dance – Aussie Reviews

Silver Shoes 4: Dance Till You Drop by Samantha-Ellen Bound

‘You can’t what?’ Ellie crossed her arms and narrowed her big green eyes at me.

Uh-oh. I knew I was in trouble.

I looked at Ellie’s fluoro-pink jazz boots. Then at Ashley’s bag with the ripped handle. Then at a picture of a young Miss Caroline dancing on a cruise ship above the bluest water I’d ever seen.

But I couldn’t look at Ellie.

‘I can’t come to your birthday party,’ I whispered. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Why not?’ said Ellie.

I picked at my leotard. Then I gave a little cough. Wow. Sometimes Ellie can be scary when she’s excited or passionate about something and can’t stop talking. But when she’s silent? That’s terrifying.

‘You can’t what?’ Ellie crossed her arms and narrowed her big green eyes at me.

Uh-oh. I knew I was in trouble.

I looked at Ellie’s fluoro-pink jazz boots. Then at Ashley’s bag with the ripped handle. Then at a picture of a young Miss Caroline dancing on a cruise ship above the bluest water I’d ever seen.

But I couldn’t look at Ellie.

‘I can’t come to your birthday party,’ I whispered. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Why not?’ said Ellie.

Paige has been dancing forever. She takes almost every dance class on offer at Silver Shoes dance school, as well as others. But she’s exhausted and starting to lose her passion. An extra dance commitment means she’s going to miss her best friend’s birthday and now her best friend Ellie is not talking to her. Paige is sure all of her friends are better dancers than she is and now she’s starting to wonder if Benji, her ballroom dancing partner is sick of dancing with her too. Paige’s mother was once a dancer and is keen for Paige to take as many opportunities as she can. Her mother also manages the costumes, but Paige is so tired, she’s struggling to be enthusiastic about the costume her mother is making for the ballroom competition. Black and white illustrations are scattered throughout. Added extras include a bio for Paige, a glossary and some dance step instructions.

Dance Till You Drop is a fourth title in the Silver Shoes series from Random House. Each features one of four friends who dance together at Silver Shoes dance school. Paige is feeling the pressure to dance in every class, so much so that’s she’s not sure what she wants to do. All she knows is that she’s not doing anything as well as she’d like to. Her friends have their own challenges, and it’s up to Paige to take control and tell her former-dancer mother how she feels. Her fatigue is feeding her anxiety, but she eventually does make her own decisions. Recommended for mid-primary lovers of all styles of dance.

Silver Shoes 4: Dance Till You Drop by Samantha-Ellen Bound
Random House Australia 2015 ISBN: 9780857983725

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Silver Shoes 3: Breaking Pointe by Samantha-Ellen Bound

There were thirty seconds to spare when I ran into jazz class on Wednesday. I passed my best friends, Eleanor, Ashley and Paige, coming out of the dressing room just as I dashed in.

‘What a surprise,’ said Jasmine, Silver Shoes’ resident ballerdiva.

‘Get a life,’ I called out, as I tore off my school sweatshirt.’

‘Or find the one you lost,’ I heard Ellie add.

I didn’t catch Jasmine’s reply. But I’m sure it wasn’t any good.

Today was hot and I was already sweating a bit, so my jazz gear was extra hard to get on. After some harsh words with my leggings, I was finally ready. I pushed my school clothes under the bench, took a deep breath and walked out.

There were thirty seconds to spare when I ran into jazz class on Wednesday. I passed my best friends, Eleanor, Ashley and Paige, coming out of the dressing room just as I dashed in.

‘What a surprise,’ said Jasmine, Silver Shoes’ resident ballerdiva.

‘Get a life,’ I called out, as I tore off my school sweatshirt.’

‘Or find the one you lost,’ I heard Ellie add.

I didn’t catch Jasmine’s reply. But I’m sure it wasn’t any good.

Riley loves ballet, and she’s good at it. She loves the Silver Shoes dance school. She also loves athletics and basketball. She’s good at them too. But as each of them demands more of her time, she finds herself running to be able to manage them all. And it’s more than a little exhausting. But Riley is determined not to give up anything. No matter the cost. But it’s harder than she can imagine, and no one seems to quite understand the effort she’s putting in. They all want her to focus more, to work harder. Or to make a choice. Riley is determined to prove them wrong, to show that she can do it all. On her own. Added extras include a Riley biography, a dance tutorial, a glossary and a chapter from another ‘Silver Shoes’ title.

