have seen her dance to die happily. We will never know, since apart from all the crowds she drew which no longer are with us, she was never caught on film. Maybe better that way, since it only adds more to the cachet of legend she has and had.
It is just wonderful to read a story on how some humans do it; rise from nothing to stardom, 'just' with hard work, perseverance, good ideas, and genius. Her life was a constant struggle to renew her art and to sell her idea to the world that often was not ready for it. Of course like all of us she needed love, and she knew how to get it. But just like Callas' tragedy, or Dalida's dictum `my life was a success, but what was it, really?', it also casts yet another light on that mystery called fame, and the Faustian bargain that somehow always comes with it. When Isadora met her mother years later, she asked herself; `We had set off to look for fame and fortune. Both had been found, so why the result was so tragic?'
The reason for this was that her life was not only full of the glamour of travel, intrigue, and meeting everyone from Steichen to Fairbanks to Valentino to Chaplin, but also because it was full of tragedy.
She never really found the right lover, or husband in her life. She never could keep a secure fortune, and like so many artists, she could not really cope with aging.
But perhaps her life is also a glorious proof of how wonderful life is, no matter the tragedy, and how she somehow was always driven to go on with her art and her glamorous lifestyle, despite even having lost all of her three children. In short; what a life, and apart from the tragedy, what fun she must have had! Her equally legendary death only adds to the thrill of this all!

Yes...save our souls. I realize that Morse Code is sadly no longer in use but for a perspective of women denied, degraded, diminished, deadened by cultures throughout history both metaphorically and literally insofar as their vast contribution to art, this book is simply divine! It is not only a page-turner, it is a classic and stellar contribution to understanding a complex soul, who sought dignity and got the back-of-the-hand from many in the world of her time. Her courage alone is worth reading about. I cannot judge her. I didn't know her! But this is a fine work and brings the reader into a realm of both this woman's glory and grief such that it really focuses the lense on how hard human beings can be with one another. Even with an "Isadora."

Here is an excellent biography of someone whose life combined artistic achievement with personal dysfunction. Arguably the creator of what we now refer to as "modern dance," Isadora Duncan certainly filled her "sensational" personal life with a series of adventures and misadventures while struggling to sustain a career during which so many of her knowledgeable contemporaries praised her artistic talents and achievements. Consider these comments:

"I got an impression of enormous grace, and enormous power in her dancing -- she was very serious, and held the audience and held them completely." (Frederick Ashton)

"She moved with those wonderful steps of hers with simplicity and detachment that could only come through the intuition of genius itself." (Tamara Karsavina)

"She incarnated music in her dance." (Serge Kousevitsky)

"The soul becomes drunk with this endless succession of beautiful lines and groupings [of movement]." (Ernest Newman)

"The greatest woman I have ever known....Sometimes I think she is the greatest woman the world has ever known." (Rodin)

Impressive accolades indeed which, for me, increase the poignancy (at times the tragedy) of her poor judgment and irresponsible behavior when not performing before an always adoring audience. Even for those who know little (if anything) about dance, Kurth has written an absorbing, at times compelling biography of a woman who (in the words of a contemporary, Janet Flanner) embodied "the grandeur of permanent ideals...[but was] too expansive for personal salvation."

By the time I approached the final chapter of Kurth's biography, I had observed a number of similarities between Isadora's life and the lives of Edna St. Vincent Millay and Sylvia Plath. For example, their original and substantial talent, their excessive self-indulgences, their passion for experiencing (both physically and emotionally) as much as possible each day, and their vulnerabilities which so many others exploited shamelessly. With Whitman in mind, Robert Gottlieb observes: "For Isadora there were no rules, there was only the Song of Herself; she lacked the discipline, the emotional and moral resources, to keep liberty from lapsing into license." Such is often the fate of a genius which, by most accounts, Isadora Duncan was. "Sensational" indeed.

Isadora Duncan was a larger than life figure of the first part of the century. Both her work and her lifestyle guaranteed her the attention of the world. Mr. Kurth's biography brings the innovative dancer back to life clarifying many details at the same time. Ms. Duncan tended to either gloss over or sensationalize various aspects of her history and this book separates fact from fantasy. The photographs are very good, as is the narrative.

