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Ballerina
A beautiful and talented ballerina rises through the ranks to stardom as prima ballerina only to find herself struggling to maintain her status, grappling with tempestuous choreographers, ambitious agents, and other dancers
528 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
38 people are currently reading
506 people want to read
About the author
Edward Stewart
38 books16 followersEdward Stewart grew up in New York City and Cuba. His first novel, Orpheus on Top, was published in 1966. He wrote thirteen more novels, including the bestselling Vince Cardozo thrillers Privileged Lives, Jury Double, Mortal Grace, and Deadly Rich. He died in Manhattan at the age of 58.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
April 28, 2024
This was given to me by a friend who knew I was a balletomane and take adult-oriented classes. I did like the peek into the lives of ballet dancers and companies circa 1970's, but overall, it felt too YA for me at my age. This was published in 1978 and seemed to have many of the 1977 film Turning Point plotlines.
The GR blurb about the book says it is about a rising star (prima ballerina no less) trying to stay on top. That is NOT the storyline. Instead, it focuses on two young women trying to make it in the ballet world of NYC. One has an overbearing stage mother that I just wanted to slap at times and tell her to get her own life instead of trying to live vicariously through her daughter (sound familiar?). Steph and Chris become best friends and move in together, trying to support each other through their various insecurities. Eventually they find themselves in the same company corps and pitted against one another for small and big solos. Many times, I also wanted to shake Chris and then got quite the shock about her at the end. Reminded me not to judge another.
The competition, backbiting, gossip, smoking, eating habits & sleeping around among dancers is all there plus a ballet master who wants to have an ironclad rule over the company, and those who support the company through fundraising efforts which can conflict with the ballet director's vision for the company. Makes for an interesting trashy novel set in a world few are a part of.
The GR blurb about the book says it is about a rising star (prima ballerina no less) trying to stay on top. That is NOT the storyline. Instead, it focuses on two young women trying to make it in the ballet world of NYC. One has an overbearing stage mother that I just wanted to slap at times and tell her to get her own life instead of trying to live vicariously through her daughter (sound familiar?). Steph and Chris become best friends and move in together, trying to support each other through their various insecurities. Eventually they find themselves in the same company corps and pitted against one another for small and big solos. Many times, I also wanted to shake Chris and then got quite the shock about her at the end. Reminded me not to judge another.
The competition, backbiting, gossip, smoking, eating habits & sleeping around among dancers is all there plus a ballet master who wants to have an ironclad rule over the company, and those who support the company through fundraising efforts which can conflict with the ballet director's vision for the company. Makes for an interesting trashy novel set in a world few are a part of.
April 19, 2018
I read this when I was in college as a fun, mindless read. While it's trash, it's good enough trash to read twice. The plot sounds and is melodramatic: two dancers--one poor, one rich--are pitted against one another in a ballet company. There's also a mysterious illness and the obligatory stage mothers versus completely uninvolved parents. But the details of what it felt like to be a dancer in 1970s New York City just seem spot on. The smoking, the gossip, the weird eating habits (honey straight from the jar for energy, health food is bran muffins with margarine, steak with frozen green beans or cow's liver), the backbiting, the dangerous neighborhoods where getting mugged is a given, the scrambling for money from wealthy donors...all of this and the book's great atmosphere elevate it above pure trash. The author is a musician and clearly had some inside knowledge, given his depiction of the characters of the two fictionalized ballet companies, one of which is undisciplined and cutting-edge, the other of which is part of the Russian tradition but ruled with the iron fist of an artistic genius and control freak. At least these characters have passion for something, and they're two-dimensional rather than one-dimensional.
June 7, 2024
This is a fictional account of what a ballerina has to put up with to try to make it out of the corps and rise in ranks and trying to make prima ballerina. The wonderful thing is that there is an explanation of terms at the end of the Kindle copy at the end. I own both hard cover and the Kindle book. This makes it easier to understand if you are not a balletomane or haven't taken lessons.
All I know of the ballet is one season of Bunhead and watching the Nutcracker ! But it didn't take much to have this book capture my interest and hold it.
This book has it all: a pushy, conniving mother, a whining, sickly, take her health for granted and love the wrong man, best friend, an overly inflated ego that is actually a Russian defector and a sometimes back stabbing and sometimes back stabbed cast of secondary and tertiary characters and a plot filled with manipulative twists and turns. I love the fact that there are two main story-lines going on at the same time. They will braid together at the end of the book. I love the time period also. It is set in the mid to late '70's.
Merged review:
*Edited to add that this book is now free for those who have Kindle Unlimited and only $1.99 to buy.
https://www.amazon.com/Ballerina-Nove...
If you like ballet fiction, you may very much like this novel. It is a mixture of ballet and romance with a lot of backstabbing, snark, and frustration.
