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This is a quick snapshot of the Barnes & Noble shelves over which I used to hover during my high school days. The shelves now labeled “Theater Arts” used to be the “Dance” library.
How sad… I wonder what happened to the dance books (and if they still carry them).
Tres triste…
I noticed that, too! Now the dance books are usually scattered in the Theater Arts or Music sections.
It’s so sad. There are usually only five or six books hidden in the Arts sections. I guess that’s what Amazon.com is for! And I love going to used book stores and buying all their Baryshnikov and Ulanova books that were piling up. If only, if only…
At least it says “theatre arts” at my barnes and nobles all dance books are found under “Rock and Roll” right next to the Beatles and Elvis.
Dance has always been located next to music at BN, so the dance books are most likely where ever they moved music too. Theater Arts is usually next to the Drama/Shakespeare/Fiction section. And the reason it says rock and roll is because there’s more of that section then the dance section(which is normally very small)
Only way to increase the size of the dance section is to buy more dance books from the invidual store. If a section is small, it usually because no one is very interested in the area, so the stores aren’t going to waste the space on it when other areas(say, Music, or in this case Theater Arts) are more popular and thus need more shelf-space. So it’s literally voting for more shelf space with your dollars.
-Rob(who worked at BN for five years)
Susan
do not despair. checking my notes, i find the the great Homer included dance on the 8th ring of Achilles’ shield
Back in the day, there was dance everywhere…magazines, PBS, network television. I always headed for the arts section of the bookstore whenever I got some money. Now I go in and there is nothing on dance, not even an biography or autobiography relating to dance. It’s even hard to find dance books online that aren’t imports or very expensive. Sigh…dance used to be everywhere…
Do you guys have any idea why this declining interest in dance when dance is so popular on television right now? I agree, Susan, dance sections in bookstores are dwindling. My local Borders just deleted theirs — it’s now housed with music. The only decent one is at the Lincoln Center B&N, where dance has three whole bookshelves, although the Opera section is slowly beginning to encroach on that space. I truly don’t get it…
Have you ever tryed to find a dance magazine? At a Books a Million I searched everywhere for one I don’t have a subscription for - finally found it - under “Mens Fitness” Usually at B& N it’s under music. Interesting, it is hard to find any dance books in the stores, a shame.
one of the best photography books ever publishes was legendary art director/photographer alexey brodovitch’s 1945 “ballet,” which are creative depictions of the ballets russes de monte carlo. if you have the money, i highly suggest you purchase it–for artistic and investment purposes
i’m currently editing a photography book, entitled “exquisite creatures” which features some of the world’s greatest dancers and photographers, including Alvin Booth, Andrew Polushkin and Euro Rotelli.
It’s mainly an issue of what’s being put out there in the book market. Other then the occassional biography, you see the same stuff over and over and over(Balachine bio, how to do ballet, etc). Believe me, I tried to buff up the dance section at my old store when I was in charge of it, but there is nothing to buff it up with. A lot of the books are very old, out-of-print, or just too pricey for your everyday buyer. What really needs to happen is a focused effort to get current and affordable(Not the 50 Years of ABT for $100.00 type of specialty book) dance books out.
I agree with Rob
That’s L.A. for ya, Susan. I think you’d do better at a bookstore back East. I suggest New Haven’s bookstores. 
Thanks Rob! Next time I’m in the bookstore I’ll have to check out the opera section to see what kind of books they’ve got. They never seem to be lacking for space. I really wish ABT wasn’t charging that much for their new book. In this economy, very few have that kind of money for such things…
Miracles of miracles! I found ONE dance book in a section labeled “DANCE” at Barnes and Nobles! The rest were about pop music. “The Ballet Book” features ABT dancers, and is nice and thick and full of pictures! I snapped it up, as it was my birthday, and spent an afternoon in ballet land. Fabulous!
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