When the definition of epiphony is examined, Oden's book provides its readers with a perfect example of this definition when applied to understanding the Holy Spirit's interaction with God's pepple and the church. Ephiphany: a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3): an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b: a revealing scene or moment.

This is a book every Christian should read. Most of us Christians don't really understand who the Holy Spirit is and the role the Spirit plays in guiding us on our Christian walk. Patrick Oden's free flowing narrative sets his main character, a journalist working on his column that reviews churches, meeting an enigmatic pastor and the community of his "peculiar" Christian congregation. The resulting conversations paint a beautiful picture of what "living a life with the Spirit" truly entails and how the Holy Spirit calls us to living in the way of Jesus.

Patrick Oden writing a compelling narrative here that is well thought out and flows very well. I found the characters well developed (thought not the focus of the book) and I found myself relating to many of the characters on the book and the questions they are asking. If this work was just a work of fiction, I would recommend it as a good read.

Yet this book is so much more than the story that is told. The beauty of this book is that it exposes people to very deep theological concepts, questions and terms in a very non confrontational and easy-going way. It's as if you are along for the ride as two men converse. It's a Dance exposes it's reader to very unfamiliar theological terms such as kenosis (the outpouring of the Spirit) and percholeresis (moving with the Spirit), yet explains them in language that anyone can understand. It is as the title suggest, a dance. It tackles difficult questions of theology like salvation and what Christian worship and living should look like and presents an interesting perspective of how he believes it should look. Yet this book is grounded on the firm ground of the core beliefs of Christianity.

The questions posed in the minds of many of the characters are common in today's world dealing with how one views God, the church, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and how one pursues their spirituality. These are questions that are asked frequently in our churches yet are never answered satisfactorily or really discussed. A portrait is painted for those who may be experiencing crises in faith, questions about God, or dissatisfaction with Church and offers them hope. On a personal note, this book reflects what I have experienced in my walk with Christ since coming back to a Christian faith four years ago. His descriptions of how the Spirit moves in our lives and how the Spirit inspires us to be creative, missional and relational are all themes that ring true in my own experience. Yet Patrick's book challenges us to look more intently at the role the Spirit plays in our lives, in our families, in our relationships, in our communities, and in our churches.

I enjoyed the book immensely and it really got me thinking. So I thank Patrick Oden for this tremendous work on pursuing our Christian walk.

What a refreshing look at the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I enjoyed it this so much! Thank you Patrick. You've written a very engaging and theologically sound work. I was caught up in the story line but had to have a pen and highlighter nearby to mark the deep truths that kept leaping off from page to page. WELL DONE. Keep writing!

I recently had the opportunity to read a review copy of It's a Dance written by Patrick Oden. When I first heard about this book I was intrigued - a theology book about the Holy Spirit written in story form. I am aware that the role of the Holy Spirit is not mentioned often in emerging church discussions. Perhaps the fundamentalist/evangelical roots of many of us in this conversation who grew up being told that the salvation of Pentecostals and Charismatics wasn't for sure and that the Holy Spirit no longer works in our current dispensation may have something to do with that. But whatever the case, I haven't heard much talk about the holy Spirit recently and so wanted to explore It's a Dance.

The book is set up focusing on a writing assignment of a southern Californian journalist, Luke. His assignment leads him to visit and review churches in the area in search of something new and different to capture the readers attention. While the assignment is part of his job, the search echoes Luke's own spiritual quest to arrive at some sort of understanding and expression of faith he can accept. This quest leads him to a very different sort of church that meets in a pub. Luke then discovers the hows and why of this church's differences as he sits down for long discussions with the pastor and church attendees. Through these discussions we hear the stories of what brought people to this different church (often stories of pain) and are exposed to the basic theology driving the church. All the while the presence of the Holy Spirit makes itself known as the conversation returns again and again to how the Spirit is at the center of what drives the church.