‘Silver Shoes 3: Breaking Pointe’ is the third ‘Silver Shoes’ title in this dance series from Random House. Each features a different main character who attends Silver Shoes dance school and tells their own story. Riley is talented and determined but stretched too thin. Even so, she refuses to seek help until it’s almost too late. Breaking Pointe offers young dancers a chance to read about the sport they love, while gently pointing out that it’s okay to ask for help. It also suggests that sometimes it’s not possible to be the best at everything and that is okay. Recommended for mid-primary, particularly lovers of dance.

Silver Shoes 3: Breaking Pointe, Samantha-Ellen Bound Random House Australia 2015 ISBN: 9780857983749

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Pirouette by Robyn Bavati

Simone Stark flung open the door to the nearest cubicle and dropped to her knees, head poised over the toilet bowl. Afraid she’d throw up again, she tried to focus on her breathing – in for two counts, out for four – but it was hard to get an even rhythm when her whole body was trembling.

The bathroom door crashed open and Simone held her breath.

‘Simone! Are you in here?’ That was Jess, Simone’s best friend.

Simone heaved herself up and opened the toilet door.

Jess was already in costume and fully made up. ‘You missed your call,’ she said. ‘Mr Dixon is fuming. Hey, are you okay?’

The bathroom door crashed open and Simone held her breath.

‘Simone! Are you in here?’ That was Jess, Simone’s best friend.

Simone heaved herself up and opened the toilet door.

Jess was already in costume and fully made up. ‘You missed your call,’ she said. ‘Mr Dixon is fuming. Hey, are you okay?’

Simone attends an elite dance school full time and has come to hate it. Hannah dances three times a week and dreams of dancing full time. When Simone and Hannah meet up at Candance, a summer dance school, they realise they are twins. They’ve both always know they were adopted, but neither had realised they had a twin sister. They have an instant bond, and almost immediately realise that they may have found a way to live the lives they dream of. They decide to swap lives. Hannah will be able to live her dreams of dancing full time, Simone can explore aspects of life other than dance. Of course life is never that simple and the girls discover just how complex life can be when you are pretending to be other than you are.

Dance classes are full of dancers who dream of a career doing what they love. And there are many people who sometimes dream of living someone else’s life. In ‘Pirouette’ twin girls, separated soon after birth, have the chance to experience the life of the other, the life that looks more perfect than their own. But having lived only one life, there are differences they could never have imagined. Cue close shaves and compounding misunderstandings. Throughout literature, twins have swapped lives, with funny and profound consequences. Add dance and you have the perfect adventure for performance-mad dancers. There are themes of honesty, family, nature vs nurture, ambition. Dancers will love the dance terms and classes, early secondary readers will love the switch and hold their breath as their ‘perfect solution’ slowly disintegrates. Recommended for upper-primary and early-secondary readers.

Pirouette, Robyn Bavati Penguin Books 2014 ISBN: 9780143569374

Dance Like a Pirate by Stephanie Owen Reeder

Let’s dance like a pirate sailing the seas,

Bobbing about like a boat in a breeze.

So hands on your hips, then heel and toe,

Jig across the deck – here we go!

Raise your knees up very high

And slap your hands upon your thighs,

Then fold your arms across your chest.

You are the boldest and the best!

Yo, ho, ho! Let’s Dance!

Let’s dance like a pirate sailing the seas,

Bobbing about like a boat in a breeze.

So hands on your hips, then heel and toe,

Jig across the deck – here we go!

Raise your knees up very high

And slap your hands upon your thighs,

Then fold your arms across your chest.

You are the boldest and the best!

Yo, ho, ho! Let’s Dance!

Dance Like a Pirate offers rhymes which incorporate guidelines for dance moves. As well as the pirate dance of the title there are dances/poses for fairies, dancers, firefighters and superheroes. Each opening offers a rhyme, an illustration of a boy and a girl striking a pose or showing a dance move. A flap on each opening reveals a further dance position/move. The last two openings offer a reprise of the included rhymes and photo references to National Library of Australia photographs of performers dancing and posing as different characters. Colours are full page with most of the text set in white pages on the opening.

