Barry dancer biography books

There’s no fighting it—winter is coming. And whether you’re looking for the perfect holiday gift for your favorite dancer or for a good excuse to curl up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate, we have the book for you.

Five new ballet biographies and autobiographies are now available for either purchase or pre-order, covering the lives of luminaries ranging from Balanchine muse Tanaquil Le Clercq to groundbreaking modernist choreographer Bronislava Nijinska.

Read on for a sneak peek into each title, and prepare to fall down the rabbit hole of ballet history.

Dancing Past the Light: The Life of Tanaquil Le Clercq, by Orel Protopopescu

In 1948, at the age of 19, Tanaquil Le Clercq became a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, making waves as the ideal “Balanchine ballerina.” In 1952, she married George Balanchine, becoming his fourth and final wife.

And in 1956, at the age of 27, she contracted polio while on t