Siena Cherson SiegelBesprekingen

5/5

EducatingParents.org rating: Approved

6/10, it was ok.

Clothed in Movement

Author Siena Cherson Siegel and illustrator Mark Siegel combine their talents to tell a coming-of-age novel about the joys and fears of a ballet dancer. Siena’s life has never been predictable, but what she loves is ballet. As a ballerina she can move and live through music, dreaming of becoming a dancer in the New York City Ballet. When she pushes herself too hard after an injury, her choices may lead to the end of her dreams. Siena must find the strength in herself to find out what she really wants in life, and find her love of dancing again.

Mark Siegel’s art is given a dreamlike quality thorough shades of purple lightly water coloring the background and characters. While each inky figure is sketched in a loose cartoon style. Siena’s visions of ballet are drawn in darker shades, hinting at her out of reach dreams. After her injury, the colors turn to a sad shade of blue until the end where she comes to terms with her past and present. Siena Cherson Siegel does not over burden the story with words, but flows with movement as Siena reflects upon her life. Beautifully describing her passion of ballet in each description of the performances Siena watches.

As Siena grows up her dreams change, and when she loses her passion for dancing Siena struggles with her sense of worth. Including insecurities about her weight, so a bit of a warning for a starvation type eating disorder. Siena’s struggles are relatable as she figures out relationships with her family, friends, and boyfriend. Not all of her choices lead to happy outcomes, but she learns to open up to people when she struggles with the pressure of succeeding. In the end forgiving herself, moving on to find a new passions, and a renewed love of dancing.

The artwork was kind of generic. I did enjoy the purple shades. The story itself was very typical and I kept hoping for more. This is a good inbetween graphic novel to read that is geared towards a younger audience. I would have appreciated this more 15 years ago. Good message though.

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I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through Goodreads' Early Reviewers program.)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/51795193224/

Siena Cherson Siegel first discovered her love of dance as a seven-year-old, frolicking on the beaches on San Juan. Next came several years of ballet classes, an audition at the prestigious School of American Ballet, and the family's relocation to New York City, so Siena could pursue her passion.

Well, partial relocation; her older brother, Adam, was already attending school in Massachusetts, and her father maintained a home in San Juan, rarely visiting Siena and her mother in NY. Unsurprisingly, the couple would divorce years later. In addition to instilling her with confidence, strength, and a sense of purpose, ballet helped pull Siena through some of the darker periods of her life, including childhood bullying and her parents' contentious relationship.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/51793876912/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/51794949238/

Then an injury sidelines Siena just as her future looks its brightest. Though her ankle slowly recovers, she's beset by doubt and insecurity. As beautiful as ballet is, Siena starts to wonder if it's worth the tremendous price it demands of its stars. When she finally makes the difficult decision to quit, Siena must forge a new path in a forest of seemingly endless possibilities.

There's a lot to love in TINY DANCER. Even though I'm not really a fan, Cherson Siegel does a commendable job of conveying the allure, artistry, and promise of ballet. Her descriptions are at times breathtaking, and are complemented nicely by Mark Siegel's illustrations (rendered whimsically in shades of purple - my favorite!).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/51793876872/

I had hoped to find more inspiration in her journey, perhaps because I've been feeling rather aimless and adrift myself. For whatever reason, though, her injury and subsequent comeback never felt that high stakes to me. Maybe it was because she was so young, with her entire life ahead of her, and her parents (well, mother) supported her and presented her with a ton of options? (Spoiler alert: Cherson Siegel ended up attending college, and I don't think she even graduated that much later in life than if it'd been her expected path all along?) TINY DANCER just failed to inspire and captivate me the way I thought it would, though I suspect that young athletes and ballet aficionados may get more out of Cherson Siegel's story.

This is basically an memoir, which is always hard to judge/review. I did ballet as a kid, but I didn't have this all-consuming passion to dance as Siena did. You can imagine how life-altering it is, when she decides to stop dancing.

I loved the use of purple.

2.5

Siena Cherson Siegel's graphic memoir isn't bad, but offers little beyond the typical ballet tropes: aspiration, competitive drive, stress, eating disorder, family drama, career-threatening injury, existential crisis. I've seen and read too many ballet dramas to find anything special here, but ballerinas and other young readers will probably find it more interesting.

The art is fine except for the eyes which get all distractingly giant and googly every few panels.

Especially teens, who have dedicated their lives to something they love only to discover they won't be able to follow them, will find encouragement and a ray of hope in these pages.

Since her first ballet lesson, Siena loved to dance. As her family's situation changed, ballet was the one thing she constantly adored. And she was good at it, too. Finding her way to the top ranks of her classes, she gained acceptance into the top schools in New York. With her friends, she dreamed of her future and could picture nothing else but ballet. But when an injury made her step back for awhile, she lost her momentum and, with every passing event, lost her drive and belief in herself more and more...until she no longer knew what to do.

