The Dance Primer

I was honored to receive a free copy of the book, The Scarlet Stockings by Charlotte Kandel, to review for your sake.

My first review draft was pretty dumb, and read something like this: It was a really good book and I enjoyed reading it, and I bet you will too. Honestly, that’s not gonna get me excited to go out and read a book.

I gotta say, I’m not a ballerina, and never aspired to be… except perhaps for a brief moment before my first ballet class when picking out my pink leotard. I’ve never been an orphan or adopted. I’ve never had to overcome great obstacles to get to where I want to go. And I’ve definitely never received a mysterious package that contained a magical mystery.

So why did I feel a personal connection to the heroine of this book?

I think it comes down to a question we all ask ourselves at various points in our lives: Can I really become the person I want to be?

I think the answer to this, for all of us, is yes. We may not have overt jealous enemies hindering our way. We may not have enormous obstacles like restrictive guardians or absolutely no money. However, we all have hurdles of some kind to clear. For some, it may be lack of confidence. For others, it may be pure laziness. For a lot of us, real life gets so time consuming that we run out of time and energy to chase our passions.

But if we really do want something bad enough, we will work for it. Sometimes we’ll take steps that actually get us further away from where we wanted to be, without realizing it. That’s part of life. Growing up. Learning. Sometimes we take important people for granted, people that will support us in becoming who we want to be. Sometimes, we get it right but may not even notice.

Throughout the book the question surfaces… is it really the magic that makes things happen, or could she have done it on her own? I certainly enjoyed the journey in discovering the answer.

Long review short: It was a really good book and I enjoyed reading it, and I bet you will too.

If you’ve read this far, I have some exciting news for you. It’s time for The Dance Primer’s first ever give away! I have a copy of The Scarlett Stockings that would really like to find it’s way into the hands of a reader. You can enter to win a copy of the book simply by commenting on this post before Sunday, March 16th. (One entry per person, even if you post multiple comments.) I will randomly choose a winner. Make sure to include your contact information (email address in the comments form, no need to publish personal info publicly) so I can get the book to you.

So here’s the hot question you can answer in your comment:

What’s keeping you from being the dancer you want to be, and what can you do about it?