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Born to Dance: Celebrating the Wonder of Childhood
A New York Times bestseller!
“In Jordan Matter’s photos, dancers make all the world their stage.” — New York Times
From Jordan Matter, YouTube star and New York Times– bestselling author of Dancers Among Us , a celebration of what it means to be young and full of possibility, featuring gorgeous photographs of well-known dancers (including Tate McRae and Sofie Dossi) as well as stars in the making.
Jordan Matter is known to millions for his 10 Minute Photo Challenge YouTube videos. Now, in one dazzling photograph after another, he portrays dancers—ages 2 through 18—in ordinary and extraordinary pursuits, from hanging with friends to taking selfies, from leaping for joy to feeling left out. The subjects include TV and internet stars like Chloé Lukasiak, Kalani Hilliker, Nia Sioux, and Kendall Vertes, as well as boys and girls from around the neighborhood. What they all share is the skill to elevate their hopes and dreams with beauty, humor, grace, and surprise. Paired with empowering words from the dancers themselves, the photographs convey each child’s declaration that they were born to dance.
Bonus Scan the QR code next to dozens of photos and watch behind-the-scenes videos documenting the shoots.
“Breathtaking photos to free your imagination.” —Diane Sawyer, ABC World News
“When you take the natural grace of dancers and put them in unexpected places, you get photos that really tell a story.” — Fox News
“In Jordan Matter’s photos, dancers make all the world their stage.” — New York Times
From Jordan Matter, YouTube star and New York Times– bestselling author of Dancers Among Us , a celebration of what it means to be young and full of possibility, featuring gorgeous photographs of well-known dancers (including Tate McRae and Sofie Dossi) as well as stars in the making.
Jordan Matter is known to millions for his 10 Minute Photo Challenge YouTube videos. Now, in one dazzling photograph after another, he portrays dancers—ages 2 through 18—in ordinary and extraordinary pursuits, from hanging with friends to taking selfies, from leaping for joy to feeling left out. The subjects include TV and internet stars like Chloé Lukasiak, Kalani Hilliker, Nia Sioux, and Kendall Vertes, as well as boys and girls from around the neighborhood. What they all share is the skill to elevate their hopes and dreams with beauty, humor, grace, and surprise. Paired with empowering words from the dancers themselves, the photographs convey each child’s declaration that they were born to dance.
Bonus Scan the QR code next to dozens of photos and watch behind-the-scenes videos documenting the shoots.
“Breathtaking photos to free your imagination.” —Diane Sawyer, ABC World News
“When you take the natural grace of dancers and put them in unexpected places, you get photos that really tell a story.” — Fox News
- GenresPhotographyNonfictionArt
256 pages, Paperback
Published October 16, 2018
43 people are currently reading
289 people want to read
About the author
Jordan Matter
8 books51 followersAmerican photographer who won widespread acclaim for his New York Times bestselling book, Dancers Among Us: A Celebration of Joy in the Everyday. He followed up the book's success with another dancing photography book, Dancers After Dark.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 10, 2018
I was beyond ecstatic to receive this follow-up collection to
Dancers Among Us
by the talented photographer and YouTube star Jordan Matter, featuring gorgeous color photographs of well-known dancers as well as stars-in-the-making, ages 2 through 18.
First and foremost, I have to highlight the theme of the book, centering around "a celebration of what it means to be young and full of possibility and to live life joyfully." It was all captured so beautifully through the many selected titles, including: "play with me," "when I grow up," "oops," "do they like me?" and more.
Born to Dance is all about the visuals so I won't hold off any longer and include my many favorite shots:
... Even the water is in synch with her movement.
How is it that she actually appears to be sinking into the road?
ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication: October 02, 2018
Note: I’m an Amazon Affiliate. If you’re interested in buying Born to Dance, just click on the image below to go through my link. I’ll make a small commission!
Support creators you love. Buy a Coffee for nat (bookspoils) with Ko-fi.com/bookspoils
This review and more can be found on my blog.
First and foremost, I have to highlight the theme of the book, centering around "a celebration of what it means to be young and full of possibility and to live life joyfully." It was all captured so beautifully through the many selected titles, including: "play with me," "when I grow up," "oops," "do they like me?" and more.
Born to Dance is all about the visuals so I won't hold off any longer and include my many favorite shots:
... Even the water is in synch with her movement.
How is it that she actually appears to be sinking into the road?
