Name: Someday Dancer
ISBN: 9780545393782

Sarah Rubin

In South Carolina in 1959 Casey Quinn dreams of being a ballerina, and though she has never had the money for lessons, she follows her dream to New York City and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.

Someday Dancer

Hannah Yang

Someday Dancer frustrates me greatly. I wanted so badly to love it because... it's about dance! It's about a girl who can't afford ballet school but "makes it" anyways!! New York!!!

First of all, the actual book was fine. The characters were alright, though I was extremely annoyed by Casey's stubborn nature at times. In particular, when Ann-Lee was trying to be nice but nooo, Casey didn't have a drop of forgiveness in her. Holding grudges isn't (should I be saying ain't?) good for you, Miss Quinn! It reads as a very middle-grade novel, which I wasn't expecting, but I was fine with it. It made for a short, sweet read.

My main problem with Someday Dancer is what it implies about the dance industry.

Casey hasn't taken a single class. I don't even know how old she is, but definitely too old to not have taken a single class and to be dubbed a "natural dancer". Ann-Lee even says it in the book. You have to work your butt off to get anywhere with dance, but somehow Casey, who has never taken a single dance class, who seems to repeatedly be falling on her face, makes it as a contemporary dancer and is even able to go from a student to an understudy to a performer (sorry, spoilers).

I love passion!! I love advocating that your dreams are worth reaching for, etc. etc. But you can't tell kids that passion is enough to overrule years and years of hard work, because that simply isn't true. That's like saying an illiterate child (which there are far too many of in the world) could write a novel because they really, really want to. That's not how it works.

Also, last I checked, dance companies do not just take their newest and most inexperienced students, make them understudies, and then throw them out onstage. You could be really good and you'd still have to wait your turn for the other, far more experienced dancers who have already practiced and rehearsed and played those roles. Casey floats through this book and easily lands a company role (whaaaat).

She talks about being sore approximately once. On the first day. The dance life isn't easy!! You don't just shine in one class and suddenly become a favorite!! You don't just go to New York to pursue your dance dream and not be completely working your butt off for it!! Where are the behind-the-scenes workouts? The feelings of shame and loss of self worth? Wanting to give up? Where is the jealousy of other, better dancers? Someday Dancer misrepresents all the blood, sweat, and tears that go into successful dancers.

So, it was alright. The book was well-written though aimed at a younger audience than I expected, and there was nothing that irked me apart from the concept of Casey Quinn's story (which was a pretty big chunk of the novel, haha).

Someday Dancer

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