Passion and Elegance: How Flamenco and Classical Ballet Met at the Ballets Russes
This book commences with the history of Indian, Egyptian, Arab, and flamenco dance, then compares and contrasts the history of both classical ballet and flamenco.
This exploration is set to inspire and encourage choreographers to partner other dance forms with ballet as Leonide Massine did with flamenco in The Three-cornered Hat while also challenging the anthropological idea of the language of dance movement tracing the migration of people.
BUY ON AMAZONReader Review
“It is a great pleasure to endorse Barbara File Marangon’s book on flamenco and the Ballets Russes in which she explores one of the richest periods in the history of ballet layered with the enduring and evocative art of flamenco. As a disciplined and thorough researcher, Marangon has created a book that will no doubt be of great value as a text, but it is also an intriguing read as it recounts in detail the dynamic intersection of flamenco and ballet in the early part of the last century.” —Professor Mary Margaret Holt, Dean, Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts
Detour on an Elephant: A Year Dancing with the Greatest Show on Earth
What was it like to travel on tour with the circus in the late seventies? Detour on an Elephant is the memoir of a ballet dancer, Barbara File Marangon, who traded her pointe shoes to ride an elephant with the Greatest Show On Earth for a year.
Taking a detour from the world of ballet to the circus, she recounts her experiences performing in hundreds of shows, in twenty-four cities coast to coast, with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Blue Unit Show in 1978.
Named Ringling’s China Doll by a New York newspaper, she compares dancing at the Metropolitan Opera House to dancing at Madison Square Garden.
Among her adventures she describes how Kevin, the lion that rode a motorcycle with his trainer, tried to break into the shower room while she showered. A stampeding elephant in Chicago is another memory. Then there is her love story on tour with a bareback rider. But most of all she remembers her love for Peggy, the elephant she rode all over the U.S.
BUY ON AMAZONRecommended by the US Review of Books
“Marangon proves a gifted storyteller, penning her tales with humor and sensitivity….Her writing talents coalesce with greatest verve and sentiment when recalling the elephant she performed with….Detour on an Elephant is a compelling tale of life in a special ambience from the inside.” —Barbara Bamberger Scott
Florida Weekly Magazine
“Barbara’s insights into the circus way of life, its mixture of community, and special loyalties are penetrating and gripping …The circus adventure was a full slice of life. … She learned more than most about a majestic animal …enjoyed a romance with a bareback rider, survived and learned from a demanding set of conditions, and saw the length and breadth of her country … Colorful, humorous, and informative.” —Phil Jason
Readers’ Amazon Reviews
“Loved this book! What an interesting look at life inside the circus—an especially poignant view since that life doesn’t really exist anymore. What a fascinating life this author had.”
“It’s actually a memoir, so reading about circus life from her very special perspective gives the reader a truly inside story. … I realized that her year in the circus was, indeed, a detour, and one that left her with warm memories.”
“I enjoyed reading about the various exotic animals which she came into contact everyday — and particularly of her close relationship with Peggy the elephant — with whom she performed.”
Chasing Castles: Nineteen Years Living and Teaching Ballet in Italy
Chasing Castles is a book about persevering and never abandoning a dream.
Barbara File Marangon’s second memoir begins with a glimpse of her Irish ancestry in her grandmother’s Bronx kitchen and a heartfelt promise she made there.
Her incredible journey of self-discovery begins with the poignant finale of a Hollywood show and a ticket to Venice, Italy, courtesy of an appreciative cast. She is offered a job teaching ballet in Venice, but after a painful marriage comes to an end, she moves to a small Italian town with a castle and opens a ballet school.
For nineteen years she battles loneliness, bigotry, and corruption — even standing up to the Mafia. With courage and fierce determination, she prevails and finds love again. The Italian castle on the hill reminds her of the promise she made decades earlier: to find the ancestral castle in Ireland and discover who she is.
BUY ON AMAZONFort Myers Magazine
“The castles in the memoir’s title are important symbols representing steps along Barbara’s path to self-discovery. Following that path vicariously will bring readers excitement, elation, some disappointments, and a share of Barbara’s sense of accomplishment. With intensity and honesty, she opens the doors to a world unfamiliar to most people.” —Phil Jason
Readers’ Amazon Reviews
“The book presents a balanced picture of the difficulties of living abroad—the intrigue, the rivalries, the bureaucracy, yet the magic of doing something so unique and special. It is an engaging memoir.”
“Great narrative, great story and lovely cover painted by the writer. The writer’s experiences become the reader’s as well.”
Barbara’s books can also be purchased at Copperfish Books, 212 West Virginia Ave., #112, Punta Gorda FL 33950