Maria
Age 14,
New York, NY
Soleil Age 9, Steamboat Springs, CO
Aimee, Celle, Sarah, Kendall, Sydney, Peyton, Sophie, Shelby
Ages 12 to 14, The Woodlands, TX
ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication: October 02, 2018
Note: I’m an Amazon Affiliate. If you’re interested in buying Born to Dance, just click on the image below to go through my link. I’ll make a small commission!
Support creators you love. Buy a Coffee for nat (bookspoils) with Ko-fi.com/bookspoils
This review and more can be found on my blog.
July 18, 2018
“Dance is storytelling and a language; it is a means of expressing emotions, both powerful and beautiful. Dance requires you to build your problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Dance is multicultural. It transcends boundaries; it creates and connects friends”
-Holly Hatcher-Frasier (Foreword)
This book beautifully captures young dancers on and off stage. Everyday life seems inseparable from a dancer’s heart/body connection. Each young person featured here told the photographer that they were born to dance. Dance had chosen them.
With a great eye and a quick finger at the cam, Jordan Matter captures dancers posing / jumping in natural everyday activities like playing at the park, the pool or in arcades, as well as in unconventional dance spaces like restaurants or places of transportation. Not a stone stays unturned in a dancers mind….one can dance while shoveling snow, eating ice-cream, at stores, the beach, in hotel rooms, on Christmas, in school, in museums, at the doctors, or on the job.
There are about 9 chapters dedicated to specific themes highlighting dancer’s emotions or thoughts such as love, dreams, growing up etc. Most all pictures have beautiful captions or poetry to go along, and on some of the pages you can use a QR reader to gain more insight about the photo shoots.
***
This book is absolutely true and gorgeous. If you have known, or are the parent of a wiggling little critter turning pirouettes in all of places, then you might have a dancer on your hand to support. Not everyone is born to dance, but those that are, know it. For them, there is no separation of any kind in the world, just dance. And the images as well as the dedications beautifully illustrate it.
As a former dancer of 30 years, I found a little me reflected in these pages. Capturing the joy, dreams and hopes shared with other dancers, forgetting the hard grueling training hours as they are outweighed by the love and need to express oneself full heartedly, body, mind and soul. Dancers are passionate & disciplined leaving spectators at awe and enthralled. Jordan Matter's photography portrait of young dancers doing naturally what they love complements this beautifully.
I received a digital copy of 'Born to Dance' from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you!
For more of my reviews go here: https://scarlettreadzandrunz.com/
-Holly Hatcher-Frasier (Foreword)
This book beautifully captures young dancers on and off stage. Everyday life seems inseparable from a dancer’s heart/body connection. Each young person featured here told the photographer that they were born to dance. Dance had chosen them.
With a great eye and a quick finger at the cam, Jordan Matter captures dancers posing / jumping in natural everyday activities like playing at the park, the pool or in arcades, as well as in unconventional dance spaces like restaurants or places of transportation. Not a stone stays unturned in a dancers mind….one can dance while shoveling snow, eating ice-cream, at stores, the beach, in hotel rooms, on Christmas, in school, in museums, at the doctors, or on the job.
There are about 9 chapters dedicated to specific themes highlighting dancer’s emotions or thoughts such as love, dreams, growing up etc. Most all pictures have beautiful captions or poetry to go along, and on some of the pages you can use a QR reader to gain more insight about the photo shoots.
***
This book is absolutely true and gorgeous. If you have known, or are the parent of a wiggling little critter turning pirouettes in all of places, then you might have a dancer on your hand to support. Not everyone is born to dance, but those that are, know it. For them, there is no separation of any kind in the world, just dance. And the images as well as the dedications beautifully illustrate it.
As a former dancer of 30 years, I found a little me reflected in these pages. Capturing the joy, dreams and hopes shared with other dancers, forgetting the hard grueling training hours as they are outweighed by the love and need to express oneself full heartedly, body, mind and soul. Dancers are passionate & disciplined leaving spectators at awe and enthralled. Jordan Matter's photography portrait of young dancers doing naturally what they love complements this beautifully.
I received a digital copy of 'Born to Dance' from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you!
For more of my reviews go here: https://scarlettreadzandrunz.com/
February 27, 2019
My daughter adores dance. She has participated in dance classes for years, thankfully at a fun, recreational studio. Gotta love what brings joy! This book has some unique shots and some spectacular talent, often captured mid-air in a stag or straddle jump or in some random contortions. Had I not seen the 10 Minute Photo Challenge on YouTube, I’d likely have been blown away by these pictures, but having seen it many times, this is it in book form. Impressive but not unexpected. 3.5 stars
April 20, 2018
I am completely blown away by this book. The photos in this book are simply breathtaking! I simply loved every single photo. Every time I flipped a page I would fall in love all over again. The dancers are stunning, and its so evident that they are having so much fun while shooting the photographs. This would make the perfect gift for any young dancer. It is so inspiring.
I have received a much appreciated digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I have received a much appreciated digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
December 27, 2018
Another AMAZING book of photography of Jordan Matter. Fun fact is that a lot of these pictures were taken during the 10 Minute Photo Challenge, featured on YouTube.
I also LOVE that he used a lot of pictures of his kids, often with dancers, in this book. The fun and love he shows them through these pictures and sharing his passion with theirs is supercool!
I also LOVE that he used a lot of pictures of his kids, often with dancers, in this book. The fun and love he shows them through these pictures and sharing his passion with theirs is supercool!
May 22, 2019
Some astonishing photos here. And the text is minimal, mostly quotes from the dancers about being bullied or what motivates them to keep dancing.
February 22, 2019
I found this unique book with its excellent stop-action shots of young dancers upbeat, full of spirit, energy, and hope. Children and young people can do much that older people cannot and some of these "dance/acrobat" positions are hard to believe. I have no idea how many takes had to be done to get the precise results pictured here, but it's clear that a lot of work went into the production of this book, and the reader benefits from that effort. A big thanks to the author and photographer.
December 15, 2018
Very cool. Wish more about the dancers themselves though
April 9, 2020
Born to Dance by Jordan Matter is a dance photography book completely dedicated to “celebrating the wonder of childhood,” as it says on the cover. All of the dancers photographed in the book are children, and they are photographed in various locations and situations that each tell a different story. The book is divided into eight sections that are all related to an aspect of childhood, such as “play with me” and “oops.” Jordan Matter begins each section with a personal anecdote related to the section and its importance in childhood and life. Additionally, the book includes quotes from the photographed dancers themselves, as well as others, interspersed throughout the pictures. There are also QR codes on several photos that take you directly to one of Jordan Matter’s YouTube videos, showing how he took the picture. I loved this book so much. I have watched almost all of Jordan Matter’s YouTube videos, and it was amazing to see the photos I have seen him take, as well as the ones I have never seen before all showcased together in one book. I always love watching his 10 Minute Photo Challenge videos and seeing how energetic and passionate he is about what he does. I personally love photography as a hobby, and it is so much fun to watch a photographer in action. It is also incredible to see the immense talent of the dancers he photographs and their ability to tell a story through dance. I would completely recommend this book to anyone who can appreciate the joys of dance and childhood, as well as the beauty of a photograph!
June 8, 2025
Born to Dance by Jordan Matter is a dance photography book completely dedicated to “celebrating the wonder of childhood,” as it says on the cover. All of the dancers photographed in the book are children, and they are photographed in various locations and situations that each tell a different story. The book is divided into eight sections that are all related to an aspect of childhood, such as “play with me” and “oops.” Jordan Matter begins each section with a personal anecdote related to the section and its importance in childhood and life. Additionally, the book includes quotes from the photographed dancers themselves, as well as others, interspersed throughout the pictures. There are also QR codes on several photos that take you directly to one of Jordan Matter’s YouTube videos, showing how he took the picture. I loved this book so much. I have watched almost all of Jordan Matter’s YouTube videos, and it was amazing to see the photos I have seen him take, as well as the ones I have never seen before all showcased together in one book. I always love watching his 10 Minute Photo Challenge videos and seeing how energetic and passionate he is about what he does. I personally love photography as a hobby, and it is so much fun to watch a photographer in action. It is also incredible to see the immense talent of the dancers he photographs and their ability to tell a story through dance. I would completely recommend this book to anyone who can appreciate the joys of dance and childhood, as well as the beauty of a photograph!
December 10, 2023
I bought this for my 8 year old neice who seems to have a natural talent for gymnastics and dance. She started these activities late but caught up and can already do the splits, backbends and many other pretzel shapes, I'm really amazed and proud.
I thought to get her this as a Christmas present to continue inspiring her and I ended up reading it before wrapping it up as a gift.
These are really lovely playful images of kids being allowed to express themselves and have fun, there's also really wise quotes and poetry by some of the kids too which I wasn't expecting and was a bonus to the beautiful images-- adds depth and more personality and will make any young reader who is into dance, gymnastics, yoga, contortion and even photography feel inspired by voices and lives similar to their own.
A really positive and uplifting lovely book!
