Vera Volkova – En dans af uskyld og erfaring (2005)
Politiken, Ebbe Mørk
“Alexander Meinertz’ bog om Volkova er både en skæbneberetning og et stykke ballethistorie, der vil fascinere langt ud over ballettens inderkreds. Som biografi har den internationalt format.”
Information, Anne Middelboe Christensen
“Meinertz får fremdigtet billede af en søgende kvinde med russisk midterskilning og sørgmodige øjne. Billedet af en lykkelig kvinde i soldansende hengivenhed på en strand i Cornwall. Og billedet af en åndeliggjort kvinde med en smertesmuk dødsfantasi om at danse Giselle som hvid lilje.
Men først og fremmest billedet af en kompromisløs kunstnerinde med sit russiske hjerte bankende for dansen, altid i skønhed.”
Berlingske Tidende, Erik Aschengreen
“Sublim … Alexander Meinertz’ Volkova-bog rækker ud over ballethistorien og bliver en gribende beretning om et kunstner- og menneskeliv med strejf af mystik, skæbne og tragedie.”
Vera Volkova – A Biography (2007)
Dance International, Michael Crabb
“Volkova is often cast as the teacher who carried Vaganova’s system to the West but, as others have before, Meinertz makes clear that she left Russia before that system was codified. What Volkova brought were Vaganova’s principles, but these were strongly shaded by Volynsky’s aesthetic philosophy and Volkova’s own experience of the traditionalist/modernist ballet culture wars waged in the St. Petersburg of her youth. What she taught was as much a vision of ballet classicism as a technique and it was uniquely her own. Meinertz is exceptionally good at summarizing both, although sadly they were never comprehensively recorded.“
Time Out New York, Gia Kourlas
The best memoirs and biographies to get you through the summer.
“Danish writer Alexander Meinertz highlights one of the greatest teachers in the history of ballet. After fleeing Russia, Volkova landed in London, working with dancers like Margot Fonteyn. Her reach stretched farther; in Denmark, where she remained until her death in 1975, Volkova worked with Henning Kronstam, Erik Bruhn, Rudolf Nureyev and Stanley Williams—who became a revered teacher at the School of American Ballet.”
The Arts Desk, Tamara Rojo
My Summer Reading: Tamara Rojo
“Vera Volkova: A Biography by Alexander Meinertz. It’s a great insight into the life of a brilliant teacher who had a great impact on the history of the British and Danish ballet.”
Erik Bruhn – Billedet indeni (2008)
Politiken, Per Theil
“Medrivende portrætbog … Historien om en af det 20. århundredes største dansere, Erik Bruhn, har alt, hvad et romantisk hjerte kan begære: kunstneriske triumfer, menneskelig formørkelse og stor og vild kærlighed.”
Information, Anne Middelboe Christensen
“Alexander Meinertz kan skrive sig ind i andres liv, så man kommer helt tæt på … Billedet indeni har samme indtrængende karakter. Meinertz har en særlig evne til at skrive sig ind i et menneske, som han slet ikke selv har kendt eller set. Og et menneske, der lever med sin krop som en samling uvorne muskler og knogler på en helt anden måde end ikke-dansere …
Meinertz bringer læseren ind bag det billede af arrogance og selvværd, som verdenspressen ellers så effektivt har skabt af den lyshårede verdensdanser. Ind bag den svære psyke med tristessen og meningsløsheden. Ind til Bruhns kolossale selvværd og hans manglende trang til anerkendelse, helt fra han var barn på balletskolen. Ind til et meget mere interessant og komplekst billede ‘indeni’.”
DanceView Times, Eva Kistrup
“Alexander Meinertz has written a superb biography of Erik Bruhn that sets new standards for a ballet biography. Unfortunately, this far it is only availably in Danish but hopefully an English version will follow: as the book demonstrates, Bruhn was as much a product of his international years as his Danish heritage and should be of interest to an international audience.
As in his brilliant biography of Vera Volkova, Alexander Meinertz has proven himself to being an ideal ballet biographer. He is vastly knowledgeable on ballet style and technique, he has a strong research gene and a talent to find the right sources and make them talk, But his greatest gift is his ability never to judge and never to claim accolades for his subjects. He sees no need to establish Vera Volkova as the greatest teacher or Erik Bruhn as the greatest dancer. Instead he shows the context and the impression that his subject created on in his or her day and age, and whenever possible makes the subject speak for himself. Meinertz has never seen a live performance of Erik Bruhn – and still he is able to bring both Bruhn the dancer and Bruhn the private person to life.”
Smagsdommerne, DR2, Frederik Wiedemann
”Erik Bruhn er dansk ballets svar på Michael Laudrup.”
