A Pulitzer Prize-winning dance critic teaches us to appreciate and enact grace in every dimension, from the physical to the emotional.

We are naturally drawn to smooth, harmonious movement. Both social and physical graces have been taught since the dawn of civilization. Yet grace seems forgotten in our pushy, hectic modern world. Sarah L. Kaufman argues that we bring it back. She celebrates grace in the way bodies move, exploring how to stand, walk, and dress well. She deplores the rarity of grace among public figures and glories in it where found (Beyonc at a fashion show). She singles out grace in sports and in the arts, from tennis and football to sculpture, pop music, and, of course, dance, and in the everyday ways people interact, from the grace of a good host to the unexpected kindness of strangers.

Cary Grant is this book's muse. His uncanny ease flowed from training as an acrobat but, equally, from his wit, humility, and genuine concern for others. So too, Kaufman suggests, we might unearth the potential for grace in ourselves.

Sarah Kaufman