Biographies
Biography Feature : Dancers & Ballerinas
Tutor 1: What does it feel like when you're dancing?
Billy: Don't know. Sorta feels good. Sorta stiff and that, but once I get going... then I like, forget everything. And... sorta disappear. Sorta disappear. Like I feel a change in my whole body. And I've got this fire in my body. I'm just there. Flyin' like a bird. Like electricity. Yeah, like electricity.."
Extract from Billy Elliot
The Black Swan DVD, featuring Natalie Portman, winner of the Best Actress Academy Award 2011, will be released shortly. This is an ideal opportunity to explore biographies that Wellington City Libraries hold about ballet dancers and ballerinas. One might wonder if the real lives of these athletes rival that of fictional character Nina Sayers...
Books
These are just some of the biographies and works concerning ballet dancers and ballerinas that can be found in the library collection
Mao's last dancer, Li Cunxin
"Li Cunxin was born into poverty in the Shandong province of People's Republic of China. At the age of eleven, he was selected by Madame Mao's cultural advisers to attend the Beijing Dance Academy, where students endured 16-hour days of training. He was one of the first students from the Beijing Dance Academy to go to the United States. In the 1970s, he joined Ben Stevenson's Houston Ballet company as an exchange student. He also began a relationship with an aspiring American dancer, Elizabeth Mackey. They quickly got married so that Li could remain in the United States and avoid deportation. In the end, his Chinese citizenship was revoked. In 1995 he moved to Melbourne to join the Australian Ballet. In 1987 he married again to Australian dancer Mary McKendry. They have three children together. In 2003 Li published his autobiography, Mao's Last Dancer. The book has become a feature film with the same title. It will be released in 2010. (Bowker Author Biography)." (description from Syndetics)
Vera Volkova : [a biography], Alexander Meinertz ; translated from the Danish by Alexander Meinertz and Paula Hostrup-Jessen ; forword by John Neumeier.
"Vera Volkova was central to the European ballet world for almost four decades as advisor, friend and, above all, teacher to iconic figures from dancers Margot Fonteyn, Erik Bruhn and Rudolf Nureyev to choreographers Sir Frederick Ashton and John Neumeier. Having inspired British ballet in its early years with her profound understanding of classical ballet, she revived and transformed the moribund Royal Danish ballet, working with that company for almost 25 years. Invitations to teach in the U.S.A, Canada, Australia and South Africa further extended her influence. But, enigmatic, self-effacing and intensely private, her life remained a well-kept secret. Now this biography, hugely praised on its first publication in Danish, reveals Volkova's life and legacy."(description from amazon.com)
Irina : ballet, life and love, Irina Baronova
"Born in Russia to privilege in 1919, Irina and her family fled the Bolsheviks, escaping to a new, but impoverished life in Romania. Irina's mother was determined that her daughter learn ballet and, finding a way to Paris, Irina made her debut at age 11 with the Paris Opera. Soon after, she was spotted by the legendary choreographer George Balanchine, joined the famed Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and a career was born."(description from Syndetics)
You can find more items about ballet dancers in our catalogue here
From our databases:
Poul Rudolph Gnatt : article from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Rudolf Nureyev: article from Britannica Online
Enjoy this featured biography? Have a browse of our Previous Biography Features
Recent items
MyLibrary:
Have a look at the libraries' Biography recent picks for new biographies.
MyLibrary is a free service which allows you to set up your own portal page to collect lists of new books, CDs and DVDs in the library. Our librarians compile these lists on a monthly basis across the different subject areas in the library's collection, and for many subjects these monthly lists are available going back a number of years.
Librarian's Choice
Recommended by our librarians this month...
Even silence has an end : my six years of captivity in the Colombian jungle, Ingrid Betancourt.(2010)- "Ingrid Betancourt tells the story of her captivity in the Colombian jungle, sharing teachings of resilience, resistance, and faith. Born in Bogotá raised in France, Betancourt at age 32 gave up a life of comfort and safety to return to Colombia to become a political leader in a country that was being slowly destroyed by terrorism, violence, fear, and hopelessness. In 2002, while a candidate in the Colombian presidential elections, she was abducted by the FARC. She spent the next six and a half years in the depths of the jungle as their prisoner. Chained day and night for much of her captivity, she succeeded in getting away several times, always to be recaptured. The facts of her story are astounding, but it is Betancourt's indomitable spirit that drives this very special account, bringing life, nuance, and profundity to the narrative.--From publisher description." (description from Syndetics)
Online databases
Online biography resources can be found at mygateway.info. Check out the Biography portal page for databases such as Biography Resource Center and the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, for example, contains over 3,000 biographies of famous New Zealanders (it does not, however, include people who are alive).
