Ballet School. By John Gabriel. (Faber and Faber. 42s.) THERE
is an increasing tendency in every art today to take us behind the scenes, or—to change the metaphor—to " show us how the wheels go round." Whether such enlightenment results in deepened aesthetic pleasure is not certain, but it is quite possible that our delight in ballet will be increased by a close study of the stringent discipline involved and successive photographs of the. actual steps as shown in this book. But even if these should presently bore us, there are so many other good illustrations, so many well-chosen quotations from Carlo Blasis and others, and such a charming foreword from Karsavina herself—who admits that "modern ballet is gradually venturing into a freer interpretation of established laws vindicating the formerly repressed personality of the dancer " (a hint that Jooss's work has not been in vain}— that no one who can afford to buy it is likely to regret his purchase.
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