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Throughout her history, the ballerina has been perceived as the embodiment of beauty and perfection? the feminine ideal. But the reality is another story. From the earliest ballerinas in the 17th century, who often led double lives as concubines, through the poverty of the corps de ballet dancers in the 1800's and the anorexic and bulimic ballerinas of George Balanchine, starvation and exploitation have plagued ballerinas throughout history. Using...

True story of five little girls with cerebral palsy or other physical disabilities who were determined to become ballerinas.

Ballerinas are beautiful. They are strong. Their physical prowess matches that of great athletes. They are thoughtful, smart, and caring. They are elusive. They are icons. Perhaps most importantly, amidst all the stereotypes, ballerinas are also, women, artists, and people. Strength and Beauty goes beyond our common definition of the ballerina to not only strip away our preconceptions, but to show how these women balance their lives. Three dancers...

When she was only five years old, her parents took her to see the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Raven perched on her crushed velvet seat, heard the tympani, and cried with delight even before the curtain lifted. From that moment on, her passion for dance only grew stronger. No black ballerina had ever danced with a major American touring troupe before. Raven would be the first. All Raven Wilkinson wanted to do was dance. On Raven's ninth birthday,...

A biography of the Osage Indian ballerina whose love of dance took her from a life on a reservation to a career on the stage.