I first read this book when I was much younger, and what I saw during that first read was the romanticism, frustration, and the pity I had for one of the main characters who was ill -Chris. Now I'm older, and what I see is that Chris seems to have mental as well as physical issues, and I'm having a more difficult time judging how I feel about this book. Steph's mother is still a conniving *itch and keeps trying to mold Steph into what Anna thinks she should be/do. No matter how she makes Steph feel along the way.
The ending...well, what can I say? You may find it romantic and wonderful, and I may just be a huge *itch thinking that Steph was crazy!
If you choose to read this book, remember the year it was written (1979) because it is NOT a politically correct or "woke" book, and neither was that decade. So this book is historically accurate in that respect. However, I do happen to like reading about this decade and the defection of so many Russian dancers.
All I know of the ballet is one season of Bunhead and watching the Nutcracker ! But it didn't take much to have this book capture my interest and hold it.
This book has it all: a pushy, conniving mother, a whining, sickly, take her health for granted and love the wrong man, best friend, an overly inflated ego that is actually a Russian defector and a sometimes back stabbing and sometimes back stabbed cast of secondary and tertiary characters and a plot filled with manipulative twists and turns. I love the fact that there are two main story-lines going on at the same time. They will braid together at the end of the book. I love the time period also. It is set in the mid to late '70's.
Merged review:
*Edited to add that this book is now free for those who have Kindle Unlimited and only $1.99 to buy.
https://www.amazon.com/Ballerina-Nove...
If you like ballet fiction, you may very much like this novel. It is a mixture of ballet and romance with a lot of backstabbing, snark, and frustration.
I first read this book when I was much younger, and what I saw during that first read was the romanticism, frustration, and the pity I had for one of the main characters who was ill -Chris. Now I'm older, and what I see is that Chris seems to have mental as well as physical issues, and I'm having a more difficult time judging how I feel about this book. Steph's mother is still a conniving *itch and keeps trying to mold Steph into what Anna thinks she should be/do. No matter how she makes Steph feel along the way.
The ending...well, what can I say? You may find it romantic and wonderful, and I may just be a huge *itch thinking that Steph was crazy!
If you choose to read this book, remember the year it was written (1979) because it is NOT a politically correct or "woke" book, and neither was that decade. So this book is historically accurate in that respect. However, I do happen to like reading about this decade and the defection of so many Russian dancers.
Read
December 27, 2015Ballerina undoubtedly paints the brutal beauty of ballet on stage as well as behind the curtain. A realistic glimpse into the demanding world of this stunning athletic artistry.
Stewart’s writing dances off the pages. You not only have a sense of the visual but you move with the words as if you were in front of the barre. Well researched and the inclusion of dance language terminology, and references is appreciated certainly adding to the reading experience.
The narrative is dramatic exploring the athleticism, the physical, mental and emotional demands ballet requires. Political and power struggles along with clashes, competition, the overall stealth dark side unknown to outsiders of such graceful dance brought to the forefront on stage for the reader to be thoroughly entertained. Coming of age personally and professionally as we journey with the differing female protagonists. Sacrifices, challenges, choices, highs and lows expertly drafted.
Stephanie and Chris contrasting young women bridged together by the love of ballet. They misstep on stage and off stage, as they navigate their way through professional and personal demands. The supporting cast just as vital making the story a page turner, keeping the peruser part of the dance corps. We are privy to two young women growing in a world full of intricate steps, coming into their own en pointe.
A dramatic tale of the ballet world and its machinations, backstage as much a performance as front and center. Great story especially if one is fond of ballet, balletomanes will find this novel highly appealing.
http://ravenhairedgirl.com
Stewart’s writing dances off the pages. You not only have a sense of the visual but you move with the words as if you were in front of the barre. Well researched and the inclusion of dance language terminology, and references is appreciated certainly adding to the reading experience.
The narrative is dramatic exploring the athleticism, the physical, mental and emotional demands ballet requires. Political and power struggles along with clashes, competition, the overall stealth dark side unknown to outsiders of such graceful dance brought to the forefront on stage for the reader to be thoroughly entertained. Coming of age personally and professionally as we journey with the differing female protagonists. Sacrifices, challenges, choices, highs and lows expertly drafted.
Stephanie and Chris contrasting young women bridged together by the love of ballet. They misstep on stage and off stage, as they navigate their way through professional and personal demands. The supporting cast just as vital making the story a page turner, keeping the peruser part of the dance corps. We are privy to two young women growing in a world full of intricate steps, coming into their own en pointe.