I personally enjoyed reading the theological exploration in conversational format. Many of the conversations in the book reminded me of ones I have participated in from time to time. There were points where the writing slipped out of conversational mode into sermon mode, but then again when you are writing through the voice of a pastor, it is hard not to sermonize every once in awhile. Although the book does not use footnotes (they would have broken up the flow of the conversation), Oden lists his sources at the end of the book and one can tell that centuries of theological traditions and reflections informed the dialogue in the book. As I read I encountered ideas common in emerging church circles as well as explorations of the Holy Spirit that were new to my understanding of faith. It was a fun intellectual journey to take.

In the presentation of the "different" church Luke encounters, it is easy to recognize many of the trendy trappings of relevant churches. They met in a pub connected to a coffee shop/bookstore, they don't do programs, they offer a prayer room for contemplative prayer, they eschew the typical patterns of modern American churches and so forth. Nothing wrong of course with any of those things, they just fit the common stereotypes of what emerging churches look like. I appreciated that Oden went beyond describing the stylistic structure of the church and told the stories of the people who identify with that church. Reading their stories and discovering how they came to find a church home there fleshed out the theology presented in the book. Their lives represented theology lived out and were a great reminder of the real life implications of all that we believe. Through them one could see the Holy Spirit moving in the never-ending dance to draw us into faith and worship.

I think this book is a needed addition to the growing library of books on how we do church in an emerging culture. It is an accessible read and will be helpful to those who understand theology more relationally than didactically.

This book is a great introduction to Jennifer Kries' well known workout, the Method,a combination of pilates, yoga, and dance. The book starts off with information on her career and how she came to develop the Method. This was very interesting and never before presented in her videos. She then gives basics on each of the 3 components of her system, presents some pre-exercises to get you ready, and then gives you a beautifully illustrated Method Workout with all the poses fans of the Method have come to love and a few new ones. The descriptions are very detailed and each pose come with a special insight to help you get it just right. I have been doing the Method for a long time and I found the insights quite helpful. Then she gives you a series of sport specific workouts (for golf, tennis, skiing and skating, cycling, running and walking, basketball, swimming, climbing, as well as some time saver workouts for busy days. Finally, she concludes with a chapter on how to make the Method a part of your daily life. I am quite pleased with this book and think that it would be a great asset to those just getting started as well as to those who have been doing Kries' tapes for a long time.

"The Method relies on your brain as much as your body; it is a thoughtful and introspective approach to working out." ~Jennifer Kries

After discovering Jennifer Kries' workouts you might want to delve into her new book focusing on fitness for the goddess that you are. Not only will you finally meet Jennifer Kries through reading about her fascinating life, you start to gain a deeper understanding of the Pilates principles. Jennifer also explores the world of Eastern yoga and dance techniques.

What is especially exciting about "Pilates Plus Method" is the abundance of inspirational quotes. There are William James quotes you will want to remember and post in your workout room. These are quotes worth collecting, although Jennifer's writing style is the highlight of her book. She is precise and disciplined, all while showing care and giving you the support and encouragement you need during each exercise. I am truly impressed with her writing! Up until now she has been a mysterious goddess to me and to read about her life has made me realize what an amazing instructor she truly is.

This book is very useful while working out. You might want a more detailed explanation for "Single-Bent-Leg Teaser" and you can quickly look up any of the poses/exercises in the index. Of course, Jennifer is featured throughout the book and her well-toned beautiful body is a true inspiration to me. I see her picture and have to get to my workout, pronto. You will find pictures of all the exercises and enjoy detailed instructions. The "Insight" sections lead you deeper into an understanding of the pose/exercise and I enjoyed reading about the inspiration for the "seal" exercise.

Jennifer is excited about her fitness discoveries and Pilates truly is an exciting workout because you start to see results in record time. She also explains the basics of dance and includes the most healing yoga poses. There are pictures with the names of muscles clearly marked. This is extremely helpful when using the videos so you can focus your efforts on specific muscle groups. Through reading this book, you will in fact be gaining an understanding of how exercise heals your entire body.

Her book is divided into 7 main areas:

The Birth of Jennifer Kries' Method Workout
The Magic Triangle: Pilates, Yoga, and Dance
The Nine Essential Elements
Dipping Your Food in the Pool: Pre-exercises
The Method Workout
"On The Fly": Sports Specifics and Time-Savers - lists of specific exercises to improve sports performance. (Skiing, Skating, Cycling, Running, Walking, etc.)
Taking It With You: The Method For Life.

