Books about ballet dancers are, invariably, books about growing up. Whether it is a young child desperate to win a place at a ballet school, a ballerina escaping from a dangerous relationship, or a memoir about finding a sense of belonging in the dance world, ballet books return again and again to the pain and the complication of leaving childhood behind.
To grow up while navigating the world of ballet is fraught with contradictions. Female ballet dancers are told to be ethereal, obedient, child-like. At the same time, puberty is dragging them forwards into adulthood, and men are making them the object of their sexualising gaze. Male dancers also face painful mixed messaging, their commitment to dance challenged by prejudice at a delicate stage of their lives. Books about ballet take the universal experience of adolescence and add a painful cocktail of competitiveness, body-image issues, power dynamics, and longing for acceptance. But among all these trials, ballet books are brimming with an enduring love for dance, a love that both uplifts and complicates dancers’ relationship with their art.
In my novel The Sleeping Beauties, ballet is both an escape from the hardship of the Second World War, and a dangerous obsession. Briar Woods grows up consumed with dance, determined that her life will follow the rigid path she has imagined for herself. When this journey is thwarted by the thorny obstacles of desire, a powerful man, motherhood, loss and guilt, she struggles to keep hold of her grip on reality. As with many books about ballet, when Briar’s life is dragged off course, she loses control of her understanding of who she is, her identity thrown into chaos.
I have chosen eight books that cut to the heart of what it means to learn to define oneself as a dancer.
They’re Going to Love You by Meg Howrey
Set in both the present day and during the AIDS crisis, this is a psychologically powerful novel about longing for acceptance in a complicated adult world. Carlisle Martin’s childhood holds secrets, some of which she will not admit even to herself. When, as an adult, she returns to New York City to visit her father, those memories cannot remain hidden any longer. She confronts her relationship with her ballerina mother and her father’s partner, James, learning what it is she needs to let go of in order to accept her past. The novel opens with a description of a ballet class, the fragile relationship between a teacher and student revealed: “He watches his words take shape in the boy’s body.” For this is the power of an adult mentor in the world of professional dance: every word can transform but also destroy.
Don’t Think, Dear by Alice Robb
Alice Robb’s memoir is subtitled “On loving and leaving dance,” and it is this complicated dynamic of love and loss that informs the book. Drawing on her own experience as a dancer in New York City, as well as interviews with others, she interrogates the ballet establishment’s turbulent relationship with dancers and their bodies. She examines body-image, the pressure on dancers to be thin, the legacy of Balanchine and the influence he held over his dancers, and the disturbing infantilisation of female dancers. Women’s bodies “are in constant flux,” she writes. “As hard as we tried to stay physically immature—breast-less, hip-less, premenstrual—we couldn’t fight time.” For me, as an ex-dancer with vivid memories of my time at the Royal Ballet School, her words resonated. But this book is interesting for all women, not only those who have been through elite ballet training. The book reminds us how fragile those teenage years are for girls, the words we hear from those in influential positions impacting on our sense of self well into our adult lives.
Life in Motion by Misty Copeland
There are two versions of this book, one for adults and one for middle grade children. This second version and its ability to inspire and educate young people is an example of the tremendous influence Copeland has on shaping and transforming the image of the ballerina. Misty Copeland, principal ballerina at American Ballet Theatre, was the first African American woman to be promoted to principal. Her memoir takes the reader through the different stages of her career, from her late entry to ballet at the age of thirteen, to her momentous rise through the company. Her story is inspiring and makes it clear that the traditions of the ballet world can adapt to welcome and celebrate diversity.
Lauren in the Limelight by Miriam Landis
Miriam Landis is a former professional dancer and ballet teacher, and her middle grade novel Lauren in the Limelight brings a refreshing new perspective to the familiar story of young people trying to make it in the world of dance. With a diverse cast of characters, the novel is about friendship, self-understanding, and a love of dance. It explores many of the challenges that children face as they grow up and learn who they want to be. Many of these are specific to ballet—the excitement of a first pair of pointe shoes, the nerves of auditions, the disappointments that must be endured—but it is also a novel about those crucial moments of transition and adjustment as children develop. The illustrations by Jill Larsen are playful and add beautiful detail to the book.
Putting My Heels Down by Kara Tatelbaum
Tatelbaum’s memoir provides an honest and compelling narrative of the challenges of keeping the dream of being a dancer alive. She trained in a variety of elite New York dance schools and committed herself entirely to life as a dancer. That dream, however, proved elusive and cruel, leading to numerous injuries and financial challenges. Teaching Pilates to pay the bills, she continued building her dance career, working with immense resilience to take on each opportunity. Most dance memoirs are written by famous dancers with impressive resumés at top companies. To read a memoir by a dancer who faced the more typical path of resistance and struggle is refreshing, not least because it is a reminder that life as a dancer can take many forms. It is, Tatelbaum writes, about “the conflict so many of us experience between having a day job and having a dream. You won’t need to know about pliés to relate.”
Dances by Nicole Cuffy
A novel about a trailblazing Black ballerina, this is a story about celebrating success while navigating through obstacles of belonging, traumatic past events, attachment issues, and family. When Cece Cordell is promoted to principal at the New York City Ballet, the changes to her life come at a dangerous cost. Cuffy describes her novel as the book she wishes she’d had available to her, a Black ballerina in an establishment that traditionally has been predominantly white. Cece’s relationship with others and with herself is turbulent, and she must truly face her demons if she is to stop repeating the patterns of her past.
Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
At eleven years old in the midst China’s cultural Revolution, Li Cunxin was selected for dance training by Madame Mao’s cultural delegates. His memoir tells a remarkable story of a child taken from rural poverty in Maoist China, and brought to Beijing to study ballet. During a cultural exchange to America, he fell in love with an American woman, leading to a thrilling narrative of his defection to America and his journey to becoming one of the most famous dancers in the world. This is a humbling and inspirational memoir about determination in the face of poverty, political strife, repression, and loss.
The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan
A historical novel about the girl who modelled for Edgar Degas’s Little Dancer Aged Fourteen sculpture, this is a ballet story that reveals the dangerous power of wealthy patrons. Set in 19th century Paris, Marie van Goethem and her sister struggle to make ends meet after their father dies. Marie trains at the Paris Opéra, attracting the attention of Degas and modelling for him in his studio. Her sister Antoinette, meanwhile, faces her own challenges while working as an extra in a play. Rich with historical detail, this is a novel about the corruption and abuse of power embedded in the beautiful settings of art, dance, and theater.
