Dancing to War

by Elfi Hornby

Overview

In this, her first book, the author recounts her incredible experiences as she, a sixteen-year-old dancer, was being sent to the worst battle zone of WW II -- the Russian front in mid-winter of 1943 -- to entertain German troops. Under the thumb of an unsympathetic, exploitative director, she faces unimaginable hardships and challenges, witnesses the horrors of war, meets many of its heroes and villains and is forced to rethink all she had been taught about life, country and God. She and her colleagues barely escape, riding in a cattle car back to Berlin.

The book brims with action and adventure, and is amply sprinkled with both laughter and tears. It offers a rare glimpse of war from “the other side.”

Product Details

BN ID:	2940015196481
Publisher:	Elfi Hornby
Publication date:	08/23/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

ELFI HORNBY came to this country in 1949 and settled in Omaha, Nebraska, where she raised a family and opened a ballet school. To provide a showcase for her talented students, she founded the Children’s Dance Theater, which later became the Omaha Dance Theater. She directed and choreaographed many original ballets such as Esmeralda, River Gold, The Little Matchgirl, The Lonely Crowd, and classics such as The Firebird and excerpts from Swan Lake. Later, she moved to Portland, Oregon, to head the Dance Department at Reed College. When she retired, she finally found time to pursue other interests like painting and writing. In "Dancing to War" and "Shadow of Defeat," Elfi shares her experiences during WW II, and the traumatic effect war has on ordinary people.