A dramatic tale of the ballet world and its machinations, backstage as much a performance as front and center. Great story especially if one is fond of ballet, balletomanes will find this novel highly appealing.
http://ravenhairedgirl.com
April 18, 2016
RISK OF SPOILERS AHEAD
----
I picked up this book thinking it was fluff. How wrong I was. It's a book not on ballet, but of the lives of ballerinas. As an outsider, I never thought life could get so complicated for them. Now, I thank heavens I was never a professional dancer. Office politics is child's play compared to the connivance behind those curtains.
It's twisted, without being too much. Throughout the book, you can never develop a bias for one particular character, not even for Stephanie Lang, because Stewart vows to show you the human behind the dancer. How a mother lives through her daughter. How a director becomes god. How a girl dies in desperation and immaturity. How a man is destroyed in one night. The flaws are what makes each of them not lovable, no, but at the very least, believable. It makes you emphatic to their own plights. It drowns you in a wave of what ifs, of betrayal, of innocent trust.
----
I picked up this book thinking it was fluff. How wrong I was. It's a book not on ballet, but of the lives of ballerinas. As an outsider, I never thought life could get so complicated for them. Now, I thank heavens I was never a professional dancer. Office politics is child's play compared to the connivance behind those curtains.
It's twisted, without being too much. Throughout the book, you can never develop a bias for one particular character, not even for Stephanie Lang, because Stewart vows to show you the human behind the dancer. How a mother lives through her daughter. How a director becomes god. How a girl dies in desperation and immaturity. How a man is destroyed in one night. The flaws are what makes each of them not lovable, no, but at the very least, believable. It makes you emphatic to their own plights. It drowns you in a wave of what ifs, of betrayal, of innocent trust.
May 10, 2014
My first thought after reading the description of Ballerina by Edward Stewart is that it was a modern version of The Turning Point with Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine. I was wrong.
The story is about Stephanie Lang and Christine Avery, aspiring ballerinas in New York City in the 1970s, which is the time that The Turning Point was filmed, and also mentioned in the last half of the book. Where Bancroft and MacLaine faced off after about 20 years of guarded friendship and rivalry, Steph and Chris are beginning their journey through the ranks of young girls struggling to learn from the best and brightest, gaining positions in New York ballet companies, and braving the rough waters of career, dance, and men, and not always successfully.
Chris is the daughter of a very wealthy family from Chicago. Her parents are resigned to allowing Chris to pursue ballet and have agreed to Steph's mother's compromise of letting Chris live with them while training and working. Chris's parents never show up for any of the big moments in Chris's life: premieres, opening nights, etc. and she remains in many ways a scared and immature child even to the point of being horribly backward.
Steph is the product of genetics (both parents were ballet dancers in the 1950s) and her mother's failed ballet career. Anna Barlow Lang was going somewhere until Marius Volmar fired her and her husband. Neither could get a break after that and Anna poured all of her time and attention into Steph's career, starting at the age of 3 or 4. Anna pushes and manipulates Steph so Steph can have the career Anna always wanted and works to recreate her past in her daughter, regardless of what Steph wants.
There are men in the mix as well, from Marius Volmar, the director of National Ballet Theater, to the young men who want to be part of Steph and Chris's lives and either fail to understand what it means to be a dancer or get caught up mixing the business, pleasure, and passion of ballet. It is a heady -- and often destructive -- life fraught with friendship walking the tightrope of dance and emotion. Add in blackmail and a defector from the Kirov in Communist Russia and you have the quintessential late 20th century ballet novel.
Michael Stewart first published Ballerina in 1978, which is why the novel seemed to be more a product of the 1970s instead of merely depicting the times. The novel is full of ballet references in French, of course, and is not a quick read. One must pay attention and be familiar with the terminology, or willing to stop and look all the words up. What Stewart does very well is portray the world behind the scenes in all its glorious shades of light and dark, and there is a lot of dark to go around.
Stewart's characters may be true to life for the times, but I doubt that little has changed in ballet. Chris and Steph exist on coffee, cigarettes, bee pollen, and honey for that quick burst of energy. Anna Barlow Lang is as determined and manipulative a ballet mother as one could hope for (or fear) and Marius Volmar is intent on one thing -- his vision of ballet as art -- and just as manipulative and vicious as Anna.
Steph and Chris are supportive and kind, but Chris's constant fears of inadequacy wear dangerously thin and tend toward whining while Steph, although at times anxious and struggling, is more assertive and willing to let go and fly as she struggles to break free of her mother's machinations.
Predictably, there are gay chorus boys carping and venomous in their relationship with soloists who attempt to play both sides of the sexual game and excess and eccentricities to satisfy ballet lovers and voyeurs. Ballerina has something for everyone in its sometimes glacial pace and the ending is pure fairy tale with a surprising maturity and grace. Ballerina is still as relevant in the 21st century as it was in the 1970s and often just as much fun -- and sad and complex and perplexing and -- ballet. I'd give this 4/5 for holding up so well over the decades.
