Dancers seem such tortured souls, but generally they put all the agony and psychodrama into their art. But what to do when the dancing ends, the final curtain falls, and it's retirement time? How about putting all that agony and psychodrama into their memoirs?

Frank Augustyn, Canada's premiere male dancer for more than two decades, has done just that in his new autobiography, Dancing from the Heart: A Memoir (McClelland & Stewart, $34.99).

"I didn't want it to be a payback book, or a p.r. book, I just wanted to be honest," Augustyn told The National Post last week in a revealing interview.

What's fun for the balletomane -- and the gossip monger -- is to flip through the pages in one hand, with Karen Kain's 1994 autobiography in the other hand, and compare notes and watch them jab and thrust at each other. There is an element of payback in Augustyn's story -- and it's about time.

Kain, you see, took a number of not-so-subtle dig at Augustyn, admitting that there was "constant tension" between these two former dancer partners, friends and lovers. (Tension -- geesh, imagine if you'd been stuck working for more than 20 years with a guy you'd met at age 16?) Augustyn admits her book left him with the feeling that Kain thought she was better than him. She did indeed win more awards, more acclaim and more money ... but then again, ballet tends to be a woman's world, with a couple of notable Russian exceptions.

Fortunately for the reader, Frank gets in his digs but doesn't dwell on the Kain issue. Now a teacher of ballet and the host of a Bravo weekly dance program, he moves beyond and dishes lots of other dirt. There's Nureyev's randy escapades, Gelsey Kirkland's drug problems, and tales of his other, more meaningful dealings with the dance world's notables such as: Erik Bruhn, Sir Frederick Ashton, Glen Tetley, Rudi van Dantzig, Hans van Manen, Maurice Béjart, and, of course, much more on Nureyev.

Gorgeous Digs: Did you know that CBC Radio host Otto Lowy has the most amazing private residence in the Vancouver? One of my CBC pals pointed out his abode on a walk by Second Beach on a recent trip. It's the only private home on the stretch of Beach Avenue, just west of Denman and leading into the entrance to Stanley Park. The rest of the strip is filled with high-priced condos and hotels. The story of how he came into possession of this abode is a subject of much speculation amongst Vancouverites. Not on a CBC salary, surely? Anyway, all this is by way of saying, Lowy is the host for this afternoon's VSO presentation of The Merry Widow. The show features tenor Mark Dubois and soprano Suzanne Kompass. The VSO says tea and cookies will be served. Gee, maybe afterwards we can all go back to Otto's place....

Emperor the King: Godspeed You Black Emperor was chosen as the New York Times' Album of the Week. Godspeed is a Montreal collective of musicians determined to yank people's heads out of the pop pit and make some seriously smart music. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven is minimalist's dream come true. I just sampled some from Napster. (And before you get judgmental, I didn't burn it, I just listened to it and set it free!)

This is defiant underground music free of hooks and drifting soundscapes. It reminded me of Steve Reich with some Brian Eno thrown in for good measure. You can try and make sense out of this double disc, 20 movement CD, but I'd recommend curling up on the couch and let the music take you where it will.