Striving For Beauty

About the Book

Striving for Beauty takes place during the Christensen Brothers era of the San Francisco Ballet. The Prologue ends with Willam presenting the first full-length Nutcracker in America in 1944. Sally Bailey, one of the Company’s future ballerinas, enters Harold’s School here, and through her eyes we see the growth of the Company and herself, including; Willam’s departure, Lew’s ascendance, Balanchine’s influence, the State Department tours, trying to get recognition at home, and touring across the U.S. She also gives her perspective on issues—both personal and artistic-that dancers face. A short Epilogue carries San Francisco Ballet history forward to today.

About the Author

Sally Bailey danced her first major role, that of Odette in Swan Lake, with the Christensen Brothers’ San Francisco Ballet when she was nineteen. She remained with that Company until she retired at thirty-five. She was known to audiences far beyond California, however. During that time the Company toured the Far East, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as across the U.S. Among the many roles Miss Bailey originated were the Amazon Captain in Lew Christensen’s Con Amore and Eve in Original Sin. She also danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker for many years.