About the Book
Can ballet ever be reconciled with feminist ideals?
'Beautiful, difficult, and compelling.' VANITY FAIR
'Don’t think, dear,' said Balanchine. 'Just do.'
For centuries, being a ballerina has been synonymous with being beautiful, thin, obedient and feminine. It is the crucible of womanhood, together with the harassment, physical abuse and eating disorders endemic at top schools. Can we abide this in a post #MeToo world?
Weaving together her own time at America’s most elite ballet school with the lives of renowned ballerinas throughout history, Alice Robb interrogates what it means to perform ballet today. She confronts the all-consuming nature of the form: the obsessive and dangerous practices to perfect the body, the embrace of submission and the idealisation of suffering.
Yet ballet also gifts its dancers ‘brains in their toes’, a way to fully inhabit their bodies and a sanctuary of control away from the pressures of the outside world. Perhaps it is time to reimagine its liberating potential.
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'Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, the book weaves [Robb’s] early experiences as a dancer with those of her contemporaries, and of famous ballerinas… Don’t Think, Dear is powered by a fundamental love of the art form while exposing the toxic culture that runs through it.' GUARDIAN
'[Robb’s] timely book is a critical yet personal examination of classical ballet – a performing art highly dependent on the talent of women – filtered through the lens of 21st-century feminism… she brings a welcome academic rigour to a subject clearly born of deeply held emotions.' THE TIMES
'A study of an obsession remarkable for its nuance and insight… It might be easy… to assume that Don’t Think, Dear is Robb’s litany of grievances about a demanding art form in which she failed to flourish. Rather, it is a book about love, even if that love is ultimately unrequited… fascinating.' TLS
About the Author :
Alice Robb has written for Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and The New Republic, among other publications. Her first book, Why We Dream was recommended by The New Yorker, The New York Times, Today, Vogue, TIME and The Guardian, and has been translated into seventeen languages.
Review :
'Beautiful, difficult, and compelling.' —Vanity Fair
'Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, the book weaves [Robb’s] early experiences as a dancer with those of her contemporaries, and of famous ballerinas… Don’t Think, Dear is powered by a fundamental love of the art form while exposing the toxic culture that runs through it.' —Guardian
‘[Robb’s] timely book is a critical yet personal examination of classical ballet – a performing art highly dependent on the talent of women – filtered through the lens of 21st-century feminism… she brings a welcome academic rigour to a subject clearly born of deeply held emotions.’ —The Times
'A study of an obsession remarkable for its nuance and insight… [Robb] succeeds in conveying, in a refreshingly unromantic way, what is still valuable about the art form… It might be easy… to assume that Don’t Think, Dear is Robb’s litany of grievances about a demanding art form in which she failed to flourish. Rather, it is a book about love, even if that love is ultimately unrequited… fascinating.' —TLS
‘[A] nuanced, intimate mashup of memoir, reportage and cultural criticism.’ —Observer
'This addictive memoir is a vital account of the intoxicating appeal of ballet as an art form. Alice Robb tells the story of ballet in the twentieth century through her experience at the School of American Ballet and the cult-like legacy of its founding choreographer, George Balanchine, who dictated the lives of "his" dancers – shaping their bodies, selecting their perfumes, haunting their dreams – inspiring obsession and regret. We are left with the question: can the pursuit of ballet perfection justify the suffering depicted in this book?' —Rebecca May Johnson, author of Small Fires
'This riveting memoir-meets-critical-appraisal examines classical ballet, revealing it to be less career, more cult — and as psychologically and physically brutal as it is beautiful.' —Daily Mail
'Don’t Think, Dear is part memoir, part investigation, and enthralling whether or not you have any knowledge of ballet.' —New Statesman
'Weaving together Robb’s own story with her fellow students and ballet icons such as Misty Copeland and Margot Fonteyn, it’s an overdue contemporary re-examination of this gruelling artform.' —Independent, 'Books to Look Forward to in 2023'
'Robb, who studied at the School of American Ballet in New York until the age of twelve, is the perfect guide, her insider insights balanced by the observations of outsiders and leavened with darts of self-effacing humour… The details are visceral and grimly compelling.’ —Literary Review
'A rigorous yet loving examination of a childhood passion told through a feminist lens. Don’t Think, Dear is full of clarity, even about questions that will never get completely clear answers.' —Rebecca Traister, author of Good and Mad
'I don’t think I’ve ever felt so seen by an author: Alice Robb says aloud the conundrums I’ve been wrestling with since adolescence but wasn’t able to put into words. Her storytelling prowess and sharp analysis help contextualize my own experience in the ballet in a way I didn’t realize I needed. I wouldn’t trust anyone but Alice Robb in handling a subject so close to my heart.' —Sophie Flack, author of Bunheads
'Don’t Think, Dear is an extraordinary book full of poignant storytelling and profound insights. Robb masterfully weaves memoir, reportage, and criticism into a superbly crafted meditation on ballet and its broader cultural impact.' —Marisa Meltzer, author of Glossy and This is Big
'With intelligence and grace, Alice Robb offers a history of American ballet through the lens of her own nuanced, intimate relationship with a legendary New York City institution. Neither romanticising or decrying the dance world, Robb beautifully explores the push-pull of masochism and perfectionism – preoccupations not just relevant to aspiring dancers, but to anyone who's ever pursued an almost-impossible dream.' —Ada Calhoun, author of Why We Can't Sleep
'Here is a memoir, a love letter, a cultural history, and a long-awaited reckoning of the most iconic feminine ideal. Robb's intimate and frank examination of ballet's legacy – both in and outside of studios and performance halls—shows us all the many ways it continues to shape our lives and bodies. Chapter to chapter, this book is both brutal and beautiful, like its subject.' —Sarah Gerard, author of Sunshine State and True Love
