To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel

"In performances, during the scenes when we weren't dancing on stage, a lot of the other girls liked to stay in the dressing room, where they played jacks and had fun. "But I went up by myself to watch. "You had to stand in the very front part of the wing against the black curtain. It was VERY important the audience didn't see you. "I loved to watch from the wings..." "Every time I went up there, I saw Mister B. in the other wing across from me. "He always watched from the front wing stage right" In thinking about TO DANCE: A BALLERINA'S GRAPHIC NOVEL, I somehow recalled a children's biography from back in my bookstore days. This was the late 90's, and the subject of the biography was one of those female American teen ice skating sensations. It wasn't too long a book, and it had sufficient information and plenty of photos, but there was no real feeling to it. It was the last thing I'd have recommended, particularly to young guy readers. In contrast, TO DANCE: A BALLERINA'S GRAPHIC NOVEL has so much heart that I was riveted by the author's memoir of her childhood and adolescence spent in the ballet. And what provides the book's heart and intimacy are the inspired illustrations in graphic format by Mark Siegel. In the illustrations for the piece of the story that I quote (at top) we see Siena, from her hiding spot in the darkness of the wings, watching the scene being danced and watching her beloved teacher Mr. B. (George Balanchine, who'd emigrated from Russia and had founded the School of American Ballet.) There is no way for an author to put into words the way that the illustrations show Siena gazing at the teacher who is clearly a father figure to her. "Mister Balanchine choreographed many ballets with parts for children. "That day we found out who had been cast in this ballet. "And all of the children were from the school. "I looked down the list and there was my name! "Not everyone was selected." Similarly, with this section, there is an illustration of Siena cheering ecstatically about finding her name amongst the cast followed by another of her solemnly observing a devastated classmate. Such illustrations inject so much emotion into this true story of a girl's dedication to and love for dance. TO DANCE: A BALLERINA'S GRAPHIC NOVEL was added to many library collections after it won a Robert F. Sibert Honor as one of the best children's informational books of last year. But it needs to be pulled off of the shelf and read and booktalked, for this is an exceptional read for students -- girls and guys, dancers or not -- up through middle school.

While other people have already said wonderful things about To Dance, it's also a great book for what it is not. It's NOT another Very Young Dancer. I was the right age for A Very Young Dancer, but discouraged and saddened me, because she was always the Best--it seemed as though if you were not the lead, your work did not count at all. [This may be a modern attitude; when Michelle Kwan came in second at The Worlds--I think--the headlines screamed Michelle Kwan Loses!] In To Dance, Siena is a good dancer, a great dancer, even, and spends years as a Pierette, eventually leaving dance because of injuries. She never becomes a prima ballerina, instead going to college and ultimately making a career out of the business of dance. Which is what is wonderful about this book. It shows how dance can run in your veins even though you're not Kirkland. It's refreshing that the author and illustrator show much of her individual personality, not JUST her dedication to her art. Beautifully written, beautifully illustrated.

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

TO DANCE: A BALLERINA'S GRAPHIC NOVEL provides a blend of history, drama, and autobiography in telling of young Siena's dream to dance, which began when she was six. Ages 8-14 are the intended readers - but younger ages will find this equally accessible in its full color graphic novel format as it tells of a young dancer's evolution.

How should your average adult shopper determine the difference between a graphic novel that is good and a graphic novel that is bad? It's simple. If a graphic novel is bad then it will be poorly illustrated, shamefully written, and just dull all over. If a graphic novel is good it can convert the unconvertible. I work with a woman who is a self-proclaimed woman "too old" for graphic novels. She never dug them. Never much cared for them. And then "To Dance" fell into her lap and BANG! Instant fan. This should come as no very great surprise. We're dealing with the Siegel duo. Mark Siegel the illustrator may at this point in time be best known for "Seadogs: An Epic Ocean Operattea" which he penned with aplomb. He's the editorial director of First Second (the company that gave the world that go-buy-it-right-now book "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang) and a talented artist in his own right. And Ms. Siena Cherson Siegel attended the School of America Ballet where she studied "preprofessionally" (as the book's author blurb says) for twelve years. So what couple is better suited to depict the rigor and wonder of how a child becomes a ballerina, I ask you? This is a biography like you've never seen it before. Siena begins her story this way: "Big, empty spaces always made me dance". She yearned to move. First growing up in San Juan, Puerto Rico and then later when her family moved to Boston. For Siena, dance was in her heart and mind. She flew to New York in 1977 to get a taste of dance rigor at the American Ballet Theater and discovered that she wanted to be a ballerina more than anything. A year later she auditioned for the School of American Ballet (founded by George Balanchine) and got in. As her home life grew unpleasant, Siena's time with the ballet became even more precious to her. The book tracks what it's really like to be both a kid and a professional ballerina. And though she quit at the age of 18 and followed other pursuits, she still dances today. "Dancing fills a space in me". I must say that if the Siegels had put their heads together and said, "Let's find a way to stymie library catalogers everywhere" they couldn't have done better than to create a graphic novel biography. Where the heck do you put it in the collection? It'll never attract its key audience in the biography section, but won't it also get lost in the fantasy/manga shuffle if you stick it in with the other graphic novels? What's a librarian to do? If I ruled the world I'd create a whole new section of gn bios and then insist that everyone from Toni Morrison to Ray Bradbury create one (art by others, of course). Ms. Siegel's memoir, however, is particularly well-written. I loved the little details of Siena's life that she was able to work into the story. It's a mere slip of a book, but there's an abundance of great details here. I was particularly fond of young Siena's fears that if her relatives had huge boobs then maybe she herself would get huge boobs. The next pa