February 21, 2014
In the mood for a juicy read about friendship, love and ambition set in the competitive world of ballet? Ballerina by Edward Stewart gives you that and more.
Steph and Chris are best friends navigating the ups and downs of the ballet world as they struggle to rise in the ranks. Steph is stable and focused; the daughter of a former dancer who as a “dance mom” is pushy, controlling and manipulative. Chris is fragile, hurt by absentee parents who have no understanding, or apparent interest, in her life as a dancer.
There’s an interesting cast of characters in Ballerina including a Svengali-like company director, an earnest young law student who pursues one of the girls while feeling shut out of the world she inhabits, a Russian defector/womanizer, and a cast of dancers who are equal parts friend, supporter and competitor.
Stewart either had intimate knowledge of the ballet world or did extensive research. The novel is peppered with ballet history and ballet royalty but is not overdone. Ballet terminology and descriptions of routines are in abundance, though, so those less interested in the mechanics of dance may be a bit overwhelmed. To that end, there is a glossary of terminology for those who want to familiarize themselves with the more common phrases and positions.
Originally released in 1979, Ballerina, along with the rest of Stewart’s catalog, is now being released in e-book format. While there are occasional references that seem dated (a record on the phonograph, anyone?) it doesn’t detract from overall story.
Balletomane or not, there’s plenty to enjoy in this novel from Edward Stewart.
Steph and Chris are best friends navigating the ups and downs of the ballet world as they struggle to rise in the ranks. Steph is stable and focused; the daughter of a former dancer who as a “dance mom” is pushy, controlling and manipulative. Chris is fragile, hurt by absentee parents who have no understanding, or apparent interest, in her life as a dancer.
There’s an interesting cast of characters in Ballerina including a Svengali-like company director, an earnest young law student who pursues one of the girls while feeling shut out of the world she inhabits, a Russian defector/womanizer, and a cast of dancers who are equal parts friend, supporter and competitor.
Stewart either had intimate knowledge of the ballet world or did extensive research. The novel is peppered with ballet history and ballet royalty but is not overdone. Ballet terminology and descriptions of routines are in abundance, though, so those less interested in the mechanics of dance may be a bit overwhelmed. To that end, there is a glossary of terminology for those who want to familiarize themselves with the more common phrases and positions.
Originally released in 1979, Ballerina, along with the rest of Stewart’s catalog, is now being released in e-book format. While there are occasional references that seem dated (a record on the phonograph, anyone?) it doesn’t detract from overall story.
Balletomane or not, there’s plenty to enjoy in this novel from Edward Stewart.
March 7, 2014
ARC for review.
What a fun palate-cleanser of a book after a disappointing last read. Originally published in 1978 (but really not dated other than prices) Ballerina is the fictional story of two young girls in the ballet corps of two companies in NYC and it's lots of frothy goodness - all the competition, jealousy and pushy stage moms you would expect, but also a fair amount of loyal friendship. Professional dance is like modeling in that they are the only two industries I can think of where women are paramount and the men are nothing more than lower-paid accessories, so I love that. However, in the lives of Steph and Chris men are still so very important and ultimately one becomes the breaking point between the women and even though you might roll your eyes at some of the actions you'll also remember what it's like to be young, in love/lust and stupid.
It's all the enjoyment you would expect plus the added bonus that, hey, there are lots of French phrases and ballet so it's ART mixed with the soap-opera-ish elements so you can feel totally noble (or at least not completely guilty) about reading it. If that's your thing. I'm happy to be proud about my trash. Recommended for your next trip to the beach or long airplane ride.
What a fun palate-cleanser of a book after a disappointing last read. Originally published in 1978 (but really not dated other than prices) Ballerina is the fictional story of two young girls in the ballet corps of two companies in NYC and it's lots of frothy goodness - all the competition, jealousy and pushy stage moms you would expect, but also a fair amount of loyal friendship. Professional dance is like modeling in that they are the only two industries I can think of where women are paramount and the men are nothing more than lower-paid accessories, so I love that. However, in the lives of Steph and Chris men are still so very important and ultimately one becomes the breaking point between the women and even though you might roll your eyes at some of the actions you'll also remember what it's like to be young, in love/lust and stupid.
It's all the enjoyment you would expect plus the added bonus that, hey, there are lots of French phrases and ballet so it's ART mixed with the soap-opera-ish elements so you can feel totally noble (or at least not completely guilty) about reading it. If that's your thing. I'm happy to be proud about my trash. Recommended for your next trip to the beach or long airplane ride.
November 15, 2014
I read "Ballerina" in the early 1980s, and over the years I've thought of it from time to time, remembering the characters and some of the storylines. If a book sticks in my mind for that amount of time then I know it was a good one.
