A Young Dancer: The Life of an Ailey Student Book

A Young Dancer: The Life of an Ailey Student (Pre Order) Book 27196

Your Price	$25.00
Qty

About this item:

Written by Valerie Gladstone.
Photographs by Jose Ivey.

Meet Iman Bright, a thirteen-year-old student at the prestigious Ailey School in New York City. Iman is passionate about dance, but she also enjoys drawing, playing music, and of course, hanging out with her friends. Follow Iman as she warms up at the barre, practices violin, and gets ready for a performance with her fellow students.

In descriptive words and striking photographs, this informative picture book provides fascinating insight into the world of dance through the voice of one very talented young performer.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating

What a gift the story of this fetching Ailey student, Iman Bright, is in this 50th year of the Alvin Ailey Dance company! The writing is so clear and the photographs are stunning. This book is a tribute to one of the first companies to include dancers of color. Thank goodness!!

Was this review helpful?

This concise photographic display of a young African American dancer is a long awaited literary inspiration for all young dancers of minority groups. The windows of opportunity for such groups in some of the biggest professional companies are still limited to none or a token model to support equal opportunity employer bylines. The evidence is all too clear in DVDS sold on the market and stages filled with ballerinas of an exclusive type. Sensitive issue yes but still an issue none the less. Books like the Young dancer provide visual platforms of the skill and talent that lies in us all given the right opportunities and community support. It is only regretful that the opportunity to take a dance or music class is still a luxary in some of our inner city areas but we've come a far way from our great grandparents generation not even knowing what a plie was or seeing a real dance studio or bar. We need more books like the young dancer in libraries and on the family bookshelf to reshape the thinking of little girls who previously had no role models in their own race and saw ballet or dance as beyond their reach. We must continue the fight to prevent racial and cultursl exclusion in our society and this can stop with dancers belonging to minority groups being trained at a young age. This gives them a chance at an audition in the future against their peers who may have been taking classes since three years old. An excellent buy.

Was this review helpful?

View All 2 Reviews
Write A Review

Donation

2008-2009 Season Poster

Alvin Ailey e-Boutique

A Young Dancer: The Life of an Ailey Student Book

Customer Reviews