Review: So, You Want to Be a Ballet Dancer?
While I have no expectations to be a ballerina, especially since I already have bad knees and I'm in my mid-30s, I still find the ballet world fascinating. Jennifer Kronenberg's book So, You Want to Be a Ballet Dancer? is a guide for new dancers on everything from selecting the school right for you, auditioning, buying and breaking in new pointe shoes, stretching and exercising, and even reminding dancers to relax and take time outside of dancer to help avoid stress. I was happy to see that the author emphasizing "eating plans" instead of dieting, and encouraging dancers to eat several small meals over the course of the day and to speak with a nutritionist. We often hear about dancers with eating disorders, and seeing a helpful guide - including examples of meals eaten over the course of the day - was great.
While this book is helpful, it's also short, and mainly concentrates on the pre-company life of a dancer. I would have liked to see Jennifer mention some of the pressures that happen after you join a company, such as the competition to get certain roles, the intense rehearsal and performance schedule, and the pressure keep your weight down, along with some of the benefits of being in a company. Many of those topics would have dovetailed nicely with the chapters already included. Since they weren't included in this book, I'd like to see a companion novel or something that shows more of Jennifer's experiences as a dancer, especially since she has risen to the rank of principal dancer in the Miami city Ballet.
This novel also has a few grammatical errors that grated on me, but most people probably wouldn't notice them. Overall, it's a good book for anyone interested in ballet or the ballet world.
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5