Since I lost that long-ago paperback, I was thrilled to see this book back in circulation again. I enjoyed it now just as much as I did when I first read it. Even though the book is set in the late 1970s, it holds up very well and is a great bit of nostalgia. (A can of Diet Pepsi for 35-cents, anyone?) The writing is pure 1970s, too, with a few instances of head-hopping (not enough to be totally annoying), and there was only one character in whose POV the author really went deep. Anna Boborovsky Barlow Lang's personality, abrasive as it is, came through vividly and was, in my opinion, one of the best parts of the book. I don't particularly like Anna, but I couldn't stop reading about her!
I'm glad to now have this book on my Kindle where I can read it again whenever the mood strikes. And re-read it I will.
Since I lost that long-ago paperback, I was thrilled to see this book back in circulation again. I enjoyed it now just as much as I did when I first read it. Even though the book is set in the late 1970s, it holds up very well and is a great bit of nostalgia. (A can of Diet Pepsi for 35-cents, anyone?) The writing is pure 1970s, too, with a few instances of head-hopping (not enough to be totally annoying), and there was only one character in whose POV the author really went deep. Anna Boborovsky Barlow Lang's personality, abrasive as it is, came through vividly and was, in my opinion, one of the best parts of the book. I don't particularly like Anna, but I couldn't stop reading about her!
I'm glad to now have this book on my Kindle where I can read it again whenever the mood strikes. And re-read it I will.
August 26, 2016
In reading this book, I couldn't help but think of Tchaikovsky's music and the ballets that feature it. While the prose sometimes descends into melodrama, it also rises to the sublime. The story centers around two young would-be ballerinas, Stephanie Lang and Christine Avery, who meet at ballet school auditions and become fast friends. The expected dramatis personae eventually presents itself - a conniving ballet mom (Anna Lang), the implacable company director (Marius Volmar) and socialite with more money than taste or talent (Dorcas Amidon). While the novel was written long before Black Swan, there is a certain undercurrent of that sort of manipulation through the book. Still, it's an interesting look into the world of ballet, particularly through the eyes of one of the supporting characters, who knows little about the world of dance, but who is in love with one of the girls and wants to appreciate or at least understand her world. A fine, entertaining read indeed.
October 29, 2013
This was one of my favourite books when I was in my 20's. I found a copy at a used book sale and nostalgia made me buy it. I have to say that I enjoyed this book just as much now as I did back then. If you are a dancer or just love ballet I think you will enjoy this book. I love that it gives you an inside look at the cutthroat world of the ballet. Just as it did back then....it made me cry at the end.
August 25, 2008
A typical schlocky 70s novel about two teenaged girls trying out for scholarships at a top-tier ballet school. They become best friends, and move on up through school and into jobs in ballet companies. For schlock, this was pretty good - not as predictable as might be expected. I enjoyed this quite a bit.
June 12, 2019
I read this book long ago, and loved it. I am now moving, sorting through books, and delighted to have found my original now- yellowing pages- copy, and I put it on my list as my first read when I am in my new apartment.
August 10, 2023
I read this when I was a teenager and ballet was a large part of my life. But I never had the real passion, drive, or even talent required for it. This melodramatic novel exposes the competitive nature of the ballet world (or at least how it used to be in the 1970s). I understand it has improved as far as nutrition and health but I don't know about its cut-throat rivalries. This was Stewart's only ballet novel and it seems over the top today as well as overlong. But it was a nice trip down memory lane and other balletomanes might enjoy.
September 1, 2012
I discovered this book over twenty years ago in the public library. I was in 7th or 8th grade and I had a voracious appetite for reading and had already read through several Stephen Kings, all of the available Christopher Pikes, most of the R.L. Stines... well, you can see the type of book I was reading back then. But I was looking for something different.. something I could really get lost in. I found this hard-cover, largely nondescript book somewhere on one of the back walls. I was with my best friend who was newly obsessed with the Clan of the Cave Bear series, which I couldn't get into. I started reading this and never looked back. I often think of it as the first non-horror book I really enjoyed.
Fast forward about 18 years and I'm feeling particularly nostalgic. I am certain that somewhere in the back of my head the title of "that one book that was SO good" was Ballerina. I start in on Google, amazon, goodreads, biblio, etc. I really searched. I could not find it. Until I thought... you know, maybe it IS that out-of-print one by Edward Stewart. I ordered two copies - just in case.
How pleased I was when it not only WAS that book, but that upon reading it again as a lawyer in her early thirties, I discovered that it was JUST AS GOOD. Such a well done novel that simultaneously makes the ballerina world look enrapturing, exciting, and devastating. It delves into the pain, the politics, the pressure. And it also brings the reader with it into the highs, the accomplishments, the glory.
