Max Wyman Revealing Dance – Selected Writings, 1970’s-2001

By Max Wyman
Max Wyman’s not a bad guy, he’s just a critic.

Dance is central to his life. He eats, sleeps, talks, thinks, dreams and writes about dance. He makes it his business to see all the dance he can. As Wyman himself declares, “no other art form speaks so directly about the ephemerality of life, or about the human instinct to aim for that perfect moment of self-realization.”

In this collection of his best writing from the last thirty years, he evokes for us some of those remarkable moments in the theatre when time stands still and a mysterious intoxication of delight and understanding takes over: blessed, remembered moments that will never happen again.

This book contains articles, critiques and commentaries – some never before published – through which Wyman gives us his most passionate and provocative thoughts on ballet and modern dance: performers, choreographic works, companies. He also takes us on an international tour with a ballet company – the unglamorous rigours and chaos.

Wyman enjoys his work and it shows in every word. The result – precious insights, and new understanding of an often elusive artform. Seeing, thinking, talking, dreaming, writing – Revealing Dance.

About the Author
Max Wyman is based in Vancouver where he served as dance, music and drama critic, arts columnist and books editor with The Vancouver Sun and The Province for over thirty years. He is also the author of several books on Canadian dance and dancers. His criticism and commentaries have been featured in numerous national and international publications ranging from The New York Times and Maclean’s to Dance Magazine. He is a former member of the board of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Immediate Past President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. Max Wyman is an Officer of the Order of Canada and the Mayor of Lions Bay, BC. His most recent book is The Defiant Imagination: Why Culture Matters (Douglas & McIntyre, 2004).