THE EVERYDAY DANCER - Book by Deborah Bull

THE EVERYDAY DANCER

Deborah Bull

6 October 2011, £14.99 hardback / £11.99 ebook

‘So forget Degas and his pastel picture-book perfection. This is the snapshot you will see, if you peep into the window as class at the Royal Opera House is about to start…’

The Everyday Dancer is a new and honest account of the business of dancing from a writer with first hand experience of the profession. Structured around the daily schedule, The Everyday Dancer goes behind the velvet curtain, the gilt and the glamour to uncover the everyday realities of a career in ballet. Through this vivid portrait of a dancer’s day, Deborah Bull reveals the arc of a dancer’s life: from the seven-year-old’s very first ballet class, through training, to company life, up through the ranks from corps de ballet to principal and then, not thirty years after it all began, to retirement and the inevitable sense of loss that comes with saying goodbye to your childhood dreams.

A unique perspective from behind the footlights, The Everyday Dancer is a vibrant and compelling picture of a life in the day of a dancer.

Deborah Bull made her debut on stage at the age of four and took her first ballet class three years later. She joined The Royal Ballet School at the age of eleven, graduating into the company in 1981. Over the next twenty years, first in the corps de ballet and later as soloist and then principal, she danced roles across The Royal Ballet’s repertoire, from traditional classics to contemporary new work. She was particularly noted for her performances in the works of William Forsythe, including Steptext, which earned her an Olivier Award nomination.  In 2001, on retirement from the stage, she joined the executive team of the Royal Opera House to establish ROH2, a programme of work focusing specifically on new artists, new audiences and new art. In 2008, she became Creative Director of the Royal Opera House.

She is also a writer and broadcaster, writing and presenting several series for BBC television and radio, including the award winning The Dancer’s Body and Travels with my Tutu. She is the author of The Vitality Plan (1998), Dancing Away (1998) and (with Luke Jennings) The Faber Pocket Guide to Ballet (2005). She divides her time between London and Suffolk.

To interview Deborah Bull or for any further information please contact Kate Burton, Publicity Manager, on 020 7927 3887 or email kate.burton@faber.co.uk