Biographies can also be found on many of our other databases for particular subject areas including arts, music, and business. Ask at any library enquiries desk if you need help with these resources:
Useful websites
- NZ Edge.com
Biographies of some great New Zealand achievers. - From the BBC - Historic figures
Selected biographies of historic figures from the BBC - an A-Z index. - Who's alive and who's dead
A website dedicated to helping you find out which of the noted celebrities of our time are with us, and which ones have died. - Who2.com
- Brainy History
Magazines
Check out reviews of newly released biographies in magazines held in the Arts, Music and Literature section at Central Library.
Searching the catalogue
Catalogue Quicksearch
Looking for a particular person?
When looking for titles on a particular person, the best approach is from the Basic Search screen, choose the "search type" Subjects in the dropdown menu, enter the word "biography" and as much of the individual's name as is known - then click 'Search'. If this doesn't return any titles, or not as many as expected, repeat the search with just the individual's name i.e. leave out the word "biography".
Looking for a particular occupation?
To find titles about people in a particular occupation, also choose the Subjects search type, and enter the word "biography" and the job e.g. 'biography politicians'.
Looking for biographies about people from a particular country?
To find titles about people from a particular country, also choose the Subjects search type, and enter the word "biography" and the name of the country e.g. 'biography Russia'.
To find all our biographies...
To simply see all our available titles in the adult Biography collection, choose the 'Call Number browse' search type, and enter the word "biography". This will take you to an alphabetical list of all the titles catalogued as 'biography'.
Shelf help
Each library has a dedicated, sign-posted area for biographical books. In the Central Library this area is at the south end of the 1st Floor, on the Victoria Street side. The Children's and Young Adult sections of each library branch also have collections of biographies aimed at younger readers.
Biographies on individuals:
Biographies on individuals have a spine label of 'B', followed by the first 3 letters of the subject's surname e.g. biographies of Robert Muldoon will be labelled B MUL. Members of royal families however are labelled according to their first names i.e. books on Queen Elizabeth's I and II will both be found at B ELI.
Collected biographies:
Biographies on more than one person have a spine label of Bc, followed by the first 3 letters of either the title or author of the book. Check the catalogue to confirm in each case. These collected biographies are shelved in the same general area as, but apart from, the other biographies.
@ the Central Library:
The Central Library has a Biography Reference section near the Enquiries desk at the south end of the 1st Floor. This includes a good range of New Zealand and international Who's Who and similar titles. There is other reference only material on the 2nd Floor in the New Zealand and Maori collections.
Other places to look:
In addition to the Biography sections, there are books about some individuals shelved along with titles on the subject for which they became known. Books about popular, jazz and classical music musicians and composers are shelved in the subject area rather than with biographies. Though new books about artists, architects, photographers, actors and sports people are shelved in the biography section, older titles can be found with the relevant books in the main non-fiction sequence. You'll find some of these call numbers listed in the table below.
| Biographies of: | Dewey number: |
|---|---|
| Architects | 720.92 |
| Classical music composers & performers | 789 & 789.2 |
| Cricket players | 796.358092 |
| Movie actors | 791.43092 |
| Photographers | 770.92 |
| Popular music & jazz artists | 786.9 |
| Rugby & league players | 796.33092 |
Downloadable Digital Audiobooks
Now you can listen to someone else's story while you're getting on with other things in your own life. Check out the Biography digital audiobooks available through our Digital Audiobook service.
Contact us
This page is written and maintained by our Non-Fiction Customer Specialist, Rebecca Waechter. My aim is to keep you informed about the Biographies section of the library and to highlight parts of the collection which may interest you. I'd be pleased to hear from you about this page - you can email me with any feedback.