I am so happy that others agree. I highly recommend this book.
Fast forward about 18 years and I'm feeling particularly nostalgic. I am certain that somewhere in the back of my head the title of "that one book that was SO good" was Ballerina. I start in on Google, amazon, goodreads, biblio, etc. I really searched. I could not find it. Until I thought... you know, maybe it IS that out-of-print one by Edward Stewart. I ordered two copies - just in case.
How pleased I was when it not only WAS that book, but that upon reading it again as a lawyer in her early thirties, I discovered that it was JUST AS GOOD. Such a well done novel that simultaneously makes the ballerina world look enrapturing, exciting, and devastating. It delves into the pain, the politics, the pressure. And it also brings the reader with it into the highs, the accomplishments, the glory.
I am so happy that others agree. I highly recommend this book.
July 17, 2016
I read this book years ago and re-read it many times over the years. It may not be perfect writing but it remains one of my favorite books. And yes, I did want to be a ballerina but sadly lacked the talent :( .
March 10, 2016
Read this old favorite during a sick day.
December 15, 2025
enjoyable read if a little cliched
June 16, 2024
This book is basically "The Red Shoes" meets "A Chorus Line" or the love-child of Jackie Collins and Harold Robbins, a behind-the-scenes expose of ballet life: ambition, manipulation, back-stabbing, love affairs and friendships gone sour ... and it's really good. I was astonished to realise on reading the back cover that it was actually written by a man, and a man who was apparently not involved himself in the ballet world; most of the story is told from the view of two young ballerinas training and eventually aspiring to their first big roles, and the viewpoint is completely convincing. (And no, it is NOT a 'young adult' novel and very definitely not aimed at teenagers, any more than Lorna Doone was - not every coming-of-age story is written for a juvenile readership!)
It doesn't really pander to the readers at all so far as ballet terminology goes; you're expected to know what all the technical terminology means, just as the protagonists do. The book isn't there to teach young readers about the wonderful world of ballet or to impress with the author's level of research but to tell a human story, and it does that with successfully compelling force. I think where it really scores, at least for me, is the three-dimensional even-handedness with which it handles the characters - the novel opens in Steph's point of view and she is probably the nearest thing we have to a main protagonist, but we get a moment of revelation where pretty much everyone is concerned in which we see the world through their eyes and understand that they are doing what seems to them the right thing where their own values are concerned.
For the older generation, there are still memories of the Nazis and the Second World War - for the very oldest, the Russian Revolution still echoes, and the lost age of Imperial ballet. Marius Volmar is a 'sacred monster' along the lines of Boris Lermontov (and very probably based on the same real-life model) who deliberately manipulates both Steph and Chris for his own ends, but he does it not because he is a sadist but in a quest to restore a long-lost Tchaikovsky ballet scene which for him is the Holy Grail, a device that in fact forms the framing structure for the entire plot. Anna is the classic stage mother against whom Steph rebels, but she too has her tragic backstory and her vulnerabilities (which lead her ). We are repeatedly wrong-footed over our assumptions about characters through the authorial device of presenting them first through the lens of one protagonist's assumptions and then developing them.
A classic case is that of the Russian dancer Sasha Bunin, who we meet first through the resentful eyes of Volmar, who has been blackmailed into taking him on and regards him as an ambitious mediocrity who is defecting to the West because he isn't good enough to make it as a principal lead against the competition at the Kirov Ballet, and then see through the eyes of his fellow dancers alternately as a little-boy-lost, a 'bad boy' cutting a sexual swathe through Manhattan society, a serial seducer telling the same sob story (which may yet still be true?) to all the girls in the company, and a lonely expatriate who needs a friend. He is selfish and immature, but he *is* vulnerable (the scene where Steph catches him weeping in the wings isn't staged, because he never even knows she saw him), and Volmar, on whose professional judgement we subconsciously rate Sasha's ability on stage, is ultimately forced to admit to himself that he has been influenced by his own initial bias. The boy isn't just a media sensation or a flashy lead: he *is* talented, he is a good partner for his female co-stars, and he truly cares about ballet. Conceited little bastard, Volmar thought. Conceited and reliable. Like me. And when I am gone, which may be in a day or a month or a year, he will inherit the company. And he will run it well.
Sasha is not the villain, and neither is Volmar. No one is the villain here, not even tiny bit-part characters like Chris's parents who don't want her to dance, or the bitchy chorus boy Ellis (both of whom we perceive in a new light with an unexpected twist of pity at the end). That's one of the things I like a lot about this book. It has no pretensions to high art, but it's written with talent and sympathy for its characters and its subject, and it's a vivid evocation of its setting. Despite its length, it's a compelling read. And it carries genuine emotional weight on a level beyond the simplistic.
