Friendly tone of text, photos Friedman ballet book apart

FIRST LESSONS IN BALLET, by Lise Friedman, Workman Publishing, New York, 1999, 64 pages, $14.95 hardcover, $8.95 paperback.

I have a confession to make. I never returned “The First Book of the Ballet” to the library. I never kept any other book, but as a young ballet student years and years ago, I couldn’t bear to part with that slim, hardcover volume. Inside the dull, tan cover was the story that was going to be my life, the story of a little girl taking her first dance lessons, transforming herself from a wiggly 6-year-old into a graceful teen-ager and then into a famous ballerina. And it was all done with two-color illustrations and the power of my imagination.

Of course, the reality was different. Few aspiring ballerinas achieve the heights they dream of, but their dreams are real, and parents are lucky today to have a selection of very good books to inspire and teach the beginning dancer. Today, as years ago, most of these books are about ballet, combining lessons in basic technique with information about performance, and sometimes stories of the classical ballets. But with their elegant photographs of accomplished students and professional dancers, these books can make the world of dance seem beyond the reach of the average student.

Beginning with its cover photograph with a smiling child in leotard and tights in a city dance studio, “First Lessons in Ballet” is an inviting and welcome addition to the young dancer’s bookshelf. The content is similar to other ballet books: a ballet class in book form, beginning with the proper clothes, through stretching and warming up, to exercises at the barre, centerwork, and a brief mention of pointe work and partnering.

What sets “First Lessons in Ballet” apart is the friendly tone of the text and photos: The author, Lise Friedman, is a dance writer and former dancer with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and she never forgets that it’s a love of moving that gets kids dancing in the first place.

Each two-page spread has a full-page photo of an advanced student on the left, with explanations of the purpose for the exercise or dance step, and reminders to “keep breathing, be serious in your body, not in your face,” along with the more usual “long stretched back, strong supporting leg,” etc. And the student looks as though she’s really enjoying herself!

On the opposite page are more photos of younger students, boys and girls, learning the same movements, with fuller explanations of how to accomplish them. These students, photographed in New York City, are Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian and African-American; skinny, a little chubby, and average — real kids demonstrating proper ballet technique and placement, and enjoying themselves.

Friedman sounds like a patient and careful teacher explaining each exercise, using imagery effectively but sparingly: arms in port de bras that should feel “smooth as molasses, imagine that a string is attached to the top of your head, gently pulling up, lengthening your neck and back. See, you’re taller already!”

Instead of the usual description of the last class exercises as going “across the floor” Friedman labels these “traveling through space” (her Cunningham training shining through), never forgetting that dance is not just about shapes, but about moving those shapes into three-dimensional space.

For the beginning dancer or for the parent of a beginning dancer who wants to understand more about the logic of a ballet class, “First Lessons in Ballet,” achieves an honest balance between the discipline and exhilaration of dance lessons. I can’t imagine a better book to start with.