Reading Recommendations: Dance, Dance
A new month, a new selection of reading recommendations! This month’s picks as you can guess by the title is books about dance. I love dancing in it’s many forms and often find myself seeking out different books or other forms of media about dance. I don’t think I have a particular favorite style, but I always love to learn new dances. I hope you enjoy these books about dancers and the world of dancing.
Sixteen-year-old Mia, an American girl at an elite summer ballet program, has six weeks to achieve her dreams: to snag an audition with one of the world’s best ballet companies. But there’s more to Paris than ballet—especially when a charming French boy, Louis, wants to be her tour guide—and the pair discover the city has a few mysteries up its sleeve.
Overall this is a fun, cozy read about growing up and falling in love, and making choices. Each character in this novel is presented with multiple crossroads. Choosing dance or living your life? Following one path or being open to multiple options? It discusses trying to navigate your own personal path as Mia knows that in her heart that she’s a dancer but doesn’t know if she can beat the competition. When she’s not dancing she whizzes through the streets of Paris on his Vespa, dine at cozy cafes, and explores what the city has to offer. (Review)
Up until her fifteenth birthday, the most important thing in the world to Beatriz Mendez had been her dream of becoming a professional dancer and getting herself and her family far from the gang life that defined their days–that and meeting her dance idol Debbie Allen on the set of her favorite TV show, Fame. But after the latest battle in a constant turf war leaves her gang leader brother, Junito, dead and her mother grieving, Beatriz has a new set of priorities. How is she supposed to feel the rhythm when her gang needs running, when her mami can’t brush her own teeth, and when the last thing she can remember of her old self is dancing with her brother, followed by running and gunshots? When the class brainiac reminds Beatriz of her love of the dance floor, her banished dreams sneak back in. Now the only question is: will the gang let her go?
This novel was deep, heartbreaking, filled with triumph, and was very real. When Beatriz starts to realize her love for dance again and starts to feel alive. She wants a better life for her family and for herself. Dancing helps her to feel alive again and dance out the pain of the past and grieve over the death of her brother. She slowly transforms into a happier version of herself. Charles has a lyrical writing style which flows throughout the narrative and keeps her readers constantly engaged with the story. (Review)
Best friends Rasheeda and Monique are both good girls. For Sheeda, that means keeping her friends close and following her deeply religious, Bible-quoting aunt’s every rule. For Mo, that means not making waves in the prestigious and mostly White ballet intensive she’s been accepted to. But what happens when Sheeda catches the eye of Mo’s older brother, and the invisible racial barriers to success as a ballerina turn out to be not so invisible?
This is a coming of age story as much is a tale about friendship and finding yourself. Both girls are put in different situations where they out of place both separated but are only able to stay connected through text. I thought it was really interesting how the author handles the narrative of both girls in their middle school experience while exploring themes of race, body image, religion, and privilege. I also appreciated how the text chats were integrated into the novel’s narrative makes it relatable for its intended audience to connect with. (Review)
Isela Vogel has the power to attract the favor of the gods for anyone who can pay her fee but struggles to hide the degenerative hip condition that will end her career. Then she’s offered a job that will set her and her family up for life. Though her prospective patron is a formidable necromancer with a heated and infuriating gaze, she can hardly refuse the payday.
The Allegiance of Necromancers is powerful but not omnipotent, and when someone starts murdering his kind, Azrael must enlist a human in order to track down the killer. But why does she have to be so frustratingly stubborn–and intriguing? Azrael can make the dead walk, but he can’t make the very much alive Isela toe any line.
Isela is thrown into a world of supernatural creatures–demons after dark, witches in the shadows, shifters running wild in city parks–where the grace of gods can truly infuse the blood of the most mortal-seeming dancer. As the danger increases with each thrilling discovery, trusting Azrael may be the only way to survive a conspiracy to destroy the fragile peace of a broken world.
The story is full of action-packed scenes from fights, magic, and sparring dances. The gods-dancing mentioned in this book is elegant, yet fierce and you can see the passion in Isela’s dance and why she’s one of the top dancers at her academy. She tries her hardest not to fall for Azreal since she knows he’s nothing but danger. But the attraction between the two is too hard to deny as they work together on solving the mystery of the murders and locating grimoires. The mystery and action aspects had me hooked as they got closer to catching the culprit. (Review)
Wilhelmina Allende is a prima ballerina. When tragedy turns her beloved Paris into a gilded cage, she jumps at the chance to work with one of the most prolific choreographers she’s ever seen. But Zack’s style is way out of her comfort zone. So is his teaching method. And his humor. And his everything. He’s a charming little connard. It’s hard not to like him. Merde. What has she gotten herself into?
Zachary Coen’s first musical is opening on Broadway. Much like his life, it’s anything but conventional, so hiring Mina is simply out of the question. She’s too…classical. Too perfect. She’s all wrong for the role. Then he meets her in person and sees her cracks. Her broken pieces. How unique and beautiful each one is. And he can’t help but notice how her edges seem to fit his…perfectly.
When Mina and Zack dance together it’s as if the reader is right there. I love the dance/theatre aspect of this story since I participated in and have an immense love for the dance arts. You get to experience all of the work that goes into creating a show, see how hard the dancers train. and the entire creation process. I also felt that Mina and Zack’s romance felt real and believable from the start. It still takes a long time for them to break down their walls around each other but dance helps to bring them closer to one another. (Review)
Bina MacLaine is having a rough time. Still haunted by an ugly breakup that meant walking away from her fiancé and her high-rise apartment, now the dance teacher faces the possibility of losing her job, too, if her performance academy closes. When Maurice Hewett, one of her old ballet students, arrives in town, Bina sees he’s not the goofy boy she once knew—but a very handsome, very sexy grown man. She wonders if he can weave a spell that can help her forget all her woes. But can Bina let her desire take the lead without feeling like she’s robbing the cradle—and making a huge mistake?
The first installment in the MacLaine Girls series follows Bina, a talented dancer, and teacher at the MacLaine academy. She’s nursing her heart over a bad split in her life. Bina is a caring person and extremely passionate about dance and sharing it with others. I could see while reading this novel how the studio was integral to the community even though they are in dire financial straits and the neighborhood was changing. It acts as a community hub and I love how the story showed how the academy brought people together.
What are some of your personal picks for books about dancing? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
I love books about dancing too. When I was little, I always wanted to take ballet classes (probably just as well that I never could…I’d’ve been t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e LOL). There was one that I used to reread a lot as a girl that was set in Toronto (before I lived in this city) about a young girl who applied to ballet school here and how she got her first set of proper toe shoes and all that…nothing fancy, but I loved it so much that I borrowed it every single time it was in the public library. (It was called On Stage, Please by Veronica Tennant, yes, a ballerina). There’s another children’s book about dance by Martha Southgate that I’ve been looking for, for a few years, too.
Aren’t they the greatest. I’m always seeking out more stories about dancers. Growing up I used to read books such as Angelina Ballerina. I used to want to take dance classes as a child too. As an adult, I always try to find some local classes and try something new. It’s a workout and it’s fun at the same time too.