slayground: Booklist: I Am a Dancer

Little Willow (

slayground) wrote,
@ 2008-02-07 09:46:00

Current mood:	artistic
Current music:	Go For It by Girlfriend
Entry tags:	booklists, books

Booklist: I Am a Dancer
I
I am a dancer
That's who I am
What I do
- lyrics from A Chorus Line

I have been dancing and singing all of my life. My mother says I did fan kicks in the womb. I performed for my cat and stuffed animals since - well, birth, then jumped on stage any and every chance I got. I still do. My favorite types of dance are tap and character. I never pursued a career in classical ballet, preferring the aforementioned dance styles, but I have always loved tutus and ballet slippers.

I learned the gritty, gory details about ballet from books. I read The Sisters Impossible by J.D. Landis at a very young age and took various things away from the story. I knew couldn't afford all of the special training and items, especially the multiple pairs of shoes that bleeding ballerina feet require. I knew I was too short to ever be a prima ballerina. This didn't upset me at all, because, as I said earlier, I figured out that I didn't want to be a professional ballerina. I wanted to be loud and showy, and to sing while I danced.

I checked The Sisters Impossible out of the library countless times. The book is now out-of-print. Thanks to literaticat, I now own it. Oh, thank you, thank you!

In literature, both classic and contemporary, ballet tends to be the dominate dance detailed. Here now is a list of my favorite pieces of juvenile fiction and teen fiction about dancers.

Picture Books
The Angelina Ballerina series by Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig
Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees
The Only Boy in Ballet Class by Denise Gruska, illustrated by Amy Wummer
Josephine Wants to Dance by Jackie French

For ages 8 and up
Noelle of the Nutcracker by Pamela Jane, illustrated by Jan Brett
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
Dancing Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
The Sisters Impossible by J.D. Landis
Kathleen: The Celtic Knot by Siobhan Parkinson
The Royal Ballet School Diaries series by Alexandra Moss
The Susie books by Lee Wyndham, especially Susie and the Ballet Family
The Jessi books in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin, especially:
- #42 Jessi and the Dance School Phantom
- #61 Jessi and the Awful Secret
- #115 Jessi's Big Break

For ages 13 and up
On Pointe by Lorie Ann Grover
A Dance of Sisters by Tracey Porter
Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You by Dorian Cirrone
A Time for Dancing by Davida Wills Hurwin
- Sequel: The Farther You Run by Davida Wills Hurwin
The Year My Sister Got Lucky by Aimee Friedman
House of Dance by Beth Kephart
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Closing remarks:

Dance is a sport. Dancers are athletes.

I wish I could have worked with Gene Kelly.

I am very, very critical of modern movies dealing with hopeful singers and dancers. Just ask anyone who has been (un)fortunate enough to be in the room with me when Save the Last Dance or Center Stage comes on TV. That being said, I find the movie version of A Time for Dancing enjoyable, though it was not wholly true to the book. This is not only because I think Larisa Oleynik rocks, but because it was an decent film with decent dance sequences.

Related Booklists:
But I Don't Want to Be Famous!
But I DO Want to Be Famous!
Hey There, Sports Fan
Sing Sing Sing

(Post a new comment)

	literaticat 2007-03-11 05:01 pm UTC (link)
	Sadly, the book is now out-of-print, and I do not own it You want it? Send me your address. (literaticat at gmail dot com) (Reply to this)(Thread)

	slayground 2007-03-11 05:06 pm UTC (link)
	Oh my gosh. THANK YOU! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	literaticat 2007-03-11 07:41 pm UTC (link)
	no problem. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	slayground 2007-03-11 07:49 pm UTC (link)
	Thank you! I have such fond memories of this book and I appreciate your generosity. (Reply to this)(Parent)

(Anonymous)
2007-03-11 10:50 pm UTC (link)

Thanks for including my book, Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You on your list! I'm a lover of dance books too. I loved Ballet Shoes and Dancing Shoes as a kid. I still remember the names of the characters in the books, which is pretty amazing since I barely remember what I had for dinner last night. I also remember a book, though not as well, called A Dream of Saddlers Wells. Did you read that one too? Also, I have a favorite picture book about a pig who wants to dance called Dumpy La Rue, by Elizabeth Winthrop. I think you'd like it.

Thanks again!
Dorian Cirrone

(Reply to this)(Thread)

slayground
2007-03-11 10:58 pm UTC (link)

Hi Dorian! I am flattered that you dropped by my book blog.

I loved the Shoes series. I wish that they were all still in print. (Only three of them are readily available in stores right now: Ballet, Dancing, and Theatre.) I send customers to the library regularly to check them out.

I have not yet read Wells nor LaRue - I shall have to track those down! Thank you for the recommendations.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	fa3ryg1rl 2007-03-11 10:52 pm UTC (link)
	A book that had to do with ballet that I loved was one of the Sweet Valley Twins books, it was #2 I think where the girls did Swan Lake. The title is Teacher's Pet. Awesome book. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	slayground 2007-03-11 11:03 pm UTC (link)
	I recall that book. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	(Anonymous) 2007-03-12 01:12 am UTC (link)
	Thanks for including On Pointe, LW! Your list dances right across the page! (Reply to this)(Thread)

	readergirlz 2007-03-12 01:14 am UTC (link)
	I didn't mean to be anonymous and mysterious. :~) Just clicking too quickly! Thanks again! Lorie Ann, readergirlz diva (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	slayground 2007-03-12 01:28 pm UTC (link)
	:) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	slayground 2007-03-12 01:25 pm UTC (link)
	demi-pile with bowed head and a smile (Reply to this)(Parent)

