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Dawn C. Crouch

Goodreads Author

Born

New Orleans, The United States

Website

https://dawncrouch.com

Twitter

https://twitter.com/dccrouch714

Genre

Nonfiction, Suspense, Science Fiction

Member Since

July 2017

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/dawncrouch

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I’m from New Orleans, where ghosts and devils are part of everyday life, so it is only natural to write fiction and nonfiction based on true stories. Most little girls dream of growing up to be a ballet dancer. However, I have always wanted to be a writer, and I am the author of five nonfiction and three fiction books so far…

But I received my early ballet training from Lelia Haller, one of the first Americans to dance in the Paris Opera, before continuing with Houston Ballet under James Clouser and Nicholas Polejenko. I am grateful to have studied with Danilova, Balanchine, Martha Graham, Eric Hawkins, David Howard, and other legendary teachers. I’ve taught at ballet schools throughout the southeast for over forty years.

The Garage Ballet Se I’m from New Orleans, where ghosts and devils are part of everyday life, so it is only natural to write fiction and nonfiction based on true stories. Most little girls dream of growing up to be a ballet dancer. However, I have always wanted to be a writer, and I am the author of five nonfiction and three fiction books so far…

But I received my early ballet training from Lelia Haller, one of the first Americans to dance in the Paris Opera, before continuing with Houston Ballet under James Clouser and Nicholas Polejenko. I am grateful to have studied with Danilova, Balanchine, Martha Graham, Eric Hawkins, David Howard, and other legendary teachers. I’ve taught at ballet schools throughout the southeast for over forty years.

The Garage Ballet Series is a collaborative mother-daughter effort. My two daughters, Dominique Crisler and Caroline Ruder, assisted with classes and danced through college level at Northern Illinois University and the University of South Carolina. They now advise and edit my nonfiction ballet books.

Garage Ballet aims to mentor students, teachers, and parents through easy-to-understand explanations of ballet techniques and training. I passionately believe the study of ballet yields life skills of proven value for every student, from PreBallet to Preprofessional to Adult. Ballet does Help Everything! Writing included!

I am the mother of two sons as well and have been married to the same Emergency physician through it all. So conversation at my dinner table may range from culinary comparisons to debates on different interpretations of the same role in a ballet performance to pure medical macabre.

But I remember... Life can change in an instant. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina obliterated our home and belongings in the space of a single Monday morning.

I was blown with my two youngest, still at home from Gulfport, MS, to Huntsville, AL. At the same time, my husband, one of nine ER docs in the only Emergency Department operating within a ninety-mile radius, stayed behind. We survived the storm, but the separation and arduous task of rebuilding almost did us in. Lesson learned. Things can always be worse!

My first novel, Against The Wind, a YA coming-of-age catastrophe thriller, is based on our encounter with the storm.

I began work on The Last Plague long before Covid, but the eerie undertone of the prescient tale resonates with the pandemic. The novel is a sci-fi dystopian glance into a near future where medicine runs amok with bioengineered clones, weaponized viruses, and a forbidden love story.

Dead Children’s Playground takes its title from a hidden playground in Huntsville and a Rocket City urban legend. Huntsville is a beautiful and strange place where in the early 60s, rural Appalachia collided with Nazi Germany.

My writing will always be peppered with stories from my convoluted, crazy, and unique life as a daughter, wife, mother, dancer, teacher... person.

Please visit dawncrouch.com for fiction updates and Garageballet.com for new releases, titles, and helpful videos. ...more

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Dawn C. Crouch’s books

Average rating: 4.27 · 144 ratings · 46 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	Ballet Helps Everything!: Ten Reasons Why 4.21 avg rating — 56 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Plague 4.31 avg rating — 36 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Against The Wind: Jane-Claire's Personal Salvation 4.37 avg rating — 19 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pointe Work: Ten Reasons Why and When 4.21 avg rating — 19 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The ABC's of PreBallet (Garage Ballet #3) 4.43 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Auditions, Competitions, and Intensives - Why, When, What to Expect (Garage Ballet #5) 4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tailor-Made to Fly: Life Lessons in Custom Charter Aviation by Tracey Deakin, Dawn C. Crouch (Goodreads Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Six months into my self-publishing experiment, I can honestly say, I'm hooked! Response to "Ballet Helps Everything!," the first in the Garage Ballet series, has been incredible. I truly appreciate your reviews and all the support for the series. "Pointe Work," the second installment, will be published in late August and pre-orders are going very well! Thank you!

"Against The Wind - Jane-Claire's P Read more of this blog post »

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Published on June 17, 2020 07:07

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The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood

by William J. Bennett

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Sep 20, 2020 08:51PM

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A Death in Vienna (Liebermann Papers #1)

by Frank Tallis

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Wynter's Discontent: A Wynter Thriller (Wynter Series Book 1)

by Nigel Draper

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Aug 22, 2020 11:20PM

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Dawn Crouch and 1 other person liked Crystal Vranich's review of Dead Children's Playground: Based on a Rocket City Urban Legend: "Suspenseful Thriller Arik dreads going home for Christmas. His family is stuck in staunch German ways even though they now live in America. With his brother Max sick from a mysterious illness, he makes the trek home from college. The oddities and sec" Read more of this review »
Oct 10, 2025 08:42PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Dead Children's Playground by Dawn C Crouch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Dead Children's Playground by Dawn C Crouch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Dawn Crouch is now following Stacey Whitmire's reviews
Oct 10, 2025 08:39PM · like
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May 07, 2025 07:05AM · like
Dawn Crouch liked Billy Fetzner's review of Auditions, Competitions, and Intensives - Why, When, What to Expect (Garage Ballet #5): "A Comprehensive Guide that Every Ballet Parent and Dancer Should Read The book offers a wealth of information and practical advice that is relevant to both parents and dancers. The author, Dawn C Crouch, has over forty years of experience as a dancer a" Read more of this review »
Feb 27, 2024 07:48AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Auditions, Competitions, and Intensives - Why, When, What to Expect by Dawn C. Crouch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Auditions, Competitions, and Intensives - Why, When, What to Expect by Dawn C. Crouch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">