This book is intended to give the reader an idea of the work that Alvin Ailey dancers and students go through to prepare for the style of dance they perform. It is not going to teach you how to be an Alvin Ailey dancer (sadly). According to the brief history and description of the Alvin Ailey style, the company borrows from a diverse range of techniques, everything from ballet, jazz, modern (specifically the work of Lester Horton, Katherine Dunham and Martha Graham), to African, Caribbean, Indian and West African traditional dance. In addition to studying movements from those techniques, Alvin Ailey dancers also use movements borrowed from yoga and what is referred to here as "body conditioning". Again, you're not going to learn any of those styles of dance here, but the influences on the exercises are apparent.
The book is divided into Warm-Ups, Posture and Alignment, Stretch, Strength, Balance and Coordination, and Relaxation and Rejuvenation. The full program is said to take 60 to 90 minutes, but options for shorter programs (20 to 30, as well as 7 to 10) are also offered.
What I enjoy the most about this book is the emphasis on a loosening of the spine combined with the need to constantly stretch. Some of the stretches, while nothing revolutionary, are a nice twist on some traditional yoga postures, and I've started using some of the warmups before I begin my Pilates practice.
Much of the Strength section will be familiar to those who have been exposed to Pilates and ballet, and the Balance and Coordination session borrows heavily from dance and yoga. They lost me a little bit on the cool down, where they have one move where you might end up literally running around your room (how is this cooling?) but otherwise I liked almost all of the exercises in this section.
The photographs were very warm and clear- it was very easy to see what the dancers/models were doing, and the setting (a white living room/studio) looked like a nice place to workout (that setting seems to be the trend these days). The dancers themselves, while of course thin, trim and flexible, seemed to have more attainable bodies than those featured in many other dance books. It was also nice to see a very ethnically diverse group.
This is not an overly strenuous, straining workout, and you would probably want to supplement some other work for the upper body (do dancers really only use pushups to develop their arms?). However, it is a relaxing workout with an emphasis on alignment and spinal articulation. A nice compliment to yoga and Pilates workouts.
Great moves
Not exactly what I was looking for
Beyond Boring & Basic
