Stories of Dance

Drumbeat in Our Feet

by Patricia A. Keeler and Julio T. Leitao, illustrated by Patricia A. Keeler, Lee&Low, 2006

The authors honor the Batoto Yetu dance troupe and celebrate African dance in this uplifting picture book.  Julio T. Leitao founded the troupe in 1990

Children from all over the New York City area arrive at the dance studio where their teacher leads them in songs, drumming and dance.  The meanings of the dances are reflected in traditional dress, masks and body paint as they prepare for a show.  As the children learn the steps, they also learn history and embrace  different cultural traditions.

Keeler's layout features background information in the left margin of colorful two page spreads. She portrays an African dance class to the right.  As the children prepare for a performance, facts about the origins of different types of dances, costumes, and musical instruments accompany vivid illustrations of students leaping and stepping through traditional dances.

Additional information about Batoto Yetu, which means "our children" in Swahili,  rounds out the book with photographs of young performers.  A map of the African continent helps orient the reader and a pronunciation guide and author's sources are included.

We are the children of the ancestors, singing the songs, dancing the steps to a story that never ends.  African rhythm in our steps. African drumbeat in our feet!

My Friend Maya Loves to Dance

by Cheryl Willis Hudson, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, Abrams, 2010

Maya loves ballet and every other form of dance. Hudson follows Maya into her ballet class where the reader can hear the teacher's voice directing their movements in French.  Maya loves tap, African dance and performing during worship at her church. 

Eric Velasquez discusses his approach to the illustrations in an interview at The Brown Bookshelf.  He tenderly paints the awkwardness of the young girl executing a  jeté, while capturing the promise of the future dancer.  I appreciated his use of  poster-like backgrounds to depict Maya's wide-ranging musical interests. from Dizzy Gillespe to Oscar Peterson, from classical to gospel. 

Although the text does not refer to her directly, the illustrations reveal that Maya's friend who is the narrator of the story,  is in a wheel chair which brings meaning to the closing lines, 

Maya dances strong, and free

With joy all can see. 

Dancing is magic for her and for me.

My Dance Recital

My Dance Recital by Maryann Cooca-Leffler, Robin Corey Books; Pop edition, 2009

As we coast into the spring semester, the end of the year dance recitals are not far off.

The costumes, the make-up, new dance tights, the hustle to the auditorium, scraping the hair up into a bun...the screams of pain as you drive the hairpins into their tender little skulls.

Ah yes, I remember it well.

This little pop-up book follows boys and girls through their preparations for a dance recital. Flaps lift, to reveal a costume in a hanging bag, a snack in the mother's purse. The face of a little ballerina changes as the reader dials through the various stages of make up and hair fixing. Levers move and the dancers kick, spin leap and bow. This is a nice preview for very young dancers of what a recital is and what is going to happen.

Alas, I note that there is NO MENTION of the paper engineer who designed the book. Did Maryann Cooca-Leffler do the engineering??? I call on publishers to credit the paper engineer 's talent in these books. Bringing an illustrator's vision into three dimensions is no small feat.


And now a word to the audience members:

Last weekend, this entfamily enjoyed an evening at the opera. Even at a venue where people have paid major $$ for their seats, the absence of any audience ettiquette was appalling. It is not enough that they get so little out of the singers artistry but their rudeness almost ruined it for the rest of us.

Therefore, I will take the opportunity of this book review to request a few behavior modifications to all people who will be "watching" their children's performances this Spring.

1. I know that every member of your family has their camcorder, Flip video, iPhone pointed towards the stage to capture little Hortense's Big Moment. Other parents' children are up there too. Please do NOT block their view of the stage as you "Cecil B. DeMille" this moment for posterity.


2. Talking during any performance is completely unacceptable. If you sit in front of me and decide to have a conversation to the person next to you while the performers are on stage, I am going to lean forward, between you both, and join in. If you are behind me I will turn around and ask to be included.

In fairness, I must warn you that I am ranked and certified as a ninth degree 'shusher." As a professional librarian (this secret knowledge is passed along in library school) I have many weapons at my disposal. The Nancy Pearl action figure was NOT just an homage to a beloved personality, it was accurate representation of a special library ops maneuver, hence the term "action figure."

Generally, I start with a general tightening of my lips but that can quickly escalate to the "eyes-of-death, narrowed" with "emphatic finger-to-pursed-lips" technique which is almost always successful when eye contact with the offender is possible. If not, I have skills that allow for a gentle shushing murmer to reach ears from a fair distance. If necessary I can aim, with frightening accuracy, a neutron bomb of a hush. You will be stunned by the concussion while your surroundings remain intact. I have rarely had to deploy to this level but I have the ability and if necessary, I will use it.

3. Don't whisper nasty, catty, unkind things about the other performers.
I can hear you and I will tell people what you said. If you have to share something, save it for during the applause. I will still hear what you said but if you don't ruin the show for me, I might not tell anyone. Then again...


4. Turn off your phones. No, really, turn them OFF. Do not just turn down the volume of the ringer. The phones really do mess up the microphones, plus, we don't need to know what your ringtone is.


5. Do not check your email or text message during a performance.

I know that you cannot wait to read the Fw: Fw: Fw: of that hi-larious email with the photos of cats from your mother-in-law but really, save that treat for after the show.

