Amelia loves ballet more than anything, but the sudden arrival of an intense new teacher shifts the Academy focus from classical to contemporary dance. Amelia is out of her depth with the edgy choreography and unsettled by its world-ending theme, especially when a shock diagnosis really might bring her life crashing down.Valentina is completely at home with the new style but has troubles off the dance floor. As she desperately strives to secure a scholarship and save her dance career, money problems and an unexpected romance have her in a complete spin.With so much at breaking point, the girls will need to decide what really matters before everything falls apart.

A reckoning with one of our most beloved art forms, whose past and present are shaped by gender, racial, and class inequities—and a look inside the fight for its future Every day, in dance studios all across America, legions of little children line up at the barre to take ballet class. This time in the studio shapes their lives, instilling lessons about gender, power, bodies, and their place in the world both in and outside of dance. In Turning Pointe, journalist Chloe Angyal captures the intense love for ballet that so many dancers feel, while also grappling with its devastating shortcomings: the power imbalance of an art form performed mostly by women, but dominated by men; the impossible standards of beauty and thinness; and the racism that keeps so many people of color out of ballet. As the rigid traditions of ballet grow increasingly out of step with the modern world, a new generation of dancers is confronting these issues head on, in the studio and on stage. For ballet to survive the twenty-first century and forge a path into a more socially just future, this reckoning is essential.

This unique book gives you the extra help you need to get strong enough for pointe work. It includes lots of exercises, divided into four simple stages to work on; the flexibility of your feet and ankles, the strength of your little foot muscles, your turnout and your core control. It also guides you through tests for each stage so that you can work out where you problem areas are! This book is essential for any student preparing for, or already on pointe, and any teacher wanting to learn more about safely preparing students for the most beautiful of dance forms!Stage 1 - Fabulous FlexibilityThe first stage includes tests and exercises to make sure that your feet into the best possible position for pointe work. Some people will find this stage easy, others will find it much harder. No matter where you start, the easy exercises and stretches in this section will help you get a great looking pointe. Stage 2 - Marvelous MusclesHere you learn about all the different muscles in your feet, and why it is important to get the right ones strong! Mastering the fine control of your toes helps prevent blisters on the toes, as well as overuse problems in the shins. This stage will transform how you work with your feet forever. Stage 3 - Terrific TurnoutGetting onto pointe is not all about your feet. Find out how to find your true turnout muscles and make them stringer so that you don

POINTE Getting screwed over backstage by my married-ex tears my heart into a million tiny pieces. [Sitting in the audience at the ballet with my former fling wasn't my idea of fun.] I live in my pointe shoes, not even my ex can taint my love for ballet. [I hate the ballet. This on again/off again crap was getting old.] And then my whole world changes when I notice the smoldering gaze... [Then I look to the stage, and I can't take my eyes off...] OF... Leo Richards. [Adeline Parker.] Concentrating on anything except his sexy...everything, is impossible. [Her presence commands my attention...I've never experienced this before.] He makes me second-guess everything I've ever dreamed about. [She makes me question everything I've ever known.] Fighting him is a strategic sport-no clothes allowed. [All I can think about are her sexy ballerina legs wrapped around me-tutu definitely on.] BREAKING Our scandalous rendezvous is plastered all over NYC's tabloids. [Because of my status in Manhattan, now I've dragged her into the limelight.] My ex will stop at nothing to tear us apart. [Seriously powerful people forbid me to be with her.] Rumors about his past keep building. [I can't tell her this secret.] When it came to Leo, I only knew the big things. [When it came to Adeline, I knew nothing about the little things.] But uncovering those things about him [her] may push us past our breaking point.

A bold and emotionally gripping novel about a teenage Latinx girl finding freedom through dance and breaking expectations in 1980s Minnesota. When sixteen-year-old Rosa Dominguez pirouettes, she is poetry in pointe shoes. And as the daughter of a tyrant ballet Master, Rosa seems destined to become the star principal dancer of her studio. But Rosa would do anything for one hour in the dance studio upstairs where Prince, the Purple One himself, is in the house. After her father announces their upcoming auditions for a concert with Prince, Rosa is more determined than ever to succeed. Then Nikki--the cross-dressing, funky boy who works in the dance shop--leaps into her life. Weighed down by family expectations, Rosa is at a crossroads, desperate to escape so she can show everyone what she can do when freed of her pointe shoes. Now is her chance to break away from a life in tulle, grooving to that unmistakable Minneapolis sound reverberating through every bone in her body.

Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Sarah Kaufman covers one of the high arts’ most illustrious forms—dance. What emerges from her criticism is always fresh and thought-provoking. From exploring Cary Grant as an overlooked artist to her bold assessment of The Nutcracker, Kaufman tackles the subject of dance and movement with daring honesty and dazzling creativity.

The Grateful Life is a guide to discovering -- and achieving -- one’s dreams by harnessing the power of a positive attitude. In years of research and practice, authors Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammons have discovered that grateful living can transform lives. Grateful people are happier people. They are healthier and less stressed. They report much higher levels of satisfaction with their relationships and are less likely to credit luck with the good fortune of others. This book contains inspiring stories about those who exercise gratitude as a spiritual practice to rise out of adversity to new life. It also shows how grateful living is central to the good life and to attracting abundance. Filled with motivational quotes, resources, and exercises, The Grateful Life helps readers on their journey to creating the life they’ve always wanted. Taking the concept of Living Life as a Thank You to the next level, The Grateful Life includes absorbing and transformative stories from real people who unveil the secret to achieving successes both big and small.