So, You Think You Can Hip-Hop

Studio Dance - Dance Class/Academy #1

by Crip (Illustrator)

Julie, Lucy and Alia are BFF's who share one passion: dance! Between programs in ballet and modern dance, they also slip in classes on many other styles including hip-hop, a class run by the hunk KT, who's got all three competing for his attention. As they prepare for the ballet "Sleeping Beauty," they'd love to see him play Prince Charming. Any girl with a love for dance and taking classes will find this gag-filled series irresistible!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Comics, Middle Grade, Humor, Childrens, Contemporary

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Christine]

There are parts of this book that are great. There is great humor. Nice mix of students.

However, there are two issues. The best dancer is, of course, the pretty blonde. Which wouldn’t be so bad if it was not for the bit about weight. The supposed fat girl in the book, isn’t fat. She really isn’t. And to portray her as piggy (she chooses a role because the character carries cookies) is really insulting because she is not only not fat (how could she be if she dances so much) but also because no one really acts like that. She is also the only one who seems to have a good sleeping habit so why is she coded as lazy makes no sense. And of course, since she is “fat” she is not interested in boys (or any romance) like the other characters are.

Additionally, when dealing with an area where there is a history eating of disorders, having a joke about a character who eats one piece of chocolate cake and then thinks she broke the practice bare is, at best, tone deaf.

[Elizabeth P]

I was concerned about how much weight was a factor in this book. It featured unhealthy mindsets such as Alia vowing "no chocolate cake ever again" after accidentally breaking a barre, or Carla saying "you really pigged out during vacation" to Alia when she had miltiple layers of clothing on because she was cold. Then there is the fact that Lucie's two friends try to prevent her from seeing a bakery shop so that she won't eat there. It seemed cruel to me that all of Lucie's classmates, even her friends, gave her a hard time about eating sweets.
There were other odd things about the book, such as Carla's mom assuming that the girls were drunk when actually they had done multiple pirouettes.
It is unfortunate that this book has so many negative stereotypes about weight. Those messages could be really harmful for girls reading the story. If only the book could have focused more on the amazing, awesome power of dance.

[Ella]

Some more adult references, not connected storyline, and body shaming in this series. If you like this series concept, read the Snow White and the Letting it Go books because those are much better than the first 3.

[Kaitie]

I'm thankful that the other Goodreads reviews pointed out the body shaming in this comic so I didn't have to. It's not as often as it used to be to see a character who's only character trait is to not only revolve around nothing but her weight but to only discuss and think about food. It would be one thing if the joke was that the girls had a restrictive diet to keep being athletic and they wanted to splurge before the rehearsal, but the majority of the jokes revolve around the one girl who isn't even overweight, just has an average body type compared to the cartoonishly thin girls. It's pretty irresponsible given that the audience is young girls, but also dancers who do have to deal with body shaming in real life. It's also obvious that this was written and drawn by two men and one woman, given not only the body type of every female character but how they all have large chests. I also may just be saying this as an American reader, but some of the jokes make me question what age range this is for. Some of the jokes are explained so blatantly that it seems intended for very young children, but then they go to a party and a guy is groping a girl in the background (though maybe this could have been a background gag that they thought would go over the kid's heads). On the positive side, as someone who used to do ballet, a number of the gags were funny. While not every joke landed, the comic has the plotless feel of an Azumanga Daioh or a better full-page newspaper strip. Aside from the body shaming, the art stands out when the characters have pretty decent dancer proportions, and the backgrounds are detailed for a gag strip. But overall the comic itself is pretty average. If a kid or someone else you know is into ballet then they might enjoy this, though "To Dance" by Siena Cherson Siegel is way, way better and lacks the body shaming aspect. I at least wouldn’t mind picking up the next installment.

[Amanda]

I picked this up because I have a 10 year old sis who dances. I read it to see if maybe it was something that she would like. Then I got hypercritical and am not interested in sharing it with her. I have never been in a competitive dance culture, but I know a few stories. I don't know if this book is collecting stereotypes but I think that some of them are harmful.

For example, a new bakery opens up across the street from the studio where the girls spend a lot of time. One girl decides to "indulge" by getting a piece of chocolate cake. The dance bar subsequently breaks at her next rehearsal. She then decides to never eat a piece of chocolate cake after that.

There are three main characters and one of them is chubbier, as in...not rail thin. And the other girls spend a considerable amount of time talking about it, even though the chubbier girl Lucie doesn't seem to care. But really. Too much diet culture reference for teens. Like a ten 12 year old should not be using the language "I will indulge by having a piece of chocolate cake this one time." What kind of life is that? Not healthy right?

Some of the scenes are benign, and some of the scenes are crumbs. There is one scene that features a dance mom. The girls are practicing spins and come rolling out of class very dizzy and drunk looking. The mother confronts her daughter with, "I would expect this from some of your lower class friends, but not you." Yea. I don't really get what they are trying to do here. Sell a book?

[maven calore’s venice b!tch]

my childhood

[Gloria Tulwan]

Impossible à noter 2025 #2 😬

[Kristen]

Kids who like stories centered around stereotypical "mean girl drama" will like this graphic novel. I liked that people of color were represented fairly well; they had some lines and personalities, anyway, and didn't appear to be a "token" presence. However, I disliked the not-so-subtle digs at the "chubby" girl (who, btw, was the only realistically-proportioned member of the group) and the scene where the ballet instructor calls the group "ladies" and "girls" despite the continuous presence of the boy in the class. He said, "Oh, I never notice anymore" but he doesn't deserve to be ignored! Why can't she address the group as "dancers" or "students"? Sigh... but, kids who pick this up probably won't notice any of these things, and will just enjoy the jokes, the dancing, and the mean girl drama.

[Candis]

Oh dear lord this is crap.

[Michelle Halber]

DNF.

Every page had a different focus. I'm sure the stories combine at some point, but I did not read that far. Too disjointed for me.

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind)]

This is a fun series with a diverse cast and lots of fun. I like the different personalities of the girls and even how they show different body types.

[Hania]

Ten komiks jest fajny i przyjemny

[Nicola]

Miss 7 enjoyed it. It's largely one-page vignette's but builds overall to the class' show at the end (Sleeping Beauty). There is some racial diversity but it's a largely white cast. I wish there was more body diversity and they didn't body shame Lucie (which ends up being an ongoing 'joke'). It's probably a fairly accurate representation of the level of dance the teenagers are doing but I wish the messaging was better for a children's book.

Miss 7 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Chuva]

J'avais des espoirs pour cette BD mais elle m'a déçue.
Au début, on croit que le poids de Luce ne va pas être un problème car seule la méchante lui fait une critique et ça énerve ses amies. Malheureusement on découvre très vite que ses amies pensent qu'elle est trop grosse et devrait perdre du poids.
Déjà c'est problématique parce que Luce n'est pas grosse. Quand on regarde les danseuses, elles sont toutes très maigres, elle est la seule a avoir un corps légèrement plus existant mais elle n'est certainement pas grosse.
En plus ça devient toute sa personnalité. Tous ses faits et gestes sont expliqués par le fait qu'elle est grosse et gourmande. C'est décevant.

Dommage parce que les dessins sont beaux.

[Tova Fleischmann]

One of the most sexist and fat-phobic children’s books I’ve read that was published in this century. I loved these as a kid because I thought all the characters were hot, but now that I’m actually reading the content and not just staring at the pictures, I’m pretty disgusted. How a woman could release this book with the intention of shaping young minds in a positive way is beyond me. Extremely shallow storyline. The only reason this passes the bechdel test is because all they talk about other than men is weight. The pretty skinny blonde white girl gets every lead role because she possesses those exact characteristics, while the other, so-called less pretty, less skinny, less white, but ultimately harder working and better balanced girls are stuck playing catch-up. Characters are often found hiding bakeries and sweet treats from their “chubby” friend, and admonish her when she is seen eating during the show. Gross behavior that feels so high school. Young girls should be taught that this behavior is damaging and disrespectful, not applaudable, and definitely not something that will get you further in your career goals. Very disappointing.

[SA]

Well, as a former dance student I can't say it's not accurate (at least to my experience as a teenage ballerina in the late nineties and early aughties) but I don't love the uncritical articulation of some of the terrible principles of the dance world -- criticisms of nontraditional ballet bodies, characterizations that suggest unhealthy relationships with food and eating, casual villainry and sabotaging of other dancers, rigid gender essentialism, etc etc. The cutesy, Lisa Frank-coloured design of the artwork works to obscure these concerns, moreso than the attempts at lightened humor, and suggests, worryingly, an appeal to an audience younger than the themes of the strips.

[Sirah]

A class of dancers is on their way to stardom, but ballet has its good days and bad days. From sneaky catfights to secret crushes and all the worries of looking good, these dancers need real dedication to make it to the stage.

There are definitely some inside jokes, overexplained jokes, and shallow mindsets in this story, but considering its a cartoon satirizing dance school, it has plenty of funny moments and thoughtful takes. I wouldn't say there's much in here that's original or laugh-out-loud funny, but I'll certainly be reading volume 2.

[Kat Ice]

I was working on my summer reading at my library and I came upon this series. I was interested because I love anything to do with dancing so I found the first one and started reading! It was cute to an extent. It was all over the place and didn’t seem to flow very well! I was going to read the series but I don’t know if I can even get through another book.

[Aliha]

On découvre les personnages doucement, donc c’est vraiment cool. On rentre dans l’histoire facilement, et même si les double pages n’ont pas l’air de suivre, le fil conducteur du spectacle de fin d’année est bien respecté !

Les dessins sont vraiment mim’s aussi, évidemment, et ça me fait du bien de retrouver Julie, Alia et Luce ❤️‍🩹

[Kailing]

it's not the best book but it's not bad

[Walsh]

good, thanks

[Harleen]

good book I think four stars

[Luna]

Not sure I dig the frequent weight loss commentary and related teasing\gags.

[Namitha Varma]

Episodic sitcom-style storytelling... interesting. Let's see if it works for the whole series.

[Ambeertje De]

Deze strip is echt een hele leuke strip als je van dansen houdt.

[Charline_rbl]

Retour dans mon enfance avec la BD qui me faisait encore plus aimer la danse 😍

[Estelle Meilhac]

Lu au collège, couleurs et histoires sympa !

[aj]

lots of weird body comments which put me off. I already bought the second book but I don’t think I’ll read past that

[Fromeggtodragon]

A cute and funny series as well as a very quick read.

[Erin Reilly-Sanders]

At first I thought that the art was attractive and that the subject, a dance class would be fun. However, I was soon to be disappointed. Rather than having any flow to the story/stories many of the pages felt like one-liners and the entire volume just a collection of jokes. I was especially bothered by the jokes about weight and the fact that the slightly rounder girl was portrayed as stupid and having weight issues despite looking a lot healthier than the other girls. This may sound strange, but I also thought that the illustrations over emphasized the breasts of the female characters, something that seems to maybe be common in European graphic novels. Overall, just not really my cup of tea- I'll take To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel by Siena Cherson Siegel any day.