If you are looking for great results you simply must try three workouts: Jennifer Kries' Pilates Method - Perfect Mix, Precision Pilates and 3 Dimensional Toning. One of the main benefits of these Pilates-based workouts is that you suddenly have improved posture, you walk differently, you feel sexier and basically you watch your body take on a new shape. No matter where you are today, you can improve your body with Jennifer Kries' insight and instruction.

If you are interested in a personal consultation, you send a completed form on page 271 to Jennifer. In a few months, I might send in a form myself! In order to fill out this form you might want to start keeping track of all your exercise habits.

Jennifer Kries is a native New Yorker, dancer, Master Instructor, orator and choreographer. She also studied with three of Joseph Pilates original disciples, Eve Gentry, Romana Kryzanowska, and Ron Fletcher. She is the artistic director and founder of Contemporary Dance Theatre New York and the Founder of the Balanced Body Center at New York's World Gym.

Jennifer Kries has a talent for creating challenging and interesting workouts and her personality makes her book so enjoyable to read. This book is quite essential when writing about any Pilates subject and I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who writes about fitness.

I see this book as a compliment to all of Jennifer Kries' workout DVDs/Videos. However, for teachers and anyone who wants to develop a customized routine, I can't think of a more definitive Pilates guide. If you are new to Pilates, this book is essential reading.

~The Rebecca Review

When Pilates became the craze a few years ago, I immediately elected to apportion it a critical segment of my allotted exercise time. Using Amazon.com as an information springboard, I chanced upon Jennifer Kries and her set of Method sessions on VHS and DVD, purchased "The Method Precision Toning" and have been strengthening my abdominal powerhouse ever since. "Precision Toning" moves fast for a duration of what seems like an hour, despite the 20 minutes cited on the jacket. As any Pilates advocate knows, each position follows a rigorous sequence where doing the exercise correctly matters much more than doing it with infinite repetition. Ms. Kries' instructions, although impeccable, however can become a little overwhelming on both an envisioned and executional level, especially when attempting to pull the navel to the floor, raise the shoulders so they crest off the floor, squeeze the inner thighs, relax the shoulders, breath properly and then actually facilitate the physical movement of each position.

The perfect solution to understanding and performing each exercise to the best of your ability comes in the form of Ms. Kries' 280+ page paperback book, "Pilates Method Plus: the Unique Combination of Yoga, Dance, and Pilates," complete with enough photos, illustrations, step-by-step instruction, motivational quotations and helpful imaginative `insight' sidebars to provide just the right mind-body connection to ensure positional perfection.

As stated in the title of the book, the Method, however, is not just about Pilates. Ms, Kries, as a trained ballet dancer, knows the importance of stamina, endurance and determination to achieve that ultimate purely athletic moment in space. As a seeker of that unique mind and body integration where the mind and body become one, Ms Kries extols the value of detachment, anatomical awareness and balance taught by the discipline of yoga. Her comments with regard to the various types of yogic breathing allow this ancient art to aid you into moving into territories of your body that you have never before explored. `Pilates Method Plus' provides the insight necessary to utilize a triangle of activity that will enhance your range of motion while developing strength/injury protection that will allow a free flow of energy to flood into your everyday life.

The book follows a simple format. The first four chapters are dedicated to explaining the interface between the three disciplines, the nine essentials elements needed to attain heightened physical and emotional power (complete with instructions and exercises to help understand each of them) and a series of all important pre-exercises that will provide a base for the more complicated series that follow.

The bulk of the book---Chapter 5--- contains the actual exercises which Kries divides into three progressive stand-alone routines, lasting from 30 to 45 minutes each. With the help of a full-page chart where each position is labeled either 1, 2 or 3 Kries stresses that eventually the entire sequence of positions will be performed once all the exercises have been mastered. Two pages which include step-by-step analysis and photographs of Ms Kries in time-sequenced action are dedicated to each position. Take my word for it, this extensive explanation utilized as an adjunct with one of Ms Kries many exercise DVDs will provide more than adequate fodder to integrate brain with muscles to achieve exercise nirvana.

The book's last chapter--- what Kries' calls `"On the Fly" Sports Specifics and Time-savers' presents a platform for individual sports cross-training in the areas of golf, tennis, skiing, skating, cycling, running, walking, basketball, swimming, and climbing. Each contains a full listing of those exercises necessary to help prevent injury while broadening range of motion with added strength, energy and confidence. Compare this comprehensive list of activities with those found in Brooke Siler's `Ultimate Pilates Body Challenge'---there is no comparison; Siler's book covers only a bare minimum. To finish up, two `on the fly' workouts provide a Beginners or Intermediate and Advanced routine sequence for those who are short on time.

Bottom line: This is my favorite exercise how-to book. Kries' exuberant personality and love of what she does prevails throughout the text and are epitomized in the bright smile she wears in all her photos. While I don't recommend using the book as a stand alone unless you have been trained in Pilates or in any of the other disciplines beforehand, I do recommend it as an accessory to any Pilates-based DVD, Method or otherwise. Brava Ms, Kries on a well-spent $17.95 permanent addition to my exercise library.

Diana F. Von Behren
"reneofc"

...I devoured this book as soon as it arrived. I have been practicing yoga and Pilates regularly for a little over a year, and I've been "dipping my toe in the pool" trying to get into dance. With my knowledge of some of the Pilates basics and using some of the NYC Ballet Workout, as well as some classic yoga moves, I tried to come up with the best way to synthesize the three into one routine. In many cases, I felt like I came up short. This book does a very nice job combining the three, although the emphasis is cearly on Pilates.

Before introducing her full 68 move routine, Kries describes how she was introduced first to dance, then to Pilates and finally to yoga. In a nutshell, she has been dancing since she was 9, using Pilates since she was 13 and practicing yoga since she was recovering from an injury in her late teens. Dance provides the body with slenderness and agility as well as an outlet for artistic expression, Pilates with strength and yoga with flexibility, both for the body and the mind.

She next discusses the 9 essential elements that are essential in her workout, as well as exercises to help strengthen those elements. Emphasis in this chapter is on the breathing techniques needed for yoga and Pilates. She also has a chapter of pre-exercises for all three disciplines to help prepare for the complete workout. The first, the pre-rollup, is also used as a diagnostic to determine whether you should begin at level 1, 2 or 3.

And now the workout. Of the 68 exercises presented, a little more than half are level 1. Of the remaining, about 25 are level 2 and 8 are level 3. In other words, even an absolute beginner should be able to perform the bulk of the workout. The workout starts with yoga breathing, then moves onto a dance inspired warmup. Next, and for the majority of the workout, are the classic Pilates exercises, all in (as far as I can tell) the classic Pilates sequence. She begins with the Hundred and moves through non-stop until Criss-Cross. At this point, Kries alternates between yoga and Pilates. After the completion of the abdominal series, leg series teaser series and three variations on the Sun Salutation, she begins the Plie series (this series is very similar to her 3-D Toning tape). Next is the Pilates Standing Sculpting Series. Weights are optional, but the suggested range is 3 to 5 pounds. These exercises do work the entire upper body, but a lot of stress is put on the shoulders. Therefore, I don't recommend going beyond 5 pounds for this series. Finally, she begins the relaxation series, consisting of alternate nostril breathing, meditation and the corpse pose.

The last two sections of the book have routines designed to improve the performance in eight popular sports as well as two abbreviated versions of the workout, one for Beginners and one for Intermediate/Advanced.

Throughout her book, Kries intersperses inspirational quotes (the bulk seem to be from William James). Clearly, a lot to think about when you're exercising, but they definitely put you in the right mind-set. Every exercise includes photographs as well as (for almost all of the exercises) an "InSight" to help you refine your technique and a listing of the muscles used in the exercise.

I really enjoy this workout and this is a keeper in my weekly (or more) rotation. However, a couple of comments:

-I would have preferred more yoga. In her Precision Pilates video, she uses a number of yoga poses in her lowerbody workout that could have been effectively incorporated here (Chair, Lunge variations, etc.). Also, I feel that she didn't draw out the need to breathe differently for the yoga and Pilates movements.

-I would have preferred more dance. There are not too many repetitions of each of the moves in the Plie series. Minor complaint- this is a book, and one could easily add on another set if desired.

+/-Jennifer can be very profound, and judging from other comments about her, this can be very off-putting. However, I really enjoy her comments and insights.

+/-She states that this routine can take 30 to 45 minutes, and after performing this workout three times, it's taking me an hour and a half. That's down from two hours, so there is some improvement. Admittedly, much of that is me stopping to look at the sequence as well as referring to each individual exercise to look at the number of reps required. I read once in Brooke Siler's book (which I really only skimmed) that some advanced students can perform the entire Pilates mat sequence in as little as 15 minutes. Clearly then, this workout can be done in 30 to 45 minutes, but that in and of itself should be considered a goal.

+Many people have questioned the benefits of Pilates for the legs and arms. I am here to tell you they exist. After each workout, my legs have been noticeably sorer, but not painfully so. Also, after using 5 pound weights for most of the Standing Series (but I had to use 3 for the last two), my upper body is definitely feeling it the next day.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who already practices Pilates and who is also interested in yoga or dance. The yoga and dance sections should be accessible to the beginner, but the Pilates sections may be challenging to the absolute beginners. I plan on doing this workout 3 times a week, supplemented by some other strength training. After one week, I already feel the difference in my legs, arms and core.

Michael Morrison is THE Barrymore biographer who has done his homework: he spent nine years writing his book, compiled a host of new material and achieves a revival, nay, a resurrection! John Barrymore's RICHARDIII and HAMLET live! Not on celluloid, but they are among the most fully documented stage performances of the twentieth century. There are countless photos, reviews, promptbooks, letters, interviews. Morrison's reconstruction of RICHARDIII is based on Barrymore's recording, a film scene and a radio broadcast of the play. Barrymore made private recordings for nearly every scene of HAMLET. When he made his "streamlined Shakespeare" broadcasts in 1937 his technique had eroded, but he retained the patterns he had established while studying for the role. Even in 1933 when he made his HAMLET screen test his voice had a youthful timbre and his readings are subtle and powerful. Morrison put the puzzle together and is able to determine which syllables Barrymore stressed, when he spoke harsher, quicker, higher, colder, sarcastic or ironic, when he pauses, whispers, jumps up, fondles or slaps his leading lady - virtually every word and inflection is documented!

John Barrymore was the greatest American stage-actor of the twentieth century, His Shakespeare performances two of the most significant events in the history of the modern stage. They made formidable impact on the post-WWI generation, like Picasso's paintings and Strawinsky's music. He was the first to reinterpret time-honored roles in the light of Freud's psychological theory.

Before 1915 he was a clever comedian, a matinee-idol and a colorful figure in New York's high life. He tended to bohemianism and nocturnal adventures and lacked discipline. But he was ingratiating and his sparkling wit and physical attractiveness mollified even indignant producers. The failure of his first marriage and his friendship to playwright Edward Sheldon made him "reinvent" himself. His harrowing portrayal of a clerk who forges a check to rescue a woman from her abusive husband in Galsworthy's JUSTICE was hailed as epochal Broadway event. The audience found him "electrifying" in the jail-scene, where he was subjected to dehumanizing conditions. His "refined, sensitive, dreamy" PETER IBBETSON was a WWI hit, with its theme of love transcending separation and death. In Tolstoi's REDEMPTION Barrymore proved a "treasure mine" for producer Arthur Hopkins and THE JEST was a sensation: his character's sensuality was an irresistible lure to sexually liberated post-war audiences.