It's a 1970s blockbuster doorstep of a novel, but it's a quite unexpectedly good one.
'Dorcas, you are a mediocrity. '
'If that's meant as an insult, try again.'
'You are a pretentious, self-serving, self-deceiving second-rater.'
She leaned over the desk, teeth bared. 'Wrong, wrong, wrong, right. I have no pretensions when it comes to dance. I am serving this company, not my ego. I do not fool myself. I know I'm a second-rater, the same as half the people in this world, which is why I'm able to speak their language.'
It doesn't really pander to the readers at all so far as ballet terminology goes; you're expected to know what all the technical terminology means, just as the protagonists do. The book isn't there to teach young readers about the wonderful world of ballet or to impress with the author's level of research but to tell a human story, and it does that with successfully compelling force. I think where it really scores, at least for me, is the three-dimensional even-handedness with which it handles the characters - the novel opens in Steph's point of view and she is probably the nearest thing we have to a main protagonist, but we get a moment of revelation where pretty much everyone is concerned in which we see the world through their eyes and understand that they are doing what seems to them the right thing where their own values are concerned.
For the older generation, there are still memories of the Nazis and the Second World War - for the very oldest, the Russian Revolution still echoes, and the lost age of Imperial ballet. Marius Volmar is a 'sacred monster' along the lines of Boris Lermontov (and very probably based on the same real-life model) who deliberately manipulates both Steph and Chris for his own ends, but he does it not because he is a sadist but in a quest to restore a long-lost Tchaikovsky ballet scene which for him is the Holy Grail, a device that in fact forms the framing structure for the entire plot. Anna is the classic stage mother against whom Steph rebels, but she too has her tragic backstory and her vulnerabilities (which lead her ). We are repeatedly wrong-footed over our assumptions about characters through the authorial device of presenting them first through the lens of one protagonist's assumptions and then developing them.
A classic case is that of the Russian dancer Sasha Bunin, who we meet first through the resentful eyes of Volmar, who has been blackmailed into taking him on and regards him as an ambitious mediocrity who is defecting to the West because he isn't good enough to make it as a principal lead against the competition at the Kirov Ballet, and then see through the eyes of his fellow dancers alternately as a little-boy-lost, a 'bad boy' cutting a sexual swathe through Manhattan society, a serial seducer telling the same sob story (which may yet still be true?) to all the girls in the company, and a lonely expatriate who needs a friend. He is selfish and immature, but he *is* vulnerable (the scene where Steph catches him weeping in the wings isn't staged, because he never even knows she saw him), and Volmar, on whose professional judgement we subconsciously rate Sasha's ability on stage, is ultimately forced to admit to himself that he has been influenced by his own initial bias. The boy isn't just a media sensation or a flashy lead: he *is* talented, he is a good partner for his female co-stars, and he truly cares about ballet. Conceited little bastard, Volmar thought. Conceited and reliable. Like me. And when I am gone, which may be in a day or a month or a year, he will inherit the company. And he will run it well.
Sasha is not the villain, and neither is Volmar. No one is the villain here, not even tiny bit-part characters like Chris's parents who don't want her to dance, or the bitchy chorus boy Ellis (both of whom we perceive in a new light with an unexpected twist of pity at the end). That's one of the things I like a lot about this book. It has no pretensions to high art, but it's written with talent and sympathy for its characters and its subject, and it's a vivid evocation of its setting. Despite its length, it's a compelling read. And it carries genuine emotional weight on a level beyond the simplistic.
It's a 1970s blockbuster doorstep of a novel, but it's a quite unexpectedly good one.
'Dorcas, you are a mediocrity. '
'If that's meant as an insult, try again.'
'You are a pretentious, self-serving, self-deceiving second-rater.'
She leaned over the desk, teeth bared. 'Wrong, wrong, wrong, right. I have no pretensions when it comes to dance. I am serving this company, not my ego. I do not fool myself. I know I'm a second-rater, the same as half the people in this world, which is why I'm able to speak their language.'
June 29, 2020
3.5 entertaining melodramatic stars...with a rushed ending that kinda falls apart.
Interesting characters and the way their ambitions, and choices effect one another- really drive this story. Some characters infuriate you (Stephanie`s mother Anna and her whiney roommate Christine) others you come to respect and enjoy a little more as the story continues- and somehow it really pulls you in. The personalities and relationships are well fleshed out, and some times you'll want to throw this across the room as you get caught up in their drama. To be clear I hated the ending, but everything up until that point I really enjoyed. It was sort of a little bit of everything- disorders, manipulative scheming, relationships, breakups, friendships, enemies, sickness, stage moms, creepers, poor little rich girls, and even a shockingly violent/sad attack that'll turn your stomach.
