For so many dancers, it’s the magic of a performance that captures their spirit and fuels a dream. For the author, it was seeing the legendary Bolshoi ballerina Maya Plisetskaya in a performance of The Dying Swan. Reading Krementz’s A Very Young Dancer (1976, o.p.) was also highly motivational. She moved from her home in Puerto Rico to become a student at the School of American Ballet in New York City and danced onstage in children’s roles with the New York City Ballet during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when ballet was hot stuff indeed. The graphic format for her memoir works perfectly, encapsulating the many details of rehearsal, performance and home life. Her parents’ bitter divorce gives the narrative a poignant edge. The writing is direct and personal, informative and engaging. Siegel’s artwork brilliantly captures ballet movement, the luminaries of the time and the daily life of a dancer. A bravura performance by author and illustrator that will be read and reread and treasured by ballet lovers of all ages. (Graphic novel. 10+)
