Dancer [Mass Market Paperback]

Lorri Hewett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 2001

Ballet is the most important thing in Stephanie's life. But the reality of dance is tough, and Stephanie's parents fear that she doesn't realize how few opportunities there are for black ballerinas. Then, the remarkable Miss Winnie and her handsome and talented nephew, Vance, show up in ballet class one day. And Stephanie begins to discover a different kind of love ...and a different understanding of what's important.

Awards:

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like Martha Southgate's Another Way to Dance, this contemporary novel revolves around an African-American girl's often vexed encounters with the ballet world. Sixteen-year-old Stephanie does not fit the traditional image of a "stick figure" ballerina with skin "the color of a freshly peeled apple," but she is still one of the best students at her ballet school in a Denver suburb. She is determined to make a career in ballet, despite her parents' misgivings: "Even if you are good, even if you are the best, do you really think you have a chance to be treated fairly?" asks her father, a janitor at the private high school Stephanie attends on scholarship. Stephanie's confidence wanes considerably when she is upstaged by two promising new students: blonde, fair Anna, who wins the role of Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, and Vance, a boy with "deep brown" skin, who is cast as Anna's prince. But Vance's Aunt Winnie, who once studied dance with George Balanchine and with the founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, offers herself to Stephanie as a teacher and role model. The characters, a bit standard-issue, fall into a predictable triangle: dedicated Stephanie, unmotivated Vance and Miss Winnie, who tries to recapture her own lost dreams through her two star pupils. Hewett (Soulfire) gets the dance terminology right, but lacks the persuasive, insider's tone of Southgate's novel. This work is driven by issues, not a passion for dance. Ages 12-up. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Grade 6-10-At 16, nothing means more to Stephanie Haynes than ballet. Disappointed when a Russian newcomer is cast as the lead in The Sleeping Beauty, Stephanie wonders if anyone has ever heard of a black ballerina. Then she meets Miss Winnie, a flamboyant retired African-American dancer. Soon, Sundays are devoted to workouts dancing with Vance, Winnie's talented but undisciplined nephew. A tentative romance blooms, but Vance doesn't live for ballet. Family conflict erupts as dance consumes more and more of Stephanie's time. Her parents have college plans-even Ivy League dreams-for her future. As she competes for spots in national dance companies' summer programs and tries to balance dance, home, and life as a scholarship student at a prestigious private school, the teen questions friendships, romance, and her desire to be a professional dancer. Miss Winnie arranges for Stephanie and Vance to take class with the Dance Theatre of Harlem while the company is in Denver for a performance and the experience helps Stephanie clarify her goals. Hewett's fluid writing style smoothly incorporates discrimination in the arts as well as class distinctions and crossing society's limits. Stephanie faces the challenges and choices of contemporary teens: first love, false friends, knowing oneself, and pursuing one's dreams. An appealing story with a positive message and plenty of dance action.
Gail Richmond, San Diego Unified Schools, CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (January 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141310855
• ISBN-13: 978-0141310855
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,786,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dancer-Danielle Ferris, November 2, 2001

By 

Mr.Francesco Raphael Galardo of the Catskills (Catskill, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancer (Hardcover)

