{"product_id":"9780861542345-dont-think-dear","title":"Don’t Think, Dear","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn Loving and Leaving Ballet\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan ballet ever be reconciled with feminist ideals?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan ballet ever be reconciled with feminist ideals?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Beautiful, difficult, and compelling.' \u003cem\u003eVANITY FAIR\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'Don’t think, dear,' said Balanchine. 'Just do.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor centuries, being a ballerina has been synonymous with being beautiful, thin, obedient and feminine. It is the crucible of womanhood, together with the harassment, physical abuse and eating disorders endemic at top schools. Can we abide this in a post #MeToo world?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWeaving together her own time at America’s most elite ballet school with the lives of renowned ballerinas throughout history, Alice Robb interrogates what it means to perform ballet today. She confronts the all-consuming nature of the form: the obsessive and dangerous practices to perfect the body, the embrace of submission and the idealisation of suffering.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet ballet also gifts its dancers ‘brains in their toes’, a way to fully inhabit their bodies and a sanctuary of control away from the pressures of the outside world. Perhaps it is time to reimagine its liberating potential.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e***\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'\u003cstrong\u003ePart memoir, part journalistic investigation\u003c\/strong\u003e, the book weaves [Robb’s] early experiences as a dancer with those of her contemporaries, and of famous ballerinas… \u003cem\u003eDon’t Think, Dear\u003c\/em\u003e is\u003cstrong\u003e powered by a fundamental love of the art form\u003c\/strong\u003e while exposing the toxic culture that runs through it.' \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'[Robb’s] \u003cstrong\u003etimely\u003c\/strong\u003e book is \u003cstrong\u003ea critical yet personal examination of classical ballet \u003c\/strong\u003e– a performing art highly dependent on the talent of women – filtered through the lens of 21st-century feminism… she brings a welcome academic rigour to a subject clearly born of deeply held emotions.' \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTHE TIMES\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'\u003cstrong\u003eA study of an obsession remarkable for its nuance and insight\u003c\/strong\u003e… It might be easy… to assume that \u003cem\u003eDon’t Think, Dear\u003c\/em\u003e is Robb’s litany of grievances about a demanding art form in which she failed to flourish. Rather, \u003cstrong\u003eit is a book about love\u003c\/strong\u003e, even if that love is ultimately unrequited… fascinating.'\u003cem\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eTLS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40736981123169,"sku":"9780861542345","price":15.57,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_27874110.jpg?v=1722152939","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780861542345-dont-think-dear","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}