Readers' Forum.

KIDS NEED NUREYEV PRIMER

I am writing in response to Glenn Giffin's review of The Dancer Who Flew: A Memoir of Rudolf Nureyev, which appeared in the March 2000 issue of Dance Magazine.

Your reviewer asks, "Did we need another book about the enfant terrible of ballet?" This is an odd comment to make about the first and only book for young people written about one of this century's greatest artists, Rudolf Nureyev.

As Canada's oldest publisher of children's books, we believe, of course, that other features set this biography apart--it is the only biography written by a fellow dancer, and it is the only book that endeavors to pass on the details of his teaching, for example. Regardless of Mr. Giffin's opinion of the book, it is a glaring omission not to have mentioned that the intended readership is children and young adults, a readership not previously served by any books on a most fascinating subject.

Kathy Lowinger Publisher, Tundra Books/McClelland & Stewart Young Readers Canada

CHEERS FOR TEARS

I read with interest Doris Hering's review of Ballet Hispanico's performances at the Joyce Theater (November 30-December 12, 1999) in the March issue, and I particularly agree with her concluding paragraph.

However, I would like to point out one factual error in the review. To the best of my knowledge, Bury Me Standing is Ramon Oller's third work for Ballet Hispanico, not his second. His second work for Ballet Hispanico is Tears for Violeta, which was created in September of 1995 while I was rehearsal director and choreologist with the company. I worked very closely with Mr. Oller on this beautiful, theatrical piece, which is composed of Israeli and Jewish songs and is thematically connected with the Second World War and the Holocaust.

It is due to my utmost regard for Ramon Oller as a fine choreographer, his artistic vision, integrity, and his great passion that I write this letter.

Could it be that Tears for Violeta is an example of that "grand" or possibly "upperclass" experience that Ms. Hering is looking for?

Ilana Suprun-Clyde Jersey City, NJ

FOR BETTER OR VERSE

As a theologically educated, non-fundamentalist Anglican Christian, I feel that I must respond to Jon Eiche's letter concerning "what the Bible says." His translation, or version, of the Bible must obviously be very different from the one I use ...

In offering tiny sound bites from the Bible, Mr. Eiche falls into the same pit as the majority of Bible quoters. One cannot choose to take one verse literally without placing that verse in context; nor without then agreeing to take the rest of the Bible literally. Leviticus forbids eating shellfish and wearing garments of mixed fiber (cotton/polyester shirts, Mr. Eiche?) as well as punishing "cursing your father or mother" by death--as well as a multitude of other prohibitions which I'm willing to bet that Mr. Eiche doesn't even take into account, let alone believe in ... I don't pretend to "understand" why some of my most loved friends prefer their own sex to the opposite one. I only know that the quality of their relationships with their partners is faithful, stable, and as committed as heterosexual marriages (most of which, in my theatrical world, have fallen apart far faster than many homosexual partnerships). Perhaps if Jon Eiche could regard all people as blessings and not merely as sinners, then he could begin to approach the truth of what the Bible really says: God's universal love and acceptance of everyone and everything.

Leslie E. Spatt London, Great Britain 

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