{"id":91059,"date":"2026-04-05T12:55:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T16:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/?p=91059"},"modified":"2026-04-05T12:55:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T16:55:27","slug":"book-feature-infinite-steps-thirty-three-dancers-and-their-lives-in-ballet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/arts\/book-feature-infinite-steps-thirty-three-dancers-and-their-lives-in-ballet\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Book Feature:<\/strong> Infinite Steps: Thirty-Three Dancers and Their Lives in Ballet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Gavin Larsen, Author, and Gene Schiavone, Photographer<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-90544\" src=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Book-Feature-1-Infinite-Steps_RGB-copy-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"257\" \/>This newly published collaborative work by Gavin Larsen and Gene Schiavone offers a stunning visual record of the world of dance alongside personal stories of dancers\u2019 own journeys. Schiavone worked as a photographer for American Ballet Theatre for 20 years and, when he retired, he sought a project that would offer something back to the dancers that had been his subjects.<\/p>\n<p>Larsen, a dance writer and former professional dancer, was introduced to Schiavone\u2019s idea of using photos from his archives to create a book of images and stories by her publisher. \u201cAs soon as I heard the idea, I was on board\u2014talking to artists, drawing out their stories, thoughts, perspectives and learning how they felt about their experiences in the dance world is one of my favorite things to do as a writer and dancer,\u201d Larsen says. \u201cCreating this book with Gene felt important to me because the dancers in it represent the full spectrum of ways to exist in the ballet world, and I want the non-dancing public to see the real people behind the beautiful images they see on stage or in photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schiavone likes that the book gives voice to the dancers. \u201cEvery artist in this book has inspired me,\u201d he says, \u201cfrom world-famous names to dancers whose time on stage was fleeting. My hope is that their images and stories will inspire and give direction to others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Infinite Steps: Thirty-Three Dancers and Their Lives in Ballet,<em> March, 2026, dance, paperback, $35, by Gavin Larsen and Gene Schiavone, and published by University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Find upcoming events at <a href=\"http:\/\/FloridaPress.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FloridaPress.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This newly published collaborative work by Gavin Larsen and Gene Schiavone offers a stunning visual record of the world of dance alongside personal stories of dancers\u2019 own journeys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":90544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-literature"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Book Feature: Infinite Steps: Thirty-Three Dancers and Their Lives in Ballet - The Laurel of Asheville<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This newly published collaborative work by Gavin Larsen and Gene Schiavone offers a stunning visual record of the world of dance alongside personal stories of dancers\u2019 own journeys.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/arts\/book-feature-infinite-steps-thirty-three-dancers-and-their-lives-in-ballet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Book Feature: Infinite Steps: Thirty-Three Dancers and Their Lives in Ballet - The Laurel of Asheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This newly published collaborative work by Gavin Larsen and Gene Schiavone offers a stunning visual record of the world of dance alongside personal stories of dancers\u2019 own journeys.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/arts\/book-feature-infinite-steps-thirty-three-dancers-and-their-lives-in-ballet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Laurel of Asheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thelaurelofasheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-05T16:55:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Book-Feature-1-Infinite-Steps_RGB-copy-2-e1775408104644.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1199\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"671\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amy Pryor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AshevilleLaurel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AshevilleLaurel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amy Pryor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/arts\\\/book-feature-infinite-steps-thirty-three-dancers-and-their-lives-in-ballet\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/arts\\\/book-feature-infinite-steps-thirty-three-dancers-and-their-lives-in-ballet\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Amy Pryor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00\"},\"headline\":\"Book Feature: Infinite Steps: Thirty-Three Dancers and Their Lives in Ballet\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-05T16:55:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/arts\\\/book-feature-infinite-steps-thirty-three-dancers-and-their-lives-in-ballet\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":283,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/arts\\\/book-feature-infinite-steps-thirty-three-dancers-and-their-lives-in-ballet\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/Book-Feature-1-Infinite-Steps_RGB-copy-2-e1775408104644.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Arts\",\"Literature\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/arts\\\/book-feature-infinite-steps-thirty-three-dancers-and-their-lives-in-ballet\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/arts\\\/book-feature-infinite-steps-thirty-three-dancers-and-their-lives-in-ballet\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/arts\\\/book-feature-infinite-steps-thirty-three-dancers-and-their-lives-in-ballet\\\/\",\"name\":\"Book Feature: Infinite Steps: Thirty-Three Dancers and Their Lives in Ballet - 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