	micolz 2007-03-12 03:36 am UTC (link)
	I must take a moment to plug a series I worked on at Grosset called "The Royal Ballet School Diaries." Written by Alexandra Moss, squarely middle grade mass market, but in conjunction with the British Royal Ballet Academy, so the dancey-dance stuff is handled properly. Lovely British-to-American glossaries in the back (with dance terminology included). (Reply to this)(Thread)

	slayground 2007-03-12 01:22 pm UTC (link)
	Ah! I adore those! I've read a good half-dozen of them so far. SO CUTE. I would have been engrossed in this series had it come out twenty years ago. Adding it to the list now. :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	emmaco 2007-03-12 07:43 am UTC (link)
	Thanks for putting a dancing list together! I wasn't interested in dance as a child (acting was more my thing) but I loved stories about dancers, including some of the ones you listed and Lorna Hill's "Wells" series that Dorian mentioned. (Reply to this)(Thread)

slayground
2007-03-12 01:20 pm UTC (link)

You are welcome!

Acting-wise, have you checked out the But I Don't Want to Be Famous! booklist? I update that list all of the time.

I'm thinking of making a separate acting booklist that has some overlap with the . . . Famous! booklist, but will attract folks like this dancing list did - and my new singing list hopefully will too - as it will be solely focused on acting.

Have you ever read a book that sounds like the third book I list in this post? "The protagonist is a girl who performs with her parents." etc. I cannot think of the title and it is driving me batty.
http://slayground.livejournal.com/164548.html

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	emmaco 2007-03-12 09:46 pm UTC (link)
	That's a pretty cool list. And an acting one would be great! I can't help you with your mystery book, though. I just posted a book to the whatwasthatbook community but haven't had any luck, so I feel your frustration. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	slayground 2007-03-12 10:26 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks! (Reply to this)(Parent)

English ballet books
(Anonymous)
2007-03-13 02:13 pm UTC (link)

Have you ever read the great ballet series by English writer Lorna Hill? The series begins with A Dream of Sadlers Wells (first published in 1950), and continues for around 11 books. It traces the paths of several north of England girls through the Sadlers Wells ballet school and onward. They are excellent, and many are available fairly cheaply used.
Charlotte at http://charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	Re: English ballet books slayground 2007-03-13 03:21 pm UTC (link)
	Hi Charlotte! Dorian recently told me about this series as well, so now I have to track it down. Thank you! (Reply to this)(Parent)

(Anonymous)
2007-03-14 04:42 am UTC (link)

Hi Little Willow! Thanks for your thoughtful comment on my blog. This is a terrific list for balletophiles!

Another ballet book that I really like (good for 8 & up) is Alphabet City Ballet, by Erica Tamar. It's one of the few I've seen that has a non-white protagonist.

And there's that lovely new graphic memoir, To Dance, by Sierra...I forget her last name.

--bookbk/Els
bookbk.blogspot.com

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	slayground 2007-03-14 04:59 pm UTC (link)
	You are welcome. Thanks for dropping by! I'll have to look for ACB. I am waiting for To Dance to come in! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

minmorton
2007-04-27 06:23 pm UTC (link)

Girls Gone By Publising has just released Swan Feather (a Wells title)

try http://www.ggbp.co.uk for the publisher, and there is a really good article **BUT** full of SPOILERS about the books at this link here:

http://www.collectingbooksandmagazines.com/hill.html

including a list of all the titles - I think there were about 15 (there were about 10 in print in the 1990s I think so you should be able to get cheaper paperbacks of the first few, and 4 in print in the 1970s for that matter ...)

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

minmorton
2007-04-27 06:26 pm UTC (link)

Actually here's the list of Wells books - I'm feeling kind

1 A Dream of Sadlers Wells (Evans 1950)
2 Veronica at the Wells (Evans 1951)
3 Masquerade at the Wells (Evans 1952)
4 No Castanets at the Wells (Evans 1953)
5 Jane Leaves the Wells (Evans 1953)
6 Ella at the Wells (Evans 1954)
7 Return to the Wells (Evans 1955)
8 Rosanna Joins the Wells (Evans 1956)
9 Principal Rôle (Evans 1957)
10 Swan Feather (Evans 1958)
11 Dress-Rehearsal (Evans 1959)
12 Back-Stage (Evans 1960)
13 Vicki in Venice (Evans 1962)
14 The Secret (Evans 1964)

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	slayground 2007-04-28 12:42 am UTC (link)
	Thank you so much for providing me with titles and additional details! That was very kind of you. :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: I am a Dancer (Anonymous) 2007-05-18 06:16 am UTC (link)
	Wow, this is a terrific list. Perfect for my dancing girl niece. I had not thought of the Sadler Wells books in...well...a very very long time. I loved those books. To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel by Siena Cherson Siegel is WONDERFUL! Hope you see it soon. Camille Book Moot (Reply to this)(Thread)

	Re: I am a Dancer slayground 2007-05-18 12:40 pm UTC (link)
	Hi Camille! I hope that your niece enjoys the books. :) I did read To Dance a few weekends ago. It's a shame it wasn't longer and more detailed. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	mimagirl 2007-08-15 08:05 pm UTC (link)
	I just read The Sisters Impossible from the library. It was really cute and fun! (Reply to this)(Thread)

	slayground 2007-08-15 08:17 pm UTC (link)
	Isn't it adorable?! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mimagirl 2007-08-15 08:31 pm UTC (link)
	Completely. :) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	slayground 2007-08-16 12:04 am UTC (link)
	I'll always remember the 'peaked' worry. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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