I'd recommend this to anyone who is looking for something that kind of reminds them of of a dramatic movie of the week on network tv from back in the 90's.
Just don't roll your eyes too hard the last 10%.
Interesting characters and the way their ambitions, and choices effect one another- really drive this story. Some characters infuriate you (Stephanie`s mother Anna and her whiney roommate Christine) others you come to respect and enjoy a little more as the story continues- and somehow it really pulls you in. The personalities and relationships are well fleshed out, and some times you'll want to throw this across the room as you get caught up in their drama. To be clear I hated the ending, but everything up until that point I really enjoyed. It was sort of a little bit of everything- disorders, manipulative scheming, relationships, breakups, friendships, enemies, sickness, stage moms, creepers, poor little rich girls, and even a shockingly violent/sad attack that'll turn your stomach.
I'd recommend this to anyone who is looking for something that kind of reminds them of of a dramatic movie of the week on network tv from back in the 90's.
Just don't roll your eyes too hard the last 10%.
February 18, 2022
Leí este libro por primera vez hace más de diez años y ahora que lo releí no me gustó para nada. Siento que todo es cliché, tanto la historia, las protagonistas como el desarrollo de la trama en el mundo del ballet.
En autor intenta plasmar lo que se vive en este mundo de ballet de la manera más dramática y llena de traiciones y demás. Seguramente hay mucho de eso, pero la historia no logra transmitir nada más por esos detalles. Las protagonistas se ven como meras espectadoras de su vida y es muy al final en el que buscan reflejar una chispa de vida.
Lo bueno es que es un libro muy fácil de leer, a pesar de ser un libro largo.
"Fue como si ella hubiera abierto una ventana y le hubiera permitido ver el mecanismo de su pensamiento. Era un joven práctico y no tenía tiempo ni talento para el arte. Pero sentía la intuición de todo lo mágico y milagroso que hay en toda la música y la danza y la poesía de la que carecía su vida"
En autor intenta plasmar lo que se vive en este mundo de ballet de la manera más dramática y llena de traiciones y demás. Seguramente hay mucho de eso, pero la historia no logra transmitir nada más por esos detalles. Las protagonistas se ven como meras espectadoras de su vida y es muy al final en el que buscan reflejar una chispa de vida.
Lo bueno es que es un libro muy fácil de leer, a pesar de ser un libro largo.
"Fue como si ella hubiera abierto una ventana y le hubiera permitido ver el mecanismo de su pensamiento. Era un joven práctico y no tenía tiempo ni talento para el arte. Pero sentía la intuición de todo lo mágico y milagroso que hay en toda la música y la danza y la poesía de la que carecía su vida"
September 30, 2022
Un meraviglioso romanzo che racconta il mondo della danza a 360º, con una narrazione avvincente e scorrevole. Conosciamo le due protagoniste, Stephanie e Christine, durante l'esame di ammissione per il New York Ballet Academy e le accompagneremo per tutta la loro carriera di ballerine , fino ad un epilogo dolceamaro e sorprendente. Consigliatissimo a tutti gli amanti della danza .
August 27, 2018
I read this book years ago as a teenager and loved it, now as an adult I still really like the book. It is an easy read, not too complicated of characters. I am not sure how much of the ballet world is true, but I did enjoy rereading it.
June 5, 2020
Unbelievable from start to finish
I finished this book because I love ballet, but I know too much about the real world of ballet to believe in any of the wooden characters described here. And what a schmaltzy ending!
I finished this book because I love ballet, but I know too much about the real world of ballet to believe in any of the wooden characters described here. And what a schmaltzy ending!
Read
March 19, 2021This is one of the books I like to reread every decade since my teenager years. I always find the characters so realistic, the description of the ballet universe so interesting, the dilemmas so human. I really recommend it. It never lets me down.
January 18, 2022
Oh man, I have mixed feelings. I bumped it down a star mostly because of the end. I can understand why Steph did that, but I’m mad at her for doing it.
I really enjoyed the rest of the book. I love ballet, and it was addicting to read. I’d say a 4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed the rest of the book. I love ballet, and it was addicting to read. I’d say a 4.5 stars.
September 1, 2023
lol not a good book, but some fun ballet drama. Also like any sport, ballet has gotten better over time and now you have young dancers doing 8 pirouettes on point, but the way they talked about the dancer's in this book was like were wobbling around.
January 3, 2019
read this sometime during the 80s and there isn't much that was remarkable about it. just remembered the book today because i was reading about skaters, ballerinas, and eating disorders.
February 25, 2019
What can I say? It was like a long soap opera that I never wanted to end!
May 15, 2021
Questo è un libro meraviglioso, una storia che ti cattura e non ti abbandona mai più, che ti catapulta nel mondo del balletto senza se e senza ma.
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