This memoir is the follow up to another book, one I haven't read. But that definitely doesn't make a difference when picking this one up. This is the story of the author's own journey as she gives her all for one dream during her teenage years, only to have it suddenly fall away, leaving her with no idea what to do next. I do know a few teens, who would benefit from this memoir as they have gone are going through similar experiences themselves, and don't always see a light at the end of the tunnel, yet.

The graphic novel form is well done, especially since it invites to a more relaxed and quick read. The illustrations allow the emotions to stay front and center, giving the entire portrayal an almost poetic atmosphere for the eye. The words float along, sometimes bold and sometimes dimmed, to let feelings hit with more emphasis. By keeping this in the illustrated form, it also circumvents the usual heaviness a written description might have, while still keeping the atmosphere very clear. In other words, this is well done.

The text stays short and quick. This isn't a memoir with much dialogue, but rather, the author describes each moment and leads the reader through this timeframe of her life with many direct statements. I realize this is a memoir, but it still wasn't as engaging as I like and felt as if the reader were viewing a slide show of the life. Luckily, the illustrations make up for this and add the needed emotions. The message is very clear and powerfully done, and will strike a note with the right reader.
I received an ARC and found this well done.

In this graphic memoir, Siena Cherson Siegal tells her own story in dance, being drawn to it and seeing it everywhere. Growing up in Peurto Rico, her doctor didn't think Siena could dance because of her flat feet, but her mother let her try. Starting classes at 6, Siena recounts her inspiration watching and reading about dance and early dance experiences. The handwork and effort are punctuated with places, ballets, and people any dance lover is sure to recognize. The abrupt ending with sparse illustrations make the reader feel the absence of dance in Siena's life after her ankle injury.

The airy illustrations by Mark Siegel are full of movement. Ribbons twist and twine throughout the story connecting ideas and carrying the story forward. The small, routine practice illustrations are contrasted by the vibrant dance performance sequences.

**Sibert Honor Book

I love dance, and this is about another girl who grew up dancing. It's really a love letter to ballet and passion, sweetly illustrated.

To Dance is being re-released for it’s 10th anniversary. This is a graphic memoir about one girls dream to dance. Unlike what a reader expects, this does not show a dancer who starts out young and becomes the best ever, youngest ever, prima ballerina, but a real story about someone who tried. They never failed, but they did try. And they still love to dance. It intermixes the dance with stories of amazing choreographers, and a little girl living though her parents divorse. This was a simple story, it was nice and will be relatable to the readers.
#BBRC #NFMGGN
#GondorlGirlGNChallenge½

The only reason this wouldn't get 5 stars is that I really wanted to know more at the end! Even just an addition to the notes at the end would have been good; the scrapbook of mementos was a nice inclusion. The author's abrupt end to her dance career just felt jarring, especially without any sort of detail about what injury she'd had or what she chose to study afterward.

This graphic novel is a memoir of a ballerina. The author, Siena, had a dream of being a ballerina. It follows her life before becoming a ballerina with the New York City ballet. She discusses her parents divorce and the difficulty/challenges with following your dreams. This book challenges young dancers and readers to follow their dreams and although times may be difficult continue pushing forward!

Dancers are young when they first dream of dance and Siena was only six when her dreams of dancing kept skipping and leaping, circling and spinning, from airy runs along a beach near her home in Puerto Rico, to dance class in Boston, to her debut performance on stage with the New York City Ballet.

This graphic novel is based on the true story of the life of ballerina Siena. The book has some muted colors but will have pops of pink throughout the story. The book is very inspiring for kids who need some encouragement on following their dreams. It is an excellent book for teaching kids that hard work really does pay off.

The author describes how she first decided she wanted to be a ballerina at the age of six, and how that dream carried her from her home in Puerto Rico to dance class in Boston to performing with the New York City Ballet

Ends super abruptly, and then I was baffled by how little I could find about the author in Google searches. A quick (approximately ten minutes) and enjoyable read, probably especially for the intended younger audience.

The author's story of learning and loving ballet as a child and teenager. The Puerto Rico native studied at the School of American Ballet with George Balanchine and performed in many ballets. She talks about the arduous practices and classes, of watching performances from backstage, and the famous Baryshnikov. Her dance career is sidelined at age 18 by an ankle injury and she goes on to college, but the love of dance never leaves her.

I found this to be a very informational, inspirational and fun to read book. I think it is a great read for any student who might be interested in ballet or dance. I think that this would be most suitable for students in 5th-8th grade. I think it would a very interesting follow up activity to ask students to create their own graphic novel memoir in art class because it is such an interesting format for it. This novel can also be used as part of a text-set on dance, sports or hobbies.

A very sweet view of a ballerina's life, as told by one. The art is top-notch as well.

A very sweet view of a ballerina's life, as told by one. The art is top-notch as well.

A very sweet view of a ballerina's life, as told by one. The art is top-notch as well.

A very sweet view of a ballerina's life, as told by one. The art is top-notch as well.