Ep. 92 - Ballet Books Every Dancer Should Read: 2025 Favorites from the Bunhead Book Club 📚

In today’s episode of After Class, I’m sharing my favorite ballet books I read in 2025 — a mix of ballet fiction, biographies, memoirs, and educational reads, many of which we read together in The Bunhead Book Club (my Instagram-based book club, which will be open to new members in January 2026 — email me at thebusybunhead@gmail.com to join us) 😄

These books deepened my understanding of ballet as both an art form and a lived experience, offering insight into technique, history, and the personal stories behind the stage. If you love ballet beyond the studio — the culture, the legacy, and the humanity — this episode is for you.

I’ll share why each book stood out, and how reading about ballet can enrich your dancing and your relationship with the art.

📚 Books mentioned in this episode (Amazon affiliate links):

Cantique — Joanna Marsh

La Follia — Joanna Marsh

Swans of Harlem — Karen Valby

Behind the Red Velvet Curtain — Joy Womack & Elizabeth Shockman

Inside Ballet Technique: Separating Anatomical Fact from Fiction — Valerie Grieg

Holding On to the Air — Suzanne Farrell & Toni Bentley

Raising the Barre — Lauren Kessler

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