About the Book

Paris at the turn of the century - Art Nouveau, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and the Folies Bergere. This was the atmosphere which nurtured the artistic development of the remarkable dancer and choreographer Ida Rubinstein.
This long-awaited biography gives us a unique insight into the life of a remarkable woman, responsible for a fascinating chapter of our artistic heritage. She was a chameleon, a diva, who lived many lives, overcoming the anti-Semitism of her times to enchant and captivate the highest of societies.
Untrained as a dancer, Ida Rubinstein's charisma attracted collaborators such as Debussy, Stravinsky, Ravel, Cocteau, Bakst, and Benois. She scandalized high society from Paris to St. Petersburg and attracted the attention of everyone from Marc Chagall to Sarah Bernhardt.
Vicki Woolf has appeared in several films and countless plays. Her training as a dancer led to the development of her own method of exercises and related publications, prior to undertaking the research for Danc