Cecchetti Institute Reading Group
Mondays a la Maestro -- 2nd Mondays
The reading group launched as an in-person activity for the purpose of more fully engaging those in the D.C. area as we continue to work toward a physical presence in the nation's capital. We plan to eventually feature a publicly-available Reading Room for our existing, extensive dance library, which is currently available by appointment only.
Meets monthly at the Tenley-Friendship Library, directly across the street from the Tenley Metro.
Usual date is the first or second Monday of the month. Usual time 10:30-11:30 (but always check the sign-up schedule)
If you are driving, know that paid parking is available in the Target parking garage (access off of River Road)
Advance registration is required
Our reserved room has a limit of 15 attendees, which the library strictly enforces.
Sign-up deadline is the Sunday prior to each gathering.
Registration is free, but contributions to our effort, of any size (even $1), will be gratefully received.
we are on break until fall
September: "Frederic Franklin: A Biography of the Ballet Star" by Leslie Norton with Frederic Franklin
October: "On Stage at the Ballet: My Life as Dancer and Artistic Director" by Robert Barnett with Cynthia Crain
November: "Striking a Balance: Dancers Talk About Dancing" by Barbara Newman
What we've read thus far:
June 2025: "Tomboy Ballerina: My Life from Baseball to American Ballet Theater and Beyond" by Roni Mahler with Caroline O'Connor
May 2025: "Dancing Past the Light: The Life of Tanaquil le Clercq" by Orel Protopopescu
April 2025:
"Prodigal Son" by Edward VIllella
March 2025: "Perpetual Motion: The Public and Private Lives of Rudolf Nureyev" by Otis Stuart
February 2025: "Autobiography: Margot Fonteyn"
January 2025:
"Imperial Dancer: Mathilde Kschessinska and the Romanovs" by Coryne Hall
November 2024: "Ida Rubinstein: Revolutionary Dancer, Actress, and Impressario" by Judith Chazin-Bennahum
October 2024: "Leanne Benjamin: Built for Ballet" by Leanne Benjamin with Sarah Crompton
September 2024: "Balanchine's Apprentice: From Hollywood to New York and Back" by John Clifford
July 2024: "The Christensen Brothers: An American Dance Epic" by Debra Hickenlooper Sowell
June 2024: "Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theater, His Dance" by Deborah Jowitt
May 2024: "Catherine Littlefield: A Life in Dance" by Sharon Skeel
April 2024: "The Pursuit of Perfection: A Life of Celia Franca" by Carol Bishop-Gwyn
March 2024: "The Boy from Kyiv: Alexei Ratmansky's Life in Ballet" by Marina Harss
February 2024: "Come Dance With Me: a memoir, 1898-1956" by Ninette de Valois
January 2024: "Choura: The Memoirs of Alexandra Danilova
December 2023: "Diaghilev's Empire: How the Ballets Russes Enthralled the World" by Rupert Christiansen
November 2023: Carlos Acosta -- "No Way Home: A Cuban Dancer's Story"
October 2023: Agnes deMille -- memoir "Dance to the Piper" OR Carol Easton's biography "No Intermissions: The LIfe of Agnes deMille"
July 2023: "I Was a Dancer" by Jacques d'Amboise
June 2023: "Out Loud: A Memoir" by Mark Morris and Wesley Stace
May 2023: "Maria Tallchief: America's Prima Ballerina" by Maria Tallchief with Larry Kaplan
April 2023: "Distant Dances" by Sono Osato
March 2023: "Secret Muses: The Life of Frederick Ashton" by Julie Kavanagh
February 2023: "Night's Dancer: The Life of Janet Collins" by Yael Tamar Lewin
January 2023: "Dulcie Howes: Pioneer of Ballet in South Africa" by Richard Glasstone
December 2022: "Bravura!: Lucia Chase and the American Ballet Theatre" by Alex C. Ewing
November 2022: "A Body of Work: Dancing to the Edge and Back" by David Hallberg
October 2022:
"Dance or Die" by Ahmad Joudeh
