{"id":335,"date":"2023-07-03T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-03T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thetravelingyogi.com\/?p=335"},"modified":"2024-07-19T14:47:27","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T14:47:27","slug":"beach-reads-4-recently-released-novels-set-in-the-dance-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thetravelingyogi.com\/index.php\/2023\/07\/03\/beach-reads-4-recently-released-novels-set-in-the-dance-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Beach Reads: 4 Recently Released Novels Set in the Dance World"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no shortage of dance-based nonfiction on seemingly endless topics, but fiction shelves have seen a recent influx of stories set in the studio and backstage. Whether you\u2019re craving an escapist romance or a historical thriller, a dreamy fantasy or a piece of contemporary literary fiction, these novels keep one toe in the dance world as they paint vivid imagined realities.<\/p>\n

Nocturne<\/em> <\/strong>by Alyssa Wees<\/h2>\n
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Cover image courtesy Penguin Random House.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Set in 1930s Chicago, this darkly romantic fantasy<\/a> follows Grace Dragotta, an orphan who rises to become the prima ballerina of the fictional Near North Ballet. Her world takes a turn for the uncanny when the troupe\u2019s new, mysterious patron takes an interest in her career, and the fairy tales and folklore of the ballets she dances are revealed to hold more than a sliver of truth in reality. Pitched as Phantom of the Opera <\/em>meets Beauty and the Beast<\/em>, Alyssa Wees\u2019 lyrical second novel explores grief, friendship, and the power of art to soothe, heal, and build a path forward in the wake of life\u2019s inevitable tragedies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Dances<\/em> by Nicole Cuffy<\/h2>\n
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Cover image courtesy One World.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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At a fictionalized New York City Ballet, 22-year-old Cece Cordell is catapulted to a new level of visibility when she becomes the first Black ballerina promoted to principal in the company\u2019s history. From the outside, she seems to be at the pinnacle of everything she\u2019s ever wanted, but her interior life reveals a more complex landscape: nagging perfectionism, a constant questioning of whether she truly belongs, the daily physical negotiations of life in ballet, the shifting nuances of her relationships\u2014in particular, her memories of her older brother, who had encouraged her interest in dance as a child but vanished from her life shortly after she landed her apprenticeship. At turns lyrical and raw, grounded and ephemeral, Nicole Cuffy\u2019s debut novel<\/a> offers a finely etched character study of a dancer learning to embody her whole self.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Pas de Don\u2019t<\/em> <\/strong>by Chloe Angyal<\/h2>\n
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Cover image courtesy Chicago Review Press.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Chloe Angyal, author of the incisive Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers Is Saving Ballet From Itself<\/em><\/a>, brings her deep knowledge of the ballet world to a romantic comedy set at two fictional elite companies. When her onstage partner and fianc\u00e9 is caught cheating with a young corps member, New York Ballet principal Heather Hays takes a guesting gig at Australian National Ballet\u2014the only company willing to hire her without her \u201cAmerican ballet royalty\u201d ex\u2014and meets Marcus Campbell, a soloist working his way back after a horrific onstage injury. Sparks fly as Marcus shows her around Sydney, but there\u2019s one problem: Pas de Don\u2019t, the nickname for the company\u2019s strict no internal fraternization policy. Like many of the best works in the genre, Pas de Don\u2019t<\/a><\/em> uses romance to explore a broader range of experiences\u2014 grief, healing from emotionally abusive relationships\u2014while also celebrating the power of dance and unpacking pervasive issues in ballet culture, including unhealthy power dynamics, sexual harassment, and sexist double standards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Spectacular<\/em> <\/strong>by Fiona Davis<\/h2>\n
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Cover image courtesy Dutton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Marion Brooks risks estrangement from her father, sister, and soon-to-be fianc\u00e9 when she bucks expectations of what a pretty young woman in the 1950s should do with her life and accepts a gig as a Rockette. But when the infamous \u201cBig Apple Bomber\u201d targets Radio City Music Hall, Marion is drawn into the investigation alongside psychologist Dr. Peter Griggs, placing her exhilarating and exhausting new life as a Rockette at risk as they race to unravel the bomber\u2019s identity. Inspired by the real-life \u201cMad Bomber\u201d case and steeped in the storied history of the Rockettes, Fiona Davis\u2019 intricately woven thriller<\/a> is, at its core, a love letter to Radio City Music Hall and the families found and made backstage. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The post Beach Reads: 4 Recently Released Novels Set in the Dance World<\/a> appeared first on Dance Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no shortage of dance-based nonfiction on seemingly endless topics, but fiction shelves have seen a recent influx of stories set in<\/p>\n

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