Viola Farber was one of the founding members of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and the Artistic Director of the Viola Farber Dance Company. An American Icon, she is a legend in France. Buy your copy! Amazon Amazon.co.uk Froogle Barnes & Noble.com The Prickly Rose The Prickly Rose is a biography of Viola Farber, an American dance icon and a legend in the dance community of France. The book follows her life and her constant struggles to keep her company working in the United States and Europe. It includes interviews with the dancers who worked with her company, dancers who performed with her in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, family members and some of her students. The Prickly Rose was written for the present and future dancers who are interested in the history and historical figures of their art form. It is, however, written with the non-dancer in mind, and therefore can be enjoyed by all.  Excerpt "Ask her what she makes dances about and she'll say, 'Movement doing movement.' Try to write about her and your verbs go on strike. I have listened to her breathe, to the soft soprano of her voice, have seen her legs snap space into throbbing obedience, and still I can not tell you what she is about. Both dancer and woman are the dance - a simple equation of intriguing implications." Nancy G. Moore, circa 1978.

Dancemagazine Recommends
"My profession was not that of a writer," observes Jeff Slayton in his tribute to Viola Farber, his partner, sometime wife, and closest friend. After years in the dance world as a performer and teacher, Slayton is now retired and living in California. "The Prickly Rose" is his labor of love, a commemoration of Farber, who died in 1998 during her tenure as chair of the dance department at Sarah Lawrence College.
A student at the legendary Black Mountain College, an early member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and later director of her own troupe, a lovely, quirky performer and a revered teacher, the chain-smoking Farber was often ill and seems to have been accident-prone. But in a long career she touched many lives. In 1966, having retired from Cunningham's troupe, she accepted Slayton, a green kid from Richmond, Virginia, into a dance she was making for students at Adelphi University. Thus began a relationship that lasted until her death.
Slayton spoke to many people and read Farber's journals and notes in assembling "The Prickly Rose." I read it hungrily, lapping up the dance history of the second half of the 20th century. Although riddled with grammatical and factual errors, it helps us to remember her and understand the forces that made her such a powerful and enigmatic figure, onstage and in the classroom.
-Elizabeth Zimmer

The Prickly Rose: A Biography of Viola Farber by Jeff Slayton
(4 Stars)
The Prickly Rose: A Biography of Viola Farber
by Jeff Slayton
It is tempting to assume that life is easy for a person of reputation and acclaim, that fame comes without effort, and that their accomplishments have somehow exonerated them from all future struggle. In this inspiring biography of modern dance pioneer Viola Farber, author Jeff Slayton exposes the sacrifices she made, as well as the passion that carried her through the dark and impenetrable patches of her career. Farber was Slayton's teacher, mentor, friend, and dance partner for 20 years. The two were also married for nine years. He wrote the book to describe her life and art, and to capture a unique period in dance history when it was birthing into an artistic profession in its own right.
Farber, who was born in 1931, entered the modern dance scene at a time when it was undergoing a radical revolution through the influence of Expressionist Movement. She brought a unique vision and aesthetic not only to her performing, but also to her choreography. Dance is by nature an ephemeral expression—once performed, never to be repeated. Farber, says Slayton, was attracted by that quality and "loved that dance left no debris behind, and was not all that interested in having her work survive after she had stopped choreographing." When she died, not a single videotape of her company’s repertoire was found in her apartment.
As a teacher, Farber helped dancers discover "their dancing involved not only their physical technique, but also their spirit, soul, emotions, and musicality." This approach forced them to grow and often led to profound psychological openings in her dancers. As a choreographer, Farber liked to work directly with the strengths and weaknesses of each individual dancer, showcasing their uniqueness as opposed to trying to squeeze everybody into a standardized mold. As a result, says Slayton, dancers loved working with her.
Slayton captures the complexities of Farber's personality—her passion, her commitment to dance, and the insecurities that plagued her. He notes a cruel side to her that sometimes caused friction within the company, but makes clear that she never asked anything of anyone else that she didn’t also ask of herself doubly. It is this aspect—that she often "scratched" anyone who came to close to her—that sparked the title of the book.
The book's only weakness is that Slayton's focus is sometimes a bit shotgun in nature. Details that have no context are peppered around paragraphs that don't seem to have any real center to them. But Farber's story is so engaging, and Slayton's admiration for his ex-wife and mentor is so thoroughly infectious, that one quickly forgives any superficial organizational flaws.
From insights into the realities of the creative life to the details of Farber's fascinating career and contribution, The Prickly Rose is a good read for anyone interested in either life or art. - Reviewed by Robin Ireland
ForeWord CLARION reviews