It's even inspired me-- I always wanted to be a dancer when I was a kid and sadly that was taken away from me, I discovered belly dance when I was 15 and became really good at it, performed all over the UK and abroad and then went on to be a yoga teacher.
Ill health has stunted my practice these past couple of years but this book has rekindled my love of movement and I look forward to getting my practice back but also attend adult ballet, I'd love my own pointe shoes one day!
Thank you to Jordan and all the kids in this book, you are very inspiring!
I thought to get her this as a Christmas present to continue inspiring her and I ended up reading it before wrapping it up as a gift.
These are really lovely playful images of kids being allowed to express themselves and have fun, there's also really wise quotes and poetry by some of the kids too which I wasn't expecting and was a bonus to the beautiful images-- adds depth and more personality and will make any young reader who is into dance, gymnastics, yoga, contortion and even photography feel inspired by voices and lives similar to their own.
A really positive and uplifting lovely book!
It's even inspired me-- I always wanted to be a dancer when I was a kid and sadly that was taken away from me, I discovered belly dance when I was 15 and became really good at it, performed all over the UK and abroad and then went on to be a yoga teacher.
Ill health has stunted my practice these past couple of years but this book has rekindled my love of movement and I look forward to getting my practice back but also attend adult ballet, I'd love my own pointe shoes one day!
Thank you to Jordan and all the kids in this book, you are very inspiring!
August 14, 2018
I really wanted to like this book more, but I just can't.
The images quality are ok, nothing spectacular in my opinion.
The ideas and poses are almost all the same on every page.
I wish there was more diversity on those photos. Different poses, different ideas.
I mean the photos are taken in different settings. And I like this part. But at the end they all look the same. Have the same feeling.
If I saw just few photos with this theme, I would think they are great. But seeing entire book of the same idea kind of pulled me away from the book.
Please don't get me wrong. I love photography and love kids. But it just wasn't book for me.
Maybe you will enjoy it more, so give it a try.
The images quality are ok, nothing spectacular in my opinion.
The ideas and poses are almost all the same on every page.
I wish there was more diversity on those photos. Different poses, different ideas.
I mean the photos are taken in different settings. And I like this part. But at the end they all look the same. Have the same feeling.
If I saw just few photos with this theme, I would think they are great. But seeing entire book of the same idea kind of pulled me away from the book.
Please don't get me wrong. I love photography and love kids. But it just wasn't book for me.
Maybe you will enjoy it more, so give it a try.
February 4, 2019
These photographs represent a lot of hard work on the part of the photographer but there was a heavy-handed element, a sort of forced cheerfulness that put me off. While I enjoyed seeing all the young dancers, it did weird me out to be looking at so many young women's bodies in super-short shorts, twisted into contortions for the sake of the camera. Also, maybe it's the intended audience that dictated this, but I found it disingenuous to assume that nearly all of these children identify as hetero --which wouldn't have come up for me if the author hadn't created so many "adorable young love" scenarios.
April 12, 2019
What a beautiful book of uplifting images sparking joy, love, and bravery. So much more than just a coffee table book, the quotes from kids and anecdotes/musings by the author make this an uplifting and motivational “You can do it” self help book! I’m going to buy this for my studio- so many things my dancers need to read.
January 6, 2019
Young dancers will be inspired and challenged by this celebration of dancers from ages two through 18. Unique and fun photographs fill the pages along with quotes and inspiring stories. An awesome gift for dancers of all ages.
August 13, 2019
Not as good as Dancers Among Us since the kids don’t have as much diversity in their abilities as their adult counterparts, but it’s still a fun book with a quite a few interesting images. And the joy these kids have for dance is apparent on every page.
October 27, 2018
A beautiful collection of photographs!
January 12, 2019
I love this book so much. It is very inspiring and tells kids to never give up.
September 28, 2019
Not really anything to read but the photography is amazing. So many young talented individuals.
March 9, 2020
Absolutely Amazing! Such an inspiration to all!
July 7, 2020
This people are so good at dancing
🕺💃🕴
🕺💃🕴
July 9, 2020
Gg
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2020
Brilliant
November 22, 2020
Gorgeous photography of kids telling their stories through dance. Well done!
December 5, 2020
Jordan Matter is incredibly talented.
June 27, 2021
beautiful photos! my absolute fav book by jordan matter
February 13, 2022
I love Salish Matter because she is so pretty.
January 6, 2025
Luv it favourite youtubers
June 2, 2024
Rating: 3.0★
Very Photogenic
Very Photogenic
April 29, 2020
Very inspirational book. loved it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews