Roberto Bolle: An Athlete in Tights

Like all of Bruce Weber's books, I love it and hate it. Mostly black and white full page photos of Roberto Bolle, (I think) the greatest male ballet dancer of our time. He's also amazingly handsome, well built, and photogenic. He's photographed in just about every position and situation you can imagine from the stage in performance to the bedroom to the beach to the ballet bar to a railroad yard (hanging out of a box car), climbing a huge pile of coal, and many more. Some photos pair him with another dancer, a horse, a group of little children, a stuffed panda bear, etc. (There are a couple of pictures of Roberto as a child dancing, very cute.) Text is minimal but you get Roberto's recipe for Pumpkin Risotto. Some tasteful nudes (from behind) in various odd locations and close-ups of his hands and feet. Weber, as usual, inserts a number of pictures totally unrelated to the book's subject (Sumo wrestlers, mysterious man with a bear, landscapes, sculptures, etc.) A list of plates dates and locates each photo. I liked this book even though it could have been a lot better. Bruce Weber is Bruce Weber and probably won't ever grow out of it.

Weber begins the book with recollections that give context to his well known affinity for raw physicality and its potential if shaped through rigor and discipline. It is accented by pictures of young athletes in a state of "flow" and heralds the photo essay of Bolle that is to follow. That photo essay is breathtaking. Page by page, Bolle is revealed to be an exquisite athlete and model. From soft glamour shots (not out of place in the day of Fairbanks and Garbo) to frozen moments from the stage to hard, angular takes of human architecture against industrial designs, Weber invites us to see, again and again, the poetry in athletic form, the refinement in supreme physical mastery, and the beauty in mature masculine expression. The pages of solo and group pictures are punctuated by comments from Bolle and a few quotes from the likes of DH Lawrence and Einstein. (Oh yeah, and a recipe: go figure.) Whether tying his shoes, frolicking on the beach or stretching langorously in mirror image to a classical statue, Bolle and Weber never fail to give us an image, sinewy and virile, that enlightens us about the potential of the male form . . . or more simply, our ability to still be delighted even in this age of abundance and redundancy.

You may be familiar with the award winning black and white photography of Bruce Weber. You may also be aware of the excellence of ballet as performed by Roberto Bolle, the reigning king of the ballerinos. But when these two gentlemen merge their talents in a single volume of incredible beauty, the definitive master work that pictures the person and talent of Bolle against everything from railroad cars to contemporary and historic architectural treasures, you've seen it all. This is a volume that will impress you, though you know exactly what it's worth. It will take your breath away and rob you of your ability to put it down... RtE

Firstly, the reaction one will have to this book completely depends on what that person is expecting. If you're expecting pages of gay Bruce Weber like pictures of Roberto nude and posing in suggestive manners, than this book isnt for you. Nor you if you are expecting a book with pages of texts written by Roberto himself, than this book is also not for you. If you are someone who appreciates Roberto's sculpture like body and just loves to gaze on his beauty than the book is not dissappointing. There are some gorgeous portraits of Roberto that I have'nt seen previously. Most of the photos are a sheer delight to view, absolutely stunning in a artsy sense.Yes,the book may lack in sex appeal. However to me personaly sex appeal is not essential to be asbolutely stunning and beautiful man, and that Roberto Bolle is. Some pictures are set in Naples, a few of Roberto as a child on stage, a few man to man photos on the beach. Others with women which are more dance oriented. I was actually afraid when after I read a number of reviews where people had expressed their dissapointment that made me regretfull of my purchase. Upon recieving the book I was relieved as I did enjoy the book from front to back and was worth my money. I'm not very familiar with Bruce Weber's work so keep that in mind when judging my appreciation of the book. If you're a major fan of Roberto Bolle'a god like body, purchase the book. If you're a fan of Bruce Weber's work than this book might be dissapointing.

IF you know the work of Bruce Weber, then no explanation is necessary. IF you are NOT familiar with his work, you should at least take a look.I find him the Ansel Adams of the human form. While he does work in color, I find his black & white work excellent. In black & white he is able to communicate a depth not present in his color work. He communicates with the subject and thus, communicates about the subject. Amazing.The primary subject in this book is Roberto Bolles. You are introduced by way of some images of athletes. These try to prepare you for Roberto. However, in my book (pun intended), Roberto, through his years of work, has crafted an amazing dancer's body. Looking upon this dancer's body you feel as if you are looking upon an angel communicating with heaven - it's other worldly. AmazingI can hardly wait for the DVD. <jk> ;-)~

Once upon a time, there were these little two Russian boys, that taught us mere mortals to love ballet... They were Nureyev and Barishnikov! And dispite all the other great ballet dancers, from all the countries in the world, we, mere mortals, could not look at any of them... only those two!!!One day, probably thinking that this was not funny anymore, God gave us Roberto Bolle!!! And we, mere mortals, came to know a ballet master, a fashion icon, a perfect figure, and a fairy tale story to go with it!Bruce Webber captured all these (and a few other traits!) of this modern demi-god, in all its speldour and glory! The book is marvelous, but to fully understand WHO Bolle is, see him dance... and then bow, bend, and pick up the jaw that you just dropped!

ロベルト・ボッレの写真自体は良いのですが、最初の１０頁余り、ボッレに関係なし。届いた時、わくわくしながら開いたのですがびっくりしました。何か間違えたのか！？と。英語で何か綴られていますが読む気なし。こんなのを載せるならボッレの写真を増やして欲しかった。でも、裸が多すぎますね。肉体美は彼の大きな魅力ではありますがこんなには不要。ヌードモデルじゃないんですから。余り関係ない絵、写真が多すぎるというのが正直な感想です。買って後悔はしていませんが。

ロベルト・ボッレの肉体美が堪能できます。写真集。

Bonjour. J’ai bien reçu le livre de Roberto Bolle. Cela correspond à mes attentes. Photos sensuelles pour les pauses lascives et dénudées et physique dans l’actIon de la danse. Personnage très énigmatique.

les photos sont magnifiques ....... tres beaux tirages .... a feuilleter sans moderation le noir et blanc est du plus bel effet