Truth be told, only a small handful of children's books on the subject of dance get published each calendar year. I keep a close out for them when browsing stores, libraries, and the Horn Book Magazine and Horn Book Guide.
This week I was excited to find a new one on the shelf at the North Berkeley Library! And, it is great! The book is When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky: Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot by Lauren Stringer.
The book shares the tale of the making of The Rite of Spring, which was a radical piece at the time in terms of sound and movement. "Together they decided to dream of something different and new." For students in grades 1-5, the take away from this picture book is about two artists with inspiration and dreams, who worked together, took a chance, and made art.
I think this book would be a great introduction to a collaborative project, whether that project is within one class or across grade levels or artistic mediums. Secondarily, the book does an excellent job giving an introduction to the work of Stavinsky and Nijinsky.
If your students get excited about this book, you may also want to explore Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan with illustrations by Brian Floca. Ballet for Martha shares the story of the collaboration between Martha Graham, Aaron Copland, and Isamu Noguchi to create Appalachian Spring.
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