Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring
by Jan Greenburg and Sandra Jordan
Illustrated by Brian Floca
Sibert Honor Award 2011
The watercolor illustrations by Floca bring the story of this ballet to life. This is the story of how the ballet called Appalachian Spring came to be. It was a collaboration of Martha Graham the choreographer and dancer, Aaron Copland the composer, and Isamu Noguchi, the set designer. We see how the ideas for the play were formed, how the music was composed, how the dances were put together, and how the set was created. We also get to see the first performance of the play in 1944 at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. The end of the book contains a detailed bibilography and a short biography of all 3 of the plays creators. This book would fit well in the themes of: ballet, Appalachia, and collaboration.
Here is a preview of the ballet:
Here is also a link to some activities connected to the book: PBS Appalachian Spring
Be sure to check out the rest of today's Nonfiction Monday posts at: The Children's War
I haven't read this book yet, but I studied Martha Graham in college so watching this video was a real treat. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI love Aaron Copland's music, but had little knowledge of the ballet, so I really enjoyed this book. The connection of the three artists and their particular art forms to create one masterpiece makes for a fascinating read.
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