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I and Ballet

Janos Gereben on July 8, 2014
Yuan Yuan Tan on the cover of her autobiography
Yuan Yuan Tan on the cover of her autobiography

Approaching 40, San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Yuan Yuan Tan looks and dances as if she were half that age. She is known as "YYT" here, since 1995 her second home next to China, where she also performs, teaches, and has a chain of dance studios (reported, but not confirmed). With her star career of two decades, she has more than enough material to publish an autobiography, and so it has come to pass.

The brand ambassador for Van Cleef & Arpels and Rolex is the author of I and Ballet, but you may have to wait for a translation and for the price to come down. It's available only in Chinese and hardcover, with the price of $209.83 on Amazon.

Meanwhile, free and with English subtitles, there is an excellent video documentary about YYT on YouTube. Also, there is an interview with "Tan Yuanyuan" in English. In another English-language interview, she introduces herself as the Principal Dancer of San Francisco Ballet; in fact, there are 20 such positions. (The error is not due to differences between languages: 正主角 is "the" and 主角之一 is "one of" or "a" in Chinese.)