The idea to play RICHARDIII came when he observed a "sinister" red tarantula at the Bronx zoo. Barrymore, who admired the macabre & bizarre portrayed the wretched king with ironic humor and malevolent intensity. Margaret Carrington, his vocal coach, was impressed by his dedication and critics praised the ardent love-scene with Richard as "misunderstood saint" who sits on the throne "like an obscene condor meditating the death of the princes". They concluded that Barrymore had "jazzed up" Shakespeare to the point of real popularity, but Robert Edmond Jones commented: "It's abnormal. It isn't human to drive yourself like that". Sometimes his armor grew so hot that he was "grilled" and his affair with poetess "Michael Strange" was tempestous overwork. After less than 4 weeks the actor suffered a nervous breakdown and entered a sanitarium.

He survived the flop of CLAIR DE LUNE, a pretentious play that his wife wrote especially for him and worked again with Carrington - who hired her fourteen years old niece as chaperone (he behaved well). The description of his epoch-making HAMLET is is the core of Morrison's book.

John Barrymore was the first Hamlet with an Oedipus complex. His biographers agree that his stepmother's sexual abuse may have been the source of his conception of Hamlet as incestuous prince. His Hamlet is "manly, more sexual and menacing than the "sweet prince" of Victorian tradition. His Hamlet's "frank sexuality" shocked his partners. When he took the production to London he demanded a "lecherous court", "drunken orgies" and "half-bare bosoms" (His language was always colorful). He broke Edwin Booth's record of 100 consecutive performances. Most critics were enthusiastic, few superlatives were spared. Shaw criticized his cuts, but Laurence Olivier found: "When he was on stage the sun came out".

Soon Barrymore relapsed into his old humdrum way: drinking champagne, playing pranks - and then he threw his role away because he wanted to join his wife in Paris...Morrison dedicates the last chapter to Barrymore's Hollywood career: His mythic intemperance, disregard for his own well-being, his efforts to honor his monumental debts with the play MY DEAR CHILDREN ("A peep-show! a spiritual striptease with Gypsy Rose John!") and his self-parody on the Rudy-Vallee-show. A title-card in THE BELOVED ROGUE (1927) says: "One must sorrow that a man of such genius should be a drunken clown".

This is one of the best books ever written on the performing arts. By focusing in on Barrymore's Shakespearean acting only, Morrison manages to show how a second-rate light comedian turned himself into a great artist by sheer hard work -- and then, horrifyingly, how an artist transformed himself into a clown through laziness and dissipation. Through the use of the actor's playbooks and impressive research, Morrison does the impossible and brings Barrymore's stage performances as Richard III and Hamlet so vividly alive you'll swear you're in the theater watching them (I was holding my breath at the end of "Hamlet"). Along the way there are vivid portraits of the idealistic, progressive theater in the 1920's and, a decade later, the ancestry of today's poisonous and envious celebrity culture. Once you read this book you'll never look at Barrymore the same way again.

Michael Morrison has provided us with a stirring portrait of one of America's greatest actors, John Barrymore. His book is a vivid account of Barrymore's innovative approach to Shakespearean acting and subsequent rise to fame. This book is required reading for Shakespearean scholars and Barrymore enthusiasts alike.

Michael Morrison's book fills a much needed gap in the large Barrymore biographical canon: it tells the story of Barrymore the artist. Many of the other great biographies of the man and family (Margot Peter's THE HOUSE OF BARRYMORE, anything by James Kotsilibas-Davis, to name only two of many excellent others) understandably short-shrift the details found here, in favor of the fabulous "bon mots" and the large tragic arc of his life. Morrison, if it's possible to believe, makes that tragedy all the more heartbreaking by detailing the hard work that Barrymore put himself through to transform himself from a light comedian into the greatest tragic actor of his generation - and arguably the last great tragic actor of the American theatre.

The detailed recreations of Barrymore's acting in RICHARD III and HAMLET are facinating. They provide all of us who have come after some small picture of what it must have been like to actually see him on stage. It helps, I suppose, to be familiar with his film work, to have heard at least some of his Shakespearean recordings, in order to fully visualize Barrymore's "flashing, rapier" genius at work - but it's probably not necessary. A must for all Barrymore fans, actors, and theatre lovers, this book is a treasure. But beware, its story could break your heart.

Josephine wants to dance. She practices her bounces and leaps with the long-legged birds. When she sees a poster for a ballet, she dreams of wearing a tutu and silk ballet slippers. Sneaking into town to watch the ballet rehearsals only makes her want to dance more.