Dance Like a Pirate would be a welcome addition to classroom resources and home libraries. Each opening offers costumes and rhymes that can be used in a variety of ways. The dances etc could be used as a basis for movement activities or as a basis for exploration of different groups in history and society. Costumes are shown but for most, it is the body movements that demonstrate most. There is room for interpretation – eg the opening featuring royalty doesn’t specify which culture the royalty are part of, and could form the basis for discussion about leadership in different cultures. At its simplest, this is a book about dancing, but it has the potential to be much more. Recommended for classrooms and home libraries and young singers and dancers who would like some direction in their performance!

Dance Like a Pirate

Dance Like a Pirate, Stephanie Owen Reader NLA Publishing 2013 ISBN: 9780642277794

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

Silhouette, by Thalia Kalipsakis

There’s silence as Natasha scans the room and stops on me. ‘You,’ she says, pointing. ‘Show us. from the start.’
The command hits me like a shot of adrenaline. Moss glances at me. It’s just a moment But it pulls me. I want him to look at me again.
Heart racing. I step forwards and begin to dance. This is my moment, my chance to express.

All Scarlett wants is to dance, and she’ll do whatever it takes to earn a place at the National Ballet Company. But first she has to finish her final year at the Academy of Performing Arts. When she decides to audition for a spot as a dancer on a Moss Young video clip,s he doesn’t plan on letting it distract her from her studies. But moss is charismatic, and he is interested in Scarlett. It can’t hurt to spend some time with him.

Silhouette is a a young adult novel set against the background of a dance academy but isn’t just a tale of a dancer following her dream. Scarlett is a complex character with a past which haunts her, and faces problems which seem universal to teens – peer pressure, the need to balance responsibility with having fun, relationships, friendships, and family dynamics. Though strong and determined she is also at times impetuous, making mistakes and showing flaws.

A gritty tale of growing up, making mistakes and moving on.

Silhouette, by Thalia Kalkipsakis
Hardie Grant Egmont, 2012
ISBN 9781921759659

This book is available in good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Step Up and Dance, by Thalia Kalipsakis

It was the letter of my dreams – a Valentine’s letter, wrapped in a blood-red envelope, leaning against the soy sauce on our kitchen table.

I picked up the envelope, flipped it over and dropped it beside my plate because just then I was more interested in the soy sauce. Mum’s sushi rolls after a late dance class are to die for, like Tim Tams at the right time of the month.

Saph is living her dream life. She’s only sixteen and already dancing professionally in a cheerleading squad for a NBL basketball team. Then a Valentine’s day letter arrives from the NBL player she secretly has a crush on. Now her dream life is perfect. Only it isn’t. The letter is a hoax. Saph can’t believe someone would be so cruel. Then she discovers who sent the letter. She hoaxes the hoaxer and the hoaxer responds. Meanwhile, pressure is on to develop new routines for the cheerleading squad as major sponsors become interested and their television exposure increases. This is the big time and Saph is feeling just a tad overwhelmed. Nothing in her rigorous training has prepared her for this. Add in an overprotective father and a close friend who is enjoying the revenge setups just a little too much and the scene is set.

Step Up and Dance is title six in Allen & Unwin’s Girlfriend series. As with other titles, Step Up and Dance features a plausible storyline and a realistic main character, Saph. Saph loves to dance. Her father is a little overprotective, but until now, Saph has been okay with that. Things are starting to change. She’s keen to stretch her wings, and working with older girls (and boys) has convinced her it’s time. She’s also keen to prove that dancing is her vocation and that she’s as ready for the demands of professional dancing as the older dancers. There are themes here of appearance versus substance, the changing nature of friendships and more. Family dynamics are explored as is the cost of following your passion. The energy and spirit of the characters is well reflected in the design of the front cover. An engaging and entertaining read. Recommended for mid-secondary readers.

Step Up and Dance, by Thalia Kalkipsakis
Allen & Unwin 2008
ISBN: 9781741755558