Plus, you just complained about the wireless microphones cutting out during the performance. Well, YOUR phone did it. An auditorium full of people texting will interfere with the equipment and ruin it for all of us.


6. Sitting in the dark and enjoying dance, or a band performance, or the musical gifts of a choir is a magical experience. If the GLOW from your Blackberry/iPhone ruins this moment for me I will, loudly, tell you to TURN IT OFF and embarrass you as much as possible. In your heart you will KNOW that I am right to do so.

...And in any event, how can you, I repeat, how CAN you be so rude and uncaring and disinterested in these young people's moments on stage? They have worked so hard. Can't you just marvel in their progress? Are you really so shallow? Even if YOUR child has finished their performance, other people around you are still waiting to see their kids. If it is THAT boring for you, please leave.

7. Finally, the end of the school is an emotional time for parents. It is a time of "what could have beens" and "if onlys..." Do you really want to be the spark that lights the fuse of a parent on the edge? Have nice manners and model proper audience ettiquette for your children.

By the way, I'm starting a website called "People Who Interrupt Fine Arts Performances" (WIP) and I cannot wait to feature your photo there.

Seriously, I've had it and I'm taking names.

Fascinating Gershwins

We were treated to a trip to the Alley Theatre today to see The Gershwins' An American in Paris. I cannot remember the last time a I enjoyed a show so much. The Houston Chronicle called it a "dansical."

"The show's focus from the beginning was on dance and comedy along with some heartfelt romance using the Gershwin songs as the engine to create a sense of joy," said Boyd, the show's director. "Dance does that better than any other element of theatrical language."

I just know that I could barely keep my feet still. It was a hit here, originally scheduled to only run through June 1 but extended through today, June 22.


Playbill says:

A future life for the show has not been announced; however, the musical's Tony-nominated book writer, Ludwig, hinted that Paris may be eyeing Broadway following its Houston premiere.

The Gershwin's beautiful melodies and lyrics were matched with nimble dialog, great voices and polished and fast paced comedy and dancing. The story chronicles the "backstage" events that lead up to the filming of the Gene Kelly classic, An American in Paris.

I sure hope this show has a future. It was amazing. Thanks to the Alley for providing these clips on YouTube.

Happy Titan's Curse Day

Today is the day! Let the celebrations commence! Kids can now stop giving ME dark and envious looks and flock to the stores to buy their own copy of the third installment of Percy Jackson's adventures. We have been waiting for that Harry fellow, no doubt, but the kids I know are even more excited to get this book in their hands.

There's a nice profile of Rockstar Rick Riordan in the Austin American Stateman today and Riordan will be celebrating with his fans at BookPeople tonight. Riordan dedicated Titan's Curse to Topher Bradfield who has been a booster of the series at BookPeople and one of the forces behind summertime Camp Half-Blood.

Riordan also dedicated the book to Toni Davis, a bookseller in Cornwall, England. Sadly, Davis passed away this past week. He posted a moving tribute to her, "Farewell, My Huntress," on Saturday.

My family has organized our schedule to be at one of his signings here in town this week. We must have a complete autographed set.

I have also discovered a branch of my family, that has not found the series yet.

Bwa-ha-ha.

I'm off to sub today. Oh, I hope 5th grade is coming to the library. I know exactly what book I want to read!!!

To Dance

To Dance: a ballerina's graphic novel, a memoir by Siena Cherson Siegel with artwork by Mark Siegel, 2006

Bluebonnet award winner, Mark Siegel has teamed with his wife Siena Cherson Siegel and created an exquisite and tender graphic novel that honors dancers everywhere.

Siena began her dance journey in San Juan, Puerto Rico when she was diagnosed with flat feet. She started dance classes and fell in love with the art form. The story follows her family as they move to Boston where she sees the Bolshoi Ballet perform for the first time. She dreams of ballets.

At the age of 11 she auditions and wins a spot in the School of American Ballet and begins to work in earnest. She sees George Balanchine and Baryshnikov, Suzanne Farrell, and Gelsey Kirkland in the halls. Being fitted for her first toe shoes, winning a spot in her first performance and partnering class are all milestones in her life at SAB. Family life is difficult as her parents' marriage fails. As a teenager there are boyfriends and schoolwork and worry about the shape of her body.

Plots of ballets are seamlessly woven into the story as we see the excitement and glamor of performance balanced with the hard work of practice and the heartbreak of not being chosen to perform. Her memoir also allows the reader an inside look at the grief and sorrow that overwhelmed the company when Balanchine died.

Mark Siegel draws the story with detail and love. To depict a story like this in graphic novel form allows the reader to move through the years with Siena. The reader notes the change of color of her leotard as the years pass, each color representing a higher level at SAB. Her painful injuries and aching toes from hours of dancing are communicated without words.

One scene where young Siena is reading the book A Very Young Dancer by flashlight is typical of the care and detail the Siegels have included. I think every school library has that book as it is a favorite with young dancers. Like the girl on the cover, Siena will wear the green leotard.

Siegel opens the story with little Siena dancing on a beach. He ends it on a beach too and it brought tears to my eyes. This is sophisticated storytelling at its very best.

Words to describe this book: Brilliant, fascinating, informative, original, beautiful, a must have for all ballet students, dancers, and fans of ballet

This copy is already being covered in Christmas wrap for the dancer in our family. I just HAD to read it first.

Now, off to the post office to mail it.