Dances

Dances: a novel

By Nicole Cuffy

One World, 2023. 277 pages. Fiction

At twenty-two years old, Cece Cordell reaches the pinnacle of her career as a ballet dancer when she's promoted to principal at the New York City Ballet. She's instantly catapulted into celebrity, heralded for her "inspirational" role as the first Black ballerina in the famed company's history. Even as she celebrates the achievement of a lifelong dream, Cece remains haunted by the feeling that she doesn't belong. As she waits for some feeling of rightness that doesn't arrive, she begins to unravel the loose threads of her past--an absent father, a pragmatic mother who dismisses Cece's ambitions, and a missing older brother who stoked her childhood love of ballet but disappeared to deal with his own demons. Soon after her promotion, Cece is faced with a choice that has the potential to derail her career and shatter the life she's cultivated for herself, sending her on a pilgrimage to both find her brother and reclaim the parts of herself lost in the grinding machinery of the traditional ballet world.

I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover, and by the story of a ballerina. One of my nieces is a professional ballerina, and I feel that, even on the periphery, I can understand a little, the demands of that life. This story weaves ballet dances and terms (beautiful, mysterious French words) deftly into Cece's story: her life, her insecurities, her family. Told in first person, you soon get caught up in the details of her life: going to the gym as well as dancing ballet for hours; the exhaustion; the friendships; the difficult relationship with her parents and her brother. It's a compelling story and I really enjoyed Cece's journey. Her love of ballet is something that carries her through her difficult life, despite how demanding it is. Even though Cece lives a life very different from mine, there was a lot in the story that I could relate to. I would definitely recommend. There is some language, some spiciness and it deals with the topic of abortion. 

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MGB