What You Should Read in 2019, According to Your Favorite Dancers

January 24, 2019

Made a resolution to read more books this year? Or maybe just looking for a new source of fuel for your artistry? We asked eight dancers about their favorite books in our Spotlight series, and their answers ranged from cheeky novels to biographies to cookbooks.

So whip out your library card (or your Kindle) and dive into the books that inspire these artists:

Dutch National Ballet’s Michaela DePrince 

The Power of Now
by Eckhart Tolle: “This book has helped me with so many things, like who I want to be as an artist.”

Commercial choreographer James Alsop

A Day Late and A Dollar Short
by Terry McMillan: “I have probably read it 6000 times.”

Tap dancer and choreographer Caleb Teicher

Deep in A Dream
by James Gavin: “I love reading biographies and learning how people became the humans/artists we know them to be.”

The Washington Ballet’s Ashley Murphy

Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls: “It’s been my fave since I was a kid!”

B-girl and choreographer Ephrat Asherie

Man’s Search for Meaning
by Viktor E. Frankl: “I read it once every two years or so.”

Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Leta Biasucci

Where’d You Go, Bernadette
by Maria Semple: “She is a brilliant and hilarious Seattle author.”

Martha Graham Dance Company’s PeiJu Chien-Pott

The Joy of Cooking
by Irma S. Rombauer: “The book is so useful—there’s not only recipes but Western dining etiquette which is fascinating for me.”

Miami City Ballet’s Nathalia Arja

The Shack
by William P. Young: “I’m always recommending it to people.”