Review Of "No Intermissions: The Life Of Agnes De Mille" By C. Easton

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

10-1-1996

Published In

Choice

Abstract

Biographer Carol Easton (Jacqueline du Pre, CH, Oct'90; The Search for Sam Goldwyn, CH, Jul'76; and Straight Ahead: The Story of Stan Kenton, CH, Feb'74) brings a practiced researcher's skills to this work on de Mille. Beginning with brief but incisive descriptions of de Mille's grandparents and taking the reader through de Mille's death in 1993, Easton builds a multifaceted portrait of her subject. The author met de Mille and began research four years before de Mille's death. She draws on an impressive number and variety of sources, ranging from de Mille herself to family members, friends, and colleagues with whom the choreographer/dancer/author worked during the course of a lengthy, illustrious, and varied career. The book knits together de Mille's personal and professional worlds, providing a comprehensive introduction to this legendary American. Since Easton is not a dancer or a dance writer, dance devotees and scholars may find her patchwork approach frustrating at times. However, Easton includes sufficient new information to warrant recommending that dancers read this book in conjunction with de Mille's own writing on her life and art. Numerous black-and-white photos, an adequate bibliography, a danceography, and source notes complete the volume. All readers.

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