{"id":8651,"date":"2025-01-08T22:14:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T22:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/books\/cby-book-club-book-blitz-giveaway-3\/"},"modified":"2025-01-08T22:14:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T22:14:54","slug":"cby-book-club-book-blitz-giveaway-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=8651","title":{"rendered":"CBY Book Club: Book Blitz & Giveaway"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Step One<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Indigo Ballet Series)<\/b><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Grier Cooper<\/p>\n

Publication Date:<\/b> November 15th, 2024<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/b> YA Contemporary<\/p>\n

Book Description:<\/b><\/p>\n

When Indigo lands a role in Ballet Russia\u2019s touring production of The Nutcracker, it\u2019s a dream come true\u2026. Or is it? Her arch nemesis is also part of the production. So is dashing Russian viral video superstar Dimitri Volkov, who\u2019s playing some kind of game she doesn\u2019t quite understand.<\/p>\n

As Indigo dances alongside the rising stars of Ballet Russia she struggles to rise above constant criticism from Ballet Russia\u2019s Director, Yuri Kanofsky. But first she\u2019ll have to dig deep and silence the doubts running through her mind if she wants to rise to their level and drive her ballet career forward.<\/p>\n

When unexpected events turn Indigo\u2019s world upside down overnight she\u2019s forced to decide how much she\u2019s willing to sacrifice to get there.<\/p>\n

And one innocent mistake just might cost her everything.<\/p>\n

Buy Links:<\/b><\/p>\n

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EXCERPT<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cYou.\u201d The single word from Yuri yanks me out of my reverie. \u201cIndigo, is it?\u201d I nod numbly. \u201cCome here, please.\u201d Yuri points at the center of the floor then folds his arms and waits. I take my position there standing still.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe begin like this,\u201d he says, posing as I remember from the video of Irina. He shows me the first counts of eight for my solo and I mark the steps as I watch. I\u2019ve memorized them after the second time he walks them through; thankfully I\u2019ve always been quick to pick up choreography.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have it?\u201d he demands gruffly. I nod. \u201cShow me.\u201d he steps back and leans on the barre <\/i>at the front of the room, watching me intently, like a cat tracking a careless bird.<\/span><\/p>\n

I spread my feet wide and bend forward at the waist, imagining the pose as I remember Irina did it. Aside from Yuri\u2019s counting, the room is silent and still; I feel the others watching. But I can\u2019t think about that. I must only think about the counts and where my body is going, one second ahead so I am there when I am supposed to be\u2013<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d he claps loudly. \u201cLet me see position again.\u201d I recreate the pose I was in before he interrupted. \u201cNo.\u201d he shakes his head vigorously. \u201cIt is like this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He strikes the pose. \u201cYou see?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t understand the difference but I don\u2019t dare say anything. I nod.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMore energy in fingertips,\u201d he suggests. I try again, this time I imagine sparks shooting out of my fingertips. This seems to work, since he lets me continue. I rise en pointe<\/i>, bringing one leg into pass\u00e9 retir\u00e9<\/i>, the toes touching the side of my standing leg near the knee.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStop.\u201d More clapping. He marches over to me again. \u201cMake me pass\u00e9<\/i>,\u201d he says. I rise back into the position, more forcefully this time, but still he shakes his head. \u201cIt is impossible,\u201d he states. \u201cThis is not pass\u00e9<\/i>. It must be in front of knee, like this,\u201d he says, demonstrating.<\/span><\/p>\n

Miss Roberta would frown on this placement, I think. Another example of how different ballet technique is from one company to the next, from one country to the next.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, I comply. Maybe it\u2019s not such a bad thing to learn slight variations, to have more translations in my pocket. You never know when they might come in handy in the future. Another pass\u00e9<\/i>, then close in fifth position, and pirouette <\/i>from fifth\u2013<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo again.\u201d He clenches his hands into fists this time and stomps over to Skinny Snow White. I catch the first word, \u201cOlgachkova\u201d and then get lost inthe flurry of words that follow, none of which I understand. When he falls silent,<\/span><\/p>\n

Skinny Snow White nods in assent and replies, \u201cDa.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Skinny Snow White removes the plastic warmup pants she was wearing and makes her way over to me. Yuri flaps a hand at me impatiently, indicating I should step aside. \u201cOlga will show,\u201d he says, turning to her with an enormous smile of beatitude.<\/span><\/p>\n

I edge out of her way, trying not to feel crushed. I know that having Olga dance in my place is meant to be a teaching tool, something to help me ultimately, but it still stings.<\/span><\/p>\n

That feeling intensifies as she moves gracefully through the choreography, flowing smoothly through the pass\u00e9s <\/i>and turns as effortlessly as a fish swirls through water. I try to focus on what she\u2019s doing so I can learn. I\u2019d like to figure out exactly what it is that Yuri\u2019s looking for, that I haven\u2019t got. Yet. But it\u2019s almost impossible to ignore that this woman is one of the most exquisite dancers<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve ever watched.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve told myself oodles of time I must never ever, under any circumstances, make comparisons\u2013because comparison is always a losing game. But how not to when the glaring differences are practically smacking me in the face?<\/span><\/p>\n

Yuri claps again. \u201cEnough. Khorosho<\/i>, blagodaryu vas<\/i>, Olga. We will break. Return in twenty minutes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I stand paralyzed, mute with a flurry of thoughts pirouetting <\/i>in my mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

After watching Olga dance I don\u2019t know how I will ever measure up. I want to, but it seems like an impossible task. Where to even begin? Who can help? Can anyone? What do I need to do to reach that same level of precision and perfection?<\/span><\/p>\n

All I can think is that even if I were to sneak from my bed and dance all night long, wearing out pair after pair of pointe <\/i>shoes every night up until our performances, like the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairytale, I\u2019m not sure even that would be enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

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About the Author<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n

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Grier left home at fourteen to study at the School of American Ballet in New York. She has performed on three out of seven continents with companies such as San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet, totaling more than thirty years of experience as a dancer, teacher and performer.<\/p>\n

Her work has been praised as “poignant and honest” with “emotional hooks that penetrate deeply.” She writes and blogs about dance and has interviewed and photographed a diverse collection dancers and performers including Clive Owen, Nicole Kidman, Glen Allen Sims and Jessica Sutta. She is the author of Build a Ballerina Body and The Daily Book of Photography. Grier’s work has also appeared in Conscious Dancer, Discovery Girls, Skipping Stones, and Dance Advantage, among others.<\/p>\n

Author Links:<\/b><\/p>\n

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***GIVEAWAY***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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