The Ballet Book Paperback – Illustrated, April 3, 2006

Great Book for any ballet youth students that wants to improve thier dance . Indicates proper posture and positions at all needed basic steps. Very Informative with great step by step illustrations to answer those very technical questions.

This book is very well written and has wonderful pictures. There are pictures of the author as a professional dancer but most depictions of styles and steps are of children in the Royal Ballet Academy, which makes it very accessible and inspiring to kids. Would appeal to both kids who are already taking dance and those who are just interested in dance. Has a lot of how-to and what-to-expect as well. Wonderful resource for anyone interested in ballet, no matter to what degree or in what level of experience. Very glad to have this in our dance/exercise library!

Darcey Bussell has been one of the world's greatest ballerinas so, when she writes a book on ballet, the expectations are high. Fortunately, this book does a great job in explaining and illustrating basic ballet technique, through a wealth of beautiful color photographs with ample descriptions, and is surprisingly extensive, even showing how to tie pointe shoe ribbons. The basics are shown by her young students, both boys and girls, from the Royal Academy of Dance, with perfect form. There are also many photos of Darcey dancing solo and in pas de deux, and a group photo of Darcey with her students. The quality of this book is first rate and a real bargain as of this writing. Readers both young and old should find this rewarding.

Great gift for girls who love ballet! A nice mix of beautiful, inspiring pictures and good information. Good gift quality/aesthetics. A nice mix of performance pictures (in costume) and pictures of boys and girls illustrating postures, steps, etc. For a boy who loves ballet, there may be a better book out there-- this one does have pictures of boys and men, which I appreciated, but it does seem skewed towards girls. A book more focused on male dancers might be more inspiring to a boy.

Darcy Bussell’s The Ballet Book is a wonderful book for children who are considering ballet lessons or want to know more about the mechanics of ballet. Bussell’s book is filled with copious photographs of not only Bussell, herself a prima ballerina, in her famous roles, but also child ballet dancers demonstrating the various steps that make up classical ballet. The child reader most likely won’t be able to self-teach with these photos, but they will undoubtedly gain a knowledge of how the steps are done and, if already in class, perhaps use the descriptions to “check” themselves when practicing alone. Practicing alone is cautioned against once a child is more advanced, however. The publisher of this book is famous for its beautiful books, and this certainly is worthy. The Ballet Book would make a lovely gift for a child.

The book illustrates ballet positions, steps and traditions in clear, simple text, photos and drawings. This is an excellent book for a child taking ballet lessons. It features boys as well as girls in ballet classes and explains the similarities and differences in the way they dance in classical ballet. The book can serve as a reference for the student to supplement their lessons.

The product arrived on time and in excellent condition. It has helped revive my love for ballet and brought back wonderful memories of taking ballet as a child. I now share this book with my granddaughters and nieces and they are very excited and want to take ballet. An absolute font of useful information and fantastic photos. I will use this shipper again.

It is more for younger girls. It does say that I'm sure. But it is still very helpful.