Balanchine & The Lost Muse, Kendall - C+

                                         This is the story of the St. Petersburg training of young Georges Balanchivadze and Lidochka Ivanova, both born in the winter of 1903-04. They were students at the Mariinsky Theater, appeared before Nicholas and Alexandra, and came of age in Revolutionary Russia.  Fortunately, the Soviet minister in charge of education was a ballet fan and their classical training continued.  She was an extraordinary dancer; he discovered a talent as a choreographer.  In 1924, they received visas to travel abroad as part of a small dance company. She died in a boating accident before they departed. He left for Berlin, went on to London, and found a home in France with Diaghilev - the rest is history.  Was her death an accident?  Was she his lost muse?  The Times reviewer said the author ".. tends to press too hard, plunging down rabbit holes of forehead-wrinkling psychological conjecture." When a history is filled with "likely", "perhaps", "probably" and "possibly", it tends to not make its point.