Someday Dancer

Starred review from June 25, 2012
It’s 1959, and 14-year-old Casey Quinn of Warren, S.C., knows she was born to dance, even as she imagines her neighbors’ opinion of her: “She ain’t got no grace, and she ain’t no beauty, neither.”
In a lively first-person narrative, Casey shares her determination to live her dream, despite her family’s poverty, which has prohibited dance lessons and kept her mother and grandmother working long hours to make ends meet. Encouraged by her grandmother, Casey makes her way to open auditions at the School of American Ballet in New York City, wearing the secondhand clothes of her nemesis, wealthy Ann-Lee (“the Priss”). After eliminating Casey from round one, Mr. Balanchine sends her to audition for Martha Graham, whose style Casey recognizes as her calling: “You could dance anger like this.... Or joy, or sadness, or anything.” Accepted into the scholarship program, Casey embraces her opportunity, while struggling to manage the demands of family, friendship, and school. Deftly balancing themes of good fortune and passion, hope and heartache, Rubin’s fine debut will appeal widely to artists and dreamers alike. Ages 12–18. Agent: Lindsey Fraser, Fraser Ross Associates.

June 1, 2012
A young teen in 1959 South Carolina has one dream, dancing on stage in New York City. Unfortunately, Casey's family is dirt-poor, with no money for dance lessons or much else. Her father died fighting in Korea, so her mother and grandmother, both of whom she loves dearly, must work. She can only watch from a tree limb as her rich, snooty, bullying classmate (dubbed Miss Priss) takes ballet classes. When New York City Ballet's School of American Ballet announces auditions, the Priss is certain of acceptance, while Casey must work after school for the bus fare. Once in New York, she is overwhelmed by its size and teeming population. Her lack of formal training and the ballet master's astute eye lead to a referral to the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. Casey loves the movements, takes classes, rehearses and soon dances with the company. Rubin, a debut author, describes the Graham style well but falters in her depiction of New York. Casey may not be the best tour guide for readers, obsessing over dance and family instead of geography, but she does learn to embrace both new friends and Miss Priss. Both Carolinians see their single-minded obsessions quickly--almost unbelievably--rewarded. Dance fans will enjoy the up-close look at a legendary dance troupe. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 10-16)

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September 1, 2012

Gr 6-9-In this novel set in the ballet and modern dance world of 1959, hardworking, penniless Casey Quinn journeys from South Carolina to New York City to realize her dreams. The teen uses a wonderfully active voice in tune with her physical nature in her present-tense narrative, e.g., "My stomach quivers like a raw egg." Casey's stubborn can-do personality is nicely enhanced by interactions with multidimensional side characters, such as her selfless good cook of a grandma and a snobby, rich peer. Casey faces grief, loss, and many other tribulations, but she overcomes these obstacles, has some really good luck, ingratiates herself with the right people, and ultimately earns a role in a performance with the Martha Graham Company. At first glance the historical details appear suitably contextualized, although in romanticizing the era the author omits historical accuracy on a great many fronts: e.g., the famously curt George Balanchine is depicted as kind and the School of American Ballet inhabits a grandiose building rather than the plain building it actually occupied in 1959. Nonetheless, many collections will welcome this spunky '50s heroine and her introduction to the world of modern dance.-Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC

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