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Liepman Literary Agency
Marc Koralnik |
| Original language | |
| English | |
SWAN DIVE
The Making of a Rogue Ballerina
"Kitchen Confidential" for ballet. SWAN DIVE is the ultimate backstage tour of one of the most revered companies in the world, the New York City Ballet. And Georgina Pazcoguin, NYCB's first Asian American soloist, is willing to let us in on the gritty, hilarious, sometimes shocking truth you don't get to see from the orchestra circle.
Georgina is extremely good companylaugh-out-loud funny and unapologetically raunchy. Through her visceral storytelling, we follow the exhausting days of rehearsal, the exhilarating performances, the wild nights, and the exotic travels that make up the world of professional ballet dancers. We learn about the grueling Nutcracker season (dubbed the "Nutbuster" by Georgina and her kin), during which exhausted dancers suffer through eight performances a week, wear smelly costumes recycled year after year, miss spending holidays with their loved ones, and run the constant risk of being peed on by a terrified child performer. And we follow Georgina's hilarious swan dives around the world: knocking herself out (literally) during a Michael Jackson-fueled dance-off; finding herself topless on stage thanks to a leotard malfunction; finishing a performance with a broken wrist, and so much more.
Georgina's natural humor and lightheartedness notwithstanding, there's a dark side to her tale: ballet's endemic racism, sexism, and body-shaming. Blondes are almost invariably front of stage, as heroes and heroines, while people of color end up in the B cast, as the villains, or in degrading, stereotypical roles. The bad behavior of some of the company's male dancers is glossed over while its women are expected to put up with harassment. This culture of abuse was exemplified by NYCB's director Peter Martins, whom Georgina went head to head with a number of times, and who was forced to step down in 2018 amid allegations of abuse and harassment. Today, the NYCBalong with the rest of the ballet communityis at an inflection point, inching toward progress in a strictly traditional culture.
At heart, SWAN DIVE is the story of a woman consumed by her art. Georgina's love of dance radiates off the page, and we root for her as she joins the NYCB corps, is promoted to soloist, braves the Nutbuster, and expands her horizons, whether by bravely saying yes to reprising an iconic nude dance duet, or by proudly winning a role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats on Broadway. SWAN DIVE is a compulsive read that illuminates the fascinating, dizzying lives of the most elite dancers in the world.
Georgina Pazcoguin has been a dancer in the New York City Ballet for nearly two decades and has been a soloist since 2013. She has danced the role of Anita in Jerome Robbin's West Side Story Suite many times and made her Broadway debut in the revival of Cats. She has been nominated for two Chita Rivera Awards and won the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise. She grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania and lives in New York City, and a half hour with her will shake your stereotype of uptight ballerinas to bits.
Georgina's natural humor and lightheartedness notwithstanding, there's a dark side to her tale: ballet's endemic racism, sexism, and body-shaming. Blondes are almost invariably front of stage, as heroes and heroines, while people of color end up in the B cast, as the villains, or in degrading, stereotypical roles. The bad behavior of some of the company's male dancers is glossed over while its women are expected to put up with harassment. This culture of abuse was exemplified by NYCB's director Peter Martins, whom Georgina went head to head with a number of times, and who was forced to step down in 2018 amid allegations of abuse and harassment. Today, the NYCBalong with the rest of the ballet communityis at an inflection point, inching toward progress in a strictly traditional culture.
At heart, SWAN DIVE is the story of a woman consumed by her art. Georgina's love of dance radiates off the page, and we root for her as she joins the NYCB corps, is promoted to soloist, braves the Nutbuster, and expands her horizons, whether by bravely saying yes to reprising an iconic nude dance duet, or by proudly winning a role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats on Broadway. SWAN DIVE is a compulsive read that illuminates the fascinating, dizzying lives of the most elite dancers in the world.
Georgina Pazcoguin has been a dancer in the New York City Ballet for nearly two decades and has been a soloist since 2013. She has danced the role of Anita in Jerome Robbin's West Side Story Suite many times and made her Broadway debut in the revival of Cats. She has been nominated for two Chita Rivera Awards and won the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise. She grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania and lives in New York City, and a half hour with her will shake your stereotype of uptight ballerinas to bits.
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Book
Published 2021-10-01 by Henry Holt |