Her brother, Joey, doesn't understand. He just keeps reminding her she is a kangaroo and what she does is jump, not dance.

On the day of the first performance, the prima ballerina twists her ankle and Josephine has the chance to live her dream. Will she do it well enough? Will the show go on? This is an adorable, pink book reminding children not to give up on their dreams, even when they seem impossible. The combination of story and illustrations is delightful and sure to make for a fun time.

Armchair Interviews says: We're never too young-or too old to live out our dreams.

This lovely Australian import created by the award- winning team of Diary of a Wombat (Clarion, 2003) will delight preschool children. Josephine is a Kangaroo who loves to dance and learns her steps from the graceful movements of other animals like brolgas and lyrebirds; their motions are described in evocative similes that stretch the imagination, "she swayed like the lyrebirds as they call to their sweethearts." Her brother Joey loudly tells her, "Kangaroos don't dance" but Josephine ignores him and continues to seek ever more inspiration: Then a ballet company comes to town and Josephine wants to dance "in a pink tutu, with silk ballet shoes." The illustrations express and extend beautifully this humorous and lively tale. Josephine is depicted dancing on her toes and doing pirouettes; her body is always a swirl of motion as she strikes one dramatic pose after another. At one point she hides in a garbage can outside the ballet practice room window so she can learn how to perform the ballet. When Josephine actually performs the ballet on stage, her very attentive and expressive audience is featured in a dynamic and amusing double spread that shows various different people but also includes a sheep and a dog family: the puppy's ears are all that is visible in one chair. The design of this book is lovely from the eye- catching cover that shows Josephine dressed in a tutu and ballet slippers to the many endearing illustrations that stand out beautifully from a warm pink background. The font is easy on the eye and large font size is used for declarations, "I can't dress a kangaroo!" says the costume designer. Enjoy using this book in story times and if you display the bold cover, patrons will snap it off your shelves.

Reviewed by Olivia Alejandre (age 4) for Reader Views (12/07)

Mom's review / summary:
I love this book! Not only does Josephine follow her dreams to be a ballerina, even though her brother continually tries to discourage her, but she does it through her OWN intuition and initiative! She doesn't wait for someone else to encourage her or help her find a creative solution to becoming a dancer. She goes out and finds a way herself. Wow! Thank you Jackie French!

My daughter Olivia and I had read five new books and I asked her which one was her favorite - she pointed to this one. She connected with the story AND the artwork - that's relatively rare for someone of her age (she just turned 4).

I wish there was more background with the artwork, especially on the pages where Josephine danced on stage. I was hoping that Olivia could get a visual of Josephine being on a stage in front of a crowd and not being scared. She might remember that someday when she is in a recital or concert of some kind. The artwork looked too similar from page to page (minor issue compared to all the positives of this book).

Olivia's review:
"Josephine loves to dance. `Don't dance, Josephine! Kangaroos don't dance; they hop.' Josephine still danced and she danced over her brother. There was a ballet class going and `I am going to go to the ballet class.' Josephine sneaked into the door and the girls in ballet class hurt their legs. There's a kangaroo dancing; that kangaroo can really do ballet. And he makes a dress for Josephine and some slippers. `Come out of there,' said Josephine's brother. `No, I'm going to dance,' said Josephine. She can jump higher than anyone. Last dance was from Josephine."

Some quotes from Olivia about "Josephine Wants to Dance":
"Is Josephine a rat?"

"Pretty." (Josephine dancing)

"She has to try to dance because she's never done it before." [Mom]: "And, what happens if she practices?" [Olivia]: "She gets better. And, then her brother is dancing! And, her brother doesn't have to tell her that anymore."

[Mom]: "What do you think about someone telling you that you can't do something?"
"Mean."

Jackie French's JOSEPHINE WANTS TO DANCE enjoys Bruce Whatley's zany story of a kangaroo who doesn't want to hop, but dance. Josephine dreams of being in the ballet, but everyone rejects the idea and won't let her - until the prima ballerina twists has ankle on opening day and Josephine at last displays her talents. A fine story of achievement and possibilities.