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Dance #1
Tutu Much
"A background rich in ballet will enable you to grow far more quickly than any traditional genre training. You can do anything in the dance world with proper ballet technique.”Tutu Much tells the story of five teens from across the country who audition and participate in a ballet summer training intensive.
- GenresFiction
Nook
First published February 16, 2011
15 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Airin Emery
9 books3 followersAirin Emery has written seven books in the Dance Series, by Lechner Syndications.
After a professional dance career that included everything from Fosse to Cirque du Soliel she has changed gears and now focuses her artistry on choreography and writing. She maintains co-ownership of a dance studio in the Midwest, adjudicates for competitions & festivals and currently lives in Malibu with her husband, three children, and two precocious dogs.
After a professional dance career that included everything from Fosse to Cirque du Soliel she has changed gears and now focuses her artistry on choreography and writing. She maintains co-ownership of a dance studio in the Midwest, adjudicates for competitions & festivals and currently lives in Malibu with her husband, three children, and two precocious dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 30, 2017
What a weird book. I mean—it's not good. Trying to fit five different main characters, each with a mini plot arc, into 120 pages was always going to be a dicey proposition. It's pretty much impossible to tell the characters apart, not one of the storylines is fleshed out, and small errors are rampant. The adults are a peculiar combination of straight-up damaging (e.g., a nutritionist telling a girl that it's great that she's severely underweight) and not believable/definitely unprofessional (an instructor at the Most Prestigious Ballet Intensive Ever writing on her notepad that a girl is 'perfect'; another instructor saying 'New girl isn't too shabby' [72]). Oh, and don't get me started on the 'almond-shaped Lucy Lui [sic] eyes' (25).
But that's not the weird part. The weird part is this:
Classical music plays. A large bedroom suite is in impeccable condition. The walls are white but decorated with original paintings of ballerinas. In the center of one wall is an original Degas housed in a gold frame. Wood flooring covers one side of the room. A barre is affixed to a mirrored wall. Paige Ling, a beautiful slim mixed Japanese-Caucasian girl of fourteen years stands with one hand on the barre and the other in high fifth. Her right leg extends in second, mere inches from her head. She taps the barre lightly with her left hand to check her balance. (23)
Over and over we see this sort of thing: description that reads not as scene in a novel but as action in a screenplay. The book is written in the third person, present tense, with almost no interior action—it's not that it's all tell and no show, but we almost never see how the characters think and feel. We're seeing everything from a distance, through a camera lens.
Gisela steps up to the center of the next group. She takes off, fiery. She hits every plie and tendu perfectly. She is, however emotionless and obviously uninterested with the combination. (8)
She smirks and then casually removes a hair tie to release her tight bun. Her long, dark locks fall and she looks like a young Selma [sic] Hayek. The man across from her suddenly smiles. She frowns and looks at her cell phone. The time on it reads 3:38. (9)
She begins to vomit. The sound is disgusting and she continues over and over again. Finally, she emerges from the restroom and looks back in the mirror at herself. ... She steps down and walks back into the toilet section. The vomiting continues. (28)
It's just...really odd. I would wonder if it were an intentional choice, but the technique isn't really sufficient to make me think so. A puzzle.
But that's not the weird part. The weird part is this:
Classical music plays. A large bedroom suite is in impeccable condition. The walls are white but decorated with original paintings of ballerinas. In the center of one wall is an original Degas housed in a gold frame. Wood flooring covers one side of the room. A barre is affixed to a mirrored wall. Paige Ling, a beautiful slim mixed Japanese-Caucasian girl of fourteen years stands with one hand on the barre and the other in high fifth. Her right leg extends in second, mere inches from her head. She taps the barre lightly with her left hand to check her balance. (23)
Over and over we see this sort of thing: description that reads not as scene in a novel but as action in a screenplay. The book is written in the third person, present tense, with almost no interior action—it's not that it's all tell and no show, but we almost never see how the characters think and feel. We're seeing everything from a distance, through a camera lens.
Gisela steps up to the center of the next group. She takes off, fiery. She hits every plie and tendu perfectly. She is, however emotionless and obviously uninterested with the combination. (8)
She smirks and then casually removes a hair tie to release her tight bun. Her long, dark locks fall and she looks like a young Selma [sic] Hayek. The man across from her suddenly smiles. She frowns and looks at her cell phone. The time on it reads 3:38. (9)
She begins to vomit. The sound is disgusting and she continues over and over again. Finally, she emerges from the restroom and looks back in the mirror at herself. ... She steps down and walks back into the toilet section. The vomiting continues. (28)
It's just...really odd. I would wonder if it were an intentional choice, but the technique isn't really sufficient to make me think so. A puzzle.
January 25, 2012
Tutu Much is a great read for adults and teen girls alike! Airin Emery did a great job of bringing the characters to life in this book and it reminded me so much of my cousin and the girls that she dances with. When I was in middle school there weren't just a ton of books that were geared towards teenage girls and the struggles they go through so it's refreshing to see an author taking on such a big topic. The book was well written and easy to read and the characters were relatable. I actually am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
June 30, 2012
I like dance books, but this one was clearly aimed at the younger end of the YA spectrum. I felt like it had promise but didn't quite deliver. It might have helped to have fewer characters to follow--I spent a lot of time trying to remember which girl was which as the story jumped around. Anyway, I'm glad I read it, but I doubt I'll follow up with the rest of the Dance Series.
December 31, 2016
Not exactly what I was expecting... Several of the girls think they are fat and one has bulimia. It was a bit depressing in those parts but still a pretty good book. (Keep in mind that I love happy books and hate sadness in books more than almost anything, so I may be "exaggerating" by your standards.)
October 22, 2013
Great read for any dancer - especially the tween demographic. Shows another side to dance and instills a sense of empowerment. I enjoyed all the books in this series.
May 17, 2015
Why do authors think that they have to people YA (dance) books with annoying, bratty, one dimensional nonentities?
August 2, 2015
It's like pony club books for dancing!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews