Books: about ballet dancers

[lschang]

I would like to start reading some novels about ballet dancers. I remember watching "The Turning Point" with Shirley MacLaine years ago, very good film. But I'd like to read some novels about dancers, so can anyone recommend something? It doesn't have to be exclusively a book about ballet dancers, though. I remember reading a book many years ago about young two girls who were friends, one of them was a ballet dancer. I can't remember the book at all now, though. It was probably published sometime in the 70s.

[djeowmom]

The Master's Muse is a recent and beautiful novelization of the life of Tanaquil LeClerc.

[ascballerina]

Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cuxin

Ballerina: My Story by Darci Kistler

Margot Fonteyn: Autobiography

Theatre Street by Tamara Karsavina

 

I'm away from my ballet bookshelf right now and can't remember what's on it...I gave you all autobiographies there. Haven't read a book about a ballet dancer that was fiction for some time that did not involve a) a mental disorder, b ) a crazy world of intrigue and affairs or c) something else dysfunctional, so if someone wants to point me in that direction, I'd love them forever

[lschang]

Thanks. I'm not really much in the mood for autobiographies right now, but I did happen to read the autobiography of Gelsey Kirkland "Dancing on my Grave". It was pretty good.

[Redbookish]

The Ballet Shoes series by Noel Streatfeild is an old favourite: children's books, but delightful! Streatfeild wrote many novels,most based around the theatre.

[ascballerina]

Ballet Shoes is a series?! I never liked it because it didn't contain enough ballet for me and I found the title misleading but I only read the first book....perhaps I should take another look...

[SewRibbons]

Ballerina, by Edward Stewart. (Possibly this is the book you have read.)

 

Also, The Painted Girls.

[Blanche]

Another that's not an autobiography is:

 

Ballerina: Sex, Scandal, and Suffering Behind the Symbol of Perfection by Deidre Kelly (don't be fooled by the title; the book itself is interesting but not decidedly titillating)

 

I know you didn't want autobiographies, but I just finished Dancing Through It by Jenifer Ringer, and it was a good read.

[dcns]

There is a new book out "Astonish Me" by Maggie Shipstead. It has gotten good reviews on Goodreads and Amazon but I found it only a 3 star book.

[lschang]

Ballerina, by Edward Stewart. (Possibly this is the book you have read.)

 

Also, The Painted Girls.

Thanks, it might be the same book....I will look it up on amazon to see if it looks familiar.

[Mathilde]

Sew Ribbons - thank for posting about Ballerina by Edward Stewart. I read and loved it as a teenager and have been trying to remember the author so I could look it up again. Do you think it would be suitable for an almost 13 year old? I seem to remember some mature content.

 

Lschang - My DD loved Girl in Motion. There's a thread on it in the forum.

 

Happy reading!

[lschang]

Thanks everyone for the book recommendations, I will be checking into some of these for sure.

[SewRibbons]

Mathilda - No, I would not think that Ballerina is suitable for a 13 year old. It's been a long time since I read it, but I, too, recall it as having some very mature content. I did recently take it from the library for my 16 year old DD to read, but she never did. I would not have let her read any younger.

[Mathilde]

Thanks, Sew Ribbons. I'll wait.

[Doubleturn]

Vicki Baum's novel Ballerina is a good read. Possibly a little old for a thirteen year old, but fine for older teens. The author is probably best known for her book Grand Hotel.