Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advanced copy of this book.

All I can say is, "Wow!" Marina Harss did an impeccable job of giving a complete and detailed account of Alexei Ratmansky's life and work. I *would* caution readers that it's amount of detail does not make for a quick, light read, but as long as you know that going in, it's a wonderful piece of work.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to learn more about the man, dancer, and choreographer who is instrumental in shaping the future of ballet.

The Boy from Kyiv: Alexei Ratmansky's Life in Ballet by Marina Harss

Impressively thorough and impeccably informed, this biography of the Russian-born and Ukraine-raised international choreographer Alexei Ratmansky is more than a journey through a storied and celebrated life in the arts. Firmly founded on personal interviews with the subject himself, his spouse, professional colleagues, dancers, dance company employees, rivals, and critics, it provides a highly detailed and fully human portrait of a creator and his drive to create. Harss not only provides Ratmansky’s personal chronology and professional itinerary, she delves into the many sources of his inspiration and his quest to coalesce his classical ballet and regimented Russian training with techniques absorbed during his tenure dancing in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet—where he expanded earlier youthful experiments in choreography into works for company performance and public consumption—and at the Royal Danish Ballet, where he was significantly influenced by the Bournonville style of movement and mime.

Through increasing experience and knowledge, relying on limitless imagination, Ratmansky translated the musicality and brio of his own stage performances into a choreographic style. Through a marriage of high classicism and accessible modernism, he often explores Soviet themes and history, expressed with irony and humor and typically performed to favorite Russian composers (Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Rachmaninoff). Harss examines Ratmansky’s passion for remaking canonical ballets at the major companies around the world—Paquita, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Giselle—based on his painstaking and dedicated study of original dance notation and character presentation. In these efforts he is ably assisted by his wife Tatiana, a Ukrainian former dancer and constant presence in his private and professional life. The tragic coda, Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ratmansky’s beloved Ukraine, affects his sense of identity and instantly ruptures long and fulfilling relationships with Moscow's Bolshoi ballet and other Russian companies where his works were created and performed, whether to acclaim or criticism.

In this outstanding and revealing biography, its subject’s achievements as well as his ambitions—and his self-doubts—are movingly presented. Rehearsals and performances are presented with clarity, and ballet steps are effectively described, enabling the read to follow and understand the kinetics of dance. Regardless of one’s familiarity with Ratmansky and/or his ballets, this is an illuminating and informative work, and therefore highly recommended to both passionate and casual fans of the dance, and anyone interested in the process of artistic growth. (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 496 pp., hardcover/ebook, October 2023)

As I love ballett I knew who Alexei Ratmansky is but this book was an excellent way to discover more about him and his work.
If you love ballet and stories about dance this is highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Alexei Ratmansky is currently the most highly praised, in-demand choreographer in classical ballet. (There isn’t much competition, but he does get great reviews and generate enthusiasm in dancers and audiences.) This is the first full-scale biography of him.

There is a lot that is interesting here for the ballet lover. Ratmansky’s training at the Bolshoi School and his experiences with many different companies make fascinating reading. Over the years, he has worked in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Winnipeg, Copenhagen, and New York, to name just a few cities. He has created ballets for every major ballet company in the world, and has had long-term relationships with the Bolshoi, Royal Winnipeg, Royal Danish, ABT, and New York City Ballets.

Describing dancing in words is difficult, especially ballet dancing, but Harss does a good job of it. I was able to imagine ballets I’ve never seen through her descriptions. She has talked to just about every person still living with whom Ratmansky has worked, and developed a close relationship with the choreographer and his family.

This closeness may account for the book’s major failing: it is almost completely laudatory, to the point of hagiography. She credits him with no less than altering the course of Russian ballet and rescuing ballet from the crisis of confidence it experienced in the West. Her criticisms are few and timid, and sometimes absent where they ought to be. (For instance, she describes Ratmansky’s “dark” take on The Nutcracker without mentioning that there is no darkness whatever in Tchaikovsky’s score—and she praises the choreographer for his musicality.) But more importantly, there is a lack of objectivity that prevents us from assessing Ratmansky’s work fairly. We know that she will always be on his side.

I read an advance copy of this book, thanks to Farrar, Straus & Giroux and NetGalley, so there were still some errors that will no doubt be fixed before publication. In the Prologue, she wonders whether Ratmansky will renew his contract with American Ballet Theater when it expires in 2023. In the Epilogue, she writes about how he declined to renew the contract and accepted an offer from New York City Ballet instead. In Chapter 18, she dives into a discussion of the ballet Namouna that he made for NYCB without any transition explaining that his next work was for another company, leaving me to wonder whether I missed something. And there are numerous typos. But these problems will surely be corrected before the book is published.

As someone who loves ballet, I’d heard about Alexei Ratmansky’s works, but knew very little of him as a person, so I jumped at the chance to request the ARC of The Boy From Kyiv: Alexei Ratmansky's Life in Ballet when I saw it. I had no idea the influences of his work, nor did I realize how fascinating his career has been. I particularly loved learning about his collaboration with Tiler Peck, who is one of my favorite ballerinas.

The book is on Alexei’s journey as a dancer as a young boy, to being one of the most celebrated choreographers at the moment.
The book is incredibly detailed, and Marina had obviously done a lot of research which feels very nice.
The books gets harder to read towards the end as there are so many details. There is also a fair amount of repetition, which is frustrating at times.
For people who don’t know a lot about the Ukraine, Russia, the former soviet Union, this book gives a very good historical overview.
I am a big fan of ballet, and think the author describes certain dance steps and movements very well. I do recommend looking at clips on youtube of the dances, as what she describes and what actually happened differed in my opinion. It’s very clear the author is a big fan of his work, painting him in a really great light. At times I wonder perhaps what the book would have been like with a little more nuance and impartiality.
Alexei is described as an “Alexander Hamilton”, in the frenetic way he keeps creating ballets. I doubt other choreographers will ever produce the same quality and quantity of his work. I’ve seen a few of his pieces danced and was curious about this book.
Fans of ballet (balletomanes) will enjoy it.
The book is mostly chronological, but sometimes the author springs back or forward in a very abrupt manor.
In the post me-too world, a lot of issues have come to light in the ballet world (not with Alexei himself, otherwise I would not have read this book). But it’s a little odd this book doesn’t touch on that. There are so many prima ballerinas, but unfortunately very few established female choreographers. It felt a bit weird that the choreographers he used stuff from, the artists he worked with, and the music were mostly men. He seems so whimsical and at times revoluntionary in his work, it seems like a missed opportunity.
The book is an interesting read, though a little too detailed and repetitive at times.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A thorough and detailed biography of Alexei Ratmansky, one of the most celebrated choreographers working today. The book is gleaned through interviews with Ratmansky, his family, his friends, and dozens of colleagues past and present. It also includes photographs of his childhood and early career as a dancer. It is intriguing to read about his process of visualization and creation. Definitely a must-read for any balletomane or person with an interest in classical dance including, of course, those in the dance world.

Thanks to Net Galley for the eARC.