Danielle Ferris
English Per. 5A
Dancer

The book Dancer , written by Lorri Hewett, in my opinion was a great book! I think one of the main reasons why I liked it so much is because I am and dancer myself. That's not the only reason I thought it was so good though. It was also the author wrote the book and how it was about a girl who felt like an outcast and what it was like to do something different from everyone else and be completely different from most people.
The book Dancer is about the main character Stephanie Haynes. Stephanie takes ballet classes everyday of the week. She takes it very seriously. She's also very good at it. Stephanie basically devotes her life to ballet. This book takes place in a small rich town called Cherry Hill in Colorado, in present times. The reason I know it was present times is because Stephanie and her friends do most of the same pastimes as teenagers now a days do.
Stephanie goes to a private school on a scholarship. Her father is a janitor at the school. She doesn't have very many friends at school only one girl who she knows from dance class. She's sort of an outcast because she's really quiet and doesn't hang out with anyone at school and when she's not at school she's at ballet class. Stephanie likes ballet because it gives her something special that she does different from anyone and she's good at it too. Also at Stephanie's school there is the popular girls: Gillian, Lisa and Kelly. Gillian used to be like Stephanie. Her and Stephanie are probably the only black girls in the school but when Gillian moved there she hung out with the popular girls and ignores Stephanie. Stephanie kind of feels embarrassed when she's around the popular girls.
Then one day she meets him, Vance. He starts taking classes at the dance academy. At first Stephanie doesn't really like him but when she gets to know him things sort of spark up. She starts hanging out with Vance more often. She also meets his Aunt Winnie. His Aunt Winnie used to be a dancer in Germany. Her dream was to be in the NYC ballet but at that time blacks weren't allowed to dance in NYC. Stephanie starts taking classes with Ms. Winnie on Sundays. Vance usually joins them. Ms. Winnie starts creating a dance between Vance and Stephanie. Ms. Winnie is sort of Stephanie's role model and inspiration.
Stephanie and Vance start spending more time together and Stephanie gets aggravated because Vance won't open up to her and she's nearly in tears because of her parents. That's another thing Stephanie's parents don't understand how important dance is to her and her dad keeps pushing her to look at colleges and she gets in a lot of arguments with her parents.
One day Stephanie is at school and she goes into the bathroom and hears some one coughing under the stall. She peeks under and sees that it's one of the popular girls. It turns out that she took a lot of her mom's pills the night before and was really sick. Stephanie helps her get help and get to a hospital.
Then Stephanie finds out that Vance wants to quit ballet because he really likes club dancing, but he doesn't know how to tell Ms. Winnie and he wants to drop out of the summer recital. But he can't because he's the prince in Sleeping Beauty and he's the only boy for the part so Stephanie convinces him to wait until the end of the recital to talk to Ms. Winnie.
I liked this book a lot and I would recommend it to teen girls who enjoy reading about the ways of a girls like and what some girls go through. I also liked how you could relate to Stephanie's problems. They weren't like un- real problems. I also like the ending it was a real shocker. Read this book and find out if Stephanie gets to live her dream of becoming a dancer in the American Ballet Company!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Despite day and age, Dance is still segregated, April 16, 2001

By 

geoffrey (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancer (Hardcover)

Set in Denver in the early 90's, Lori Hewitt's novel The Dancer is a touching love story, in which two African-American ballet dancers meet at a ballet class and fall in love. The main chararter, Stephanie, dances six days a week and loves every minute of it, but her parents think that it's just a hobby and that she should stop dancing so much and go to Stanford. They say this because they know that there aren't many black ballet dancers. Stephanie soon learns that there will always be someone better then you and that you should shoot for the stars no matter what. Stephanie has always been the best dancer in here studio and has been there a long time but is tossed to the side when a skinny white girl comes in and takes the dancer instructors eye. Stephanie is notice by a black dance instructor during class and is taken under her wing. Throughout the book she often goes to her house without her perants permission. Her parents aren't very supportive of this either and think she is spending too much time with her too. "Stephanie people just don't give dances lessons and not expect to be paid," Stephanie's mom often say this and Stphanie would reply, "Miss Winnie (her ballet teachers name) believes in me and thinks I'm talented, why can't you try to understand that?!" This book shows tells you that you should live your dreams and that there mayt be obsticles in the way but you should overcome them and love your dreams. I wouls defineately reccomend this book and I give it 5 stars.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books eva!, April 30, 2000

By 

"sarahcutie1986" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancer (Hardcover)

I loved this book! I seriously couldn't put it down! The story was superb, the characters were great and the way the author writes lets you picture everything going on!