Written by: Siena Cherson Siegel and Mark Siegel
First line: Big, empty spaces always made me dance.
Why you should read this book: An always honest, sometimes sad, but mostly joyful recollection of a girl who loved dancing, devoted her childhood to ballet with a surprising intensity, and eventually, like most child dancers, was forced to apply herself to another profession in adulthood. Siena's family moves to New York so she can study at a prestigious school, perform regularly, and even enjoy occasionally crossing paths with the great Mikhail Baryshnikov, and while she is physically limited from pursuing a career in dance as an adult, she eventually realizes that dancing at any level makes her happy. A great resource to help very young girls understand the degree of hard work, physical pain, and potential injury that goes hand in hand with dancing at a professional level, along with the delight.
Why you shouldn't read this book: While it's very honest about the potential for injury when dancing on pointe, it slightly glosses over the psychological damage—body image issues and eating disorders—that seems endemic to ballet in books for older readers.
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