Cecchetti Institute Ballet Biography 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 an occupancy limit, which the library strictly enforces.

Interested in attending?  Email CecchettiInstitute@gmail.com

Sign-up deadline is the Sunday prior to each gathering.

Registration is free, but contributions to our efforts, of any size (even $1), will be gratefully received. Donate here:

Our next selections:

November 2026:  "The Swans of Harlem" by Karen Valby

December 2026:   "Irina: Ballet, life and love" by Irina Baronova

Looking for something?  Perhaps it's in our library.  See our Cecchetti Institute Library page to explore our extensive collection.

What we've read thus far:

October 2026:   "Arthur Mitchell: The Extraordinary Life of Harlem's Ballet Visionary" by Lynn Garafola

September 2026:  "Kaiso! Writings by and about Katherine Dunham" edited by VeVe A. Clark & Sara E. Johnson

July 2026:  "Page by Page" by Ruth Page

June 2026:  "George Balanchine: The Ballet Maker" by Robert Gottlieb

April & May 2026:  "Marius Petipa: The Emperor's Ballet Master" by Nadine Meisner OR "Russian Ballet Master, The memoirs of Marius Petipa"

March  2026: "Pavlova: A Biography" by A. H. Franks OR "Anna Pavlova" by Oleg Kerensky 

February 2026:  "Red Curtain Up" by Beryl Grey

January 2026:  "American Indian Ballerinas" by Lili Cockerille Livingston

December 2025:  "Striking a Balance: Dancers Talk About Dancing" by Barbara Newman (last 12 chapters)

November 2025:  "Striking a Balance: Dancers Talk About Dancing" by Barbara Newman (first 12 chapters)

October 2025: "On Stage at the Ballet: My Life as Dancer and Artistic Director" by Robert Barnett with Cynthia Crain

September 2025: "Frederic Franklin: A Biography of the Ballet Star" by Leslie Norton with Frederic Franklin

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