Toni Bentley

"A ballerina tells the story of George Balanchine's iconic masterpiece, Serenade, and what it is like to be one the young women who danced it, lived it, during his lifetime. At age seventeen, Toni Bentley was chosen by Balanchine, then in his final years, to join the New York City Ballet. From backstage and onstage, she carries us through both the serendipitous history and physical intricacies and demands of Serenade-its dazzling opening, with seventeen...

Presents the journal of Toni Bentley's life as a dancer for the New York City Ballet, her day-to-day activities, and the emotional struggles that members of George Balanchine's troupe faced.