A series of interviews with some of the foremost dancers in twentieth century ballet, Never Far From Dancing reflects on the paths that their careers have taken since retiring from the stage. Each interview is edited expertly by Barbara Newman to read as a monologue, reflecting on every aspect of ballet, from its styles and technical demands to its personalities and celebrated roles, but most of all on what happens when the dancing stops.

While ballet invites all manner of writing from critics, admirers and academics, the thoughts and experiences of the dancers themselves are seldom recorded. Here, those who scaled the heights of their craft hand down their wisdom and recount lives spent in this most enduring of art forms.

Barbara Newman has written extensively on dance for Dance Magazine (USA), the Dancing Times (UK) and many other periodicals and major reference works. She has written numerous books on ballet, including Striking a Balance (1982), Grace under Pressure (2003), and The Illustrated Book of Ballet Stories (1997), as well as contributions for BBC Radio 4, The Daily Telegraph, and Ballet Review.

Introduction 1. Alicia Alonso 2. Beryl Grey 3. Donald MacLeary 4. Lynn Seymour 5. Antoinette Sibley 6. Monica Mason 7. Desmond Kelly 8. Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux 9. David Wall 10. Merrill Ashley 11. Nina Ananiashvili