Rating: 
Summary: Sensationalistic crap
Review: "Gelsey Kirkland`s book was sensionalistic, from a disturbed writer". Quote by William G. Hamilton M.D. Page 580 in "I remember Balanchine". These are not my own views, not having been there at the time, but somehow from research I feel I can agree heartily. My own comments might be superfluous as I feel I have nothing to add to Dr. Hamilton`s statement.
Rating: 
Summary: A narcissist, depressing look at the dance world...
Review: ...and really, it's not always that bad. While this book may give a behind-the-scenes look at the demanding life of a dancer (I know, I am one), it seems more like Kirkland was attempting to make readers pity her. If she wants people to admire her for what she did in her life... it's not happening. She may have been an amazing ballerina, I'll give her that, but writing is obviously not her strong point. Stick to the stage, Gelsey!
Rating: 
Summary: The pain of a dancers world
Review: Anyone has has faced themselves in the mirror in the studio, or looked into that black void downstage known as the audience can relate to Ms. Kirklands troubles. Most dancers don't go to the extremes that she went to, but it is in all of us, to one extent or another. Ballet is forcing yourself to perfection, which can never be obtained. Gelsey had great courage to write the book..... many other dancers have faced similar demons....some don't make it.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning....
Review: As a ballet dancer, I have come to find the not-so-glamorous side of the ballet world: eating disorders plague it (and directors encourage them), dancers having multiple relationships with other dancers, and the constant pressure to always be at the top. Gelsey Kirkland seemed to have a ballet career that was glorious and fulfilling, yet with every hit of cocaine she took to keep her dancing, her life gained more emptiness and she was dying. Her personal torment is so personally and vividly revealed in this autobiography that you can actually feel her pain and loneliness as she reiterates each of her harrowing experiences. It is sad that some of her best dramatic performances were given at the lowest points in her personal life. This is one of the most stunning autobiographies I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for any dancer
Review: Dancing in my Grave, by Gelsey Kirkland is an amazing book. The book is about Gelsey's dancing career, and how she mangled her way through the jungle of ballet. In it are described many of the hardships that come with serious dancing. This book may not apply to people who are not into dance. Dance, when taken seriously, can bore people if they're not interested in it. However, all dancers who are even thinking of getting serious with dance should read this book. This book portrays Gelsey Kirkland as a hero because it elaborates on her issues both mental and physical, but then it tells about her rehabilitation. A hero is someone who does something that benefits someone, not necessarily someone else. Gelsey found and helped a person in need of help, that person just so happened to be her. On page 102, ''I began to starve myself, limiting my diet to candy bars and coffee. This was the first sign of an anorexic syndrome that later would become an obsessive rule in my life.'' Gelsey, although it took her years to realize, convinced herself that she had a problem and she fixed it. To convince oneself that he/she has a problem is a very difficult thing to do. Denying it is the easy way out, or even admitting to it but not changing it is fairly easy but dedicating time to fixing a problem like that, that is what makes a hero. Gelsey shares not only her problem of anorexia but her usage of drugs, her physical adjustments made for beauty reasons and her personal life issues. Gelsey had an older sister Johnna who was given the gift of physical beauty. Throughout the book it tells how Gelsey tried to change her physical appearance as much as possible to be beautiful like her sister. Gelsey undertook many face operations and adjustments to other areas to her body to make her look more like a prima ballerina. Gelsey grew up with a hard family life, possibly partially the cause of her problems later on in life. She shares her dependence on drugs and her fathers drinking problems as well. Another virtue of this book is its great description of George Balanchine. Through most dancers eyes during Gelsey's time Balanchine was a god. This shows how Gelsey got close to him and started seeing things others could not see. The book tells about her partner Mikhail Baryshinkov and her partnering days with Misha and other wonderful dancers. Great views of the differences in Russian ballet and American ballet are exhibited in this book. Dancing On My Grave is a very informational book on dancing, but at the same time it tells the story of a great adventurer and a hero who saved herself from the lies of prima ballerina beauty. This autobiography takes the reader behind the scenes of the ''making'' (training) of a perfect ballerina, and tells all of the gruesome details of love, beauty, drugs, eating disorders, and both physical and mental pain. Gelsey Kirkland worked through all of those hardships and made her mark on the ballet world. The key factor in that is that she realized that she had problems and so she was able to fix them and live through them to write Dancing On My Grave to warn others in her same position. Experience is everything, and so in the world of ballet Gelsey Kirkland is a genius.
Rating:
Summary: This book was a heart- stopping, tear- jurking sensation!
Review: Dancing on My Grave was the best book ever written by a dancer. It keeps hold of you until the very end. You cry, you cheer, you hope for very the best. Reading it makes one realize that things are not always as they seem. Even though Gelsey looked all together on stage, she was falling apart off. The book also brings aspiring dancers like myself into full view of what really goes on in the ballet world. It is not all glamour but pain and suffering as well. To be a dancer means a lot of sacrifices as we all see. Even though my dream is still the same, this book makes me more aware of what I'm in for. Thank you Gelsey for your warning. Aside from all the bad things in this story, I would have to say it was remarkable, sensational, and an all time winner!
Rating:
Summary: GREAT!
Review: Gelsey Kirkland did an excellent job writing her biography, Dancing on my Grave. It is a book about the hard life of a dancer, and how dedicated and hard-working you have to be to "make-it" in show buisness. But, she doesn't only do this, Gelsey also shows us the pressure that results from this perfection needed and how her life was sculped with this pressure. I loved this book, and hope that one day I will get to meet Gelsey, her book inspired me so much! :)!
Rating:
Summary: A book to read and read for more
Review: Gelsey Kirkland doesn't hold back in her tell all life story. She doesn't cover and hide her relationship with Balachine, Peter Martin and many others in the ballet world. She doesn't hold back either when she tells us of her drug and emotional problem. Despite all her misfortunes she is one the worlds greatest dancer, who deserves all that the world has to offer her. Her book is a page turner and a look into her fascinating life that is true and emotional. READ THE BOOK AND YOU'LL BE IN LOVE WITH GELSEY KIRKLAND AND WILL WANTED TO READ IT OVER AND OVER!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Gelsey Gets it
Review: Gelsey Kirkland is a miracle. She lived a nightmare, but woke up, and found the courage to write about it. It was mentioned in a previous review that there was no excuse for the trouble she got in to. Maybe so, but humans, by nature are constantly facing troubles they have no excuse for. That is the courage of Gelsey. Her story is terrifying and shameful and she knows it, but it was absolutely necessary for her tell it anyway. Particularly because she recovered. That is what real art and literature is all about. It gives to the world a knowledge of human triumph over adversity, even adversity brought on by the human itself. Gelsey's vividness almost allows the reader to experience her life, in all its terror and beauty. And indeed- experience is what we learn from. So we learn along with Gelsey Kirkland, without her imposing any condescension or trying to cover herself up with glamour, what it is to be human. To make an irreversible mistake, and then reverse it. To defy the power of negativity with the human's natural power to emerge from darkness. And whatever a miracle is, this is certainly a true one.
Rating:
Summary: Cracks the world of ballet wide open
Review: Gelsey Kirkland, one of the greatest ballerinas of our time, candidly shares her personal struggle for perfection. Kirkland relays the rollercoaster life of the dancer, how she finally got off the ride and in the process saved her own soul
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