Author Amok: poems about dance

Showing posts with label poems about dance. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Laura's Bookshelf: My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights

One of the best parts about being a debut novelist has been connecting with other children's authors in the class of 2016.

Brooks Benjamin and I were in the same Pitch Wars group (I can't recommend the Pitch Wars contest/mentorship program enough). We ended up getting book deals around the same time and joining the Sweet 16s debut author group.

I already knew from our hysterical exchanges on Twitter and from working together in the Sweet 16s that Brooks has a kind heart and a big, quirky sense of humor. Plus, he shares my love of interesting socks.

Another benefit of being in a debut author group is Advanced Reader's Copies. Many of us are sending around ARCs for fellow 16ers to read and review.

Brooks Benjamin's debut novel is MY SEVENTH-GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS.

This contemporary middle grade book launches on April 12. (The same day as THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY, and Melanie Conklin's MG debut, COUNTING THYME. We have dubbed 4/12/16 "The Harmonic Convergence of Books.")

I was lucky enough to be high up on the list for Brooks' ARC tour. After it stops here at Author Amok, I'll send the book along to another Sweet 16 author.

Sam says Brooks' book passes inspection.
Proceed to read!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

LIVE IT.

All Dillon wants is to be a real dancer. And if he wins a summer scholarship at Dance-Splosion, he’s on his way. The problem? His dad wants him to play football. And Dillon’s freestyle crew, the Dizzee Freekz, says that dance studios are for sellouts. His friends want Dillon to kill it at the audition—so he can turn around and tell the studio just how wrong their rules and creativity-strangling ways are.

WORK IT.

At first, Dillon’s willing to go along with his crew’s plan, even convincing one of the snobbiest girls at school to work with him on his technique. But as Dillon’s dancing improves, he wonders: what if studios aren’t the enemy? And what if he actually has a shot at winning the scholarship?

BRING IT.

Dillon’s life is about to get crazy . . . on and off the dance floor

This book is filled with hilarious moments, but it also has a tender heart. Dillon's dance crew or solo performer dilemma is clearly laid out by page two. True to middle school, our MC takes a winding path as he figures out how to keep his friends AND get the dance training he longs for. Dillon has to cope with well-meaning (and not so well-meaning) advice, adults and peers who have their own agendas, a secret crush, and an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction.

MY SEVENTH GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS is appropriate for most middle grade readers, fourth grade and up. Dillon is so likable and funny that readers will wish they were part of his Dizzee Freekz dance crew. Thumbs up for an unexpected romance between two of the supporting characters.

Who will like it?

Kids who love funny books.
Dancers and fans of reality TV dance shows.
Middle graders who like to read about groups of friends solving problems together.
Children who are beginning to make life decisions (e.g. Do I want to continue with this sport or activity?) for themselves.

What will readers learn about?

What its like to be part of a tight-knit group of friends.
How to stand up to friends and do what's right for you.
You can work hard and be committed, but still have fun.

The poem I'm pairing with MY SEVENTH GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS is from the teen e-journal Teen Ink.

Hip Hop

By Tajahniya S., Brooklyn, NY

What is it about you that is so different?

Is it that booming bass,
Or is it those wavy synthesizers?
Maybe it’s the way you flow,
Or how you say what you mean and mean what you say?
Or it could be your wide range of influences.
From rock and soul to jazz and reggae,
Across the globe you are inspired.
What is it?
It’s the change you’ve made.
From beat-boxing, DJ-ing and breakdancing,
You went on to become an activist,
Standing up for what you believed in.

Read the rest of the poem at Teen Ink.

MY SEVENTH-GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS is available for pre-order at Amazon. Thank you to Brooks for making the ARC available.

IN THIS SERIES: Laura's Bookshelf

God Particles, by Thomas Lux

Friday, September 19, 2014

You Took a Big Chance at the High School Dance

Has everyone settled into the school year?

No?

I hear you, friends. Four weeks in and my teens are still riding the back-to-school roller coaster. "Who will my friends be this year? Which teachers will be my favorites and which classes will be challenging? What colors, shoes, hairstyles are in?"

Thank goodness it's Poetry Friday. It gives us a chance to talk about one of the pinnacles of high school drama: School Dances.

I'm heading to North Carolina
today for the Electric Run.
While I'm running around Raleigh
in my Poetry Friday Day-Glo T-shirt,
stop by Amy's Poem Farm.
Amy is hosting Poetry Friday this week.

We are in the world of high school today, readers. The poem I'm sharing this week is appropriate for 8th grade and up.

My daughter and her middle school friends were split up. Their middle school feeds into three separate public high schools and Julia is attending a private school. They are getting together for the homecoming dance at one of the local public schools. My kid was thrilled to be invited. She started planning her outfit for the dance immediately.

And since this isn't her school, Jules is planning to make a splash. She's ditching the dress and instead wearing a very fetching suit: snug pinstripe trousers, fitted jacket, dress shirt, bow tie. I nearly died of shock when she agreed to have her hair done -- as in professionally styled! -- for the occasion.

Read about fashionistas in tuxedos.

Unfortunately, some girls at Julia's all-female school heard she was wearing a suit to a dance. Eyebrows were raised. We had to have one of *those* talks. The one where the parent (dying inside) says, "It's okay to try to fit in if that's what you need to do right now."

Then I added, "It's also okay if you dare to be different. People might judge you. That stinks, but be prepared for it. You get to decide what works best for you."

Seriously, people. I was on the fence. Julia's high school life might be easier if she puts on the metaphorical uniform. But she's staying true to herself, and having a blast planning her outfit.

In a moment of serendipity, I was skimming through poet Sue Ellen Thompson's new book this week.

Sue Ellen Thompson's new book of poems,
They is available at Amazon.

Sue Ellen sent me They, giving me the freedom to choose a poem that would appeal to older students and their teachers. She wrote in an email, "If you're looking for something that would appeal to students, there are many that deal with the whole gender identity issue."

I flipped open the book and came across this gem, "The Paper Dress." It's both a narrative and an ode to those brave teens who would rather stand out than fit it.

The Paper Dress
by Sue Ellen Thompson

She never went to high school proms
and showed no interest in boys. But the night
of the Christmas dance, she came downstairs
wearing a paper Lawn 'n Leaf bag
on which she'd painted the curvaceous body
of the woman she had no intention
of becoming, wearing a snug white dress
with bra-straps showing and an inch-wide zipper
running from her cross-hatched cleavage
to her fishnet knees. The teacher
who was chaperoning wouldn't let her in--
although her friends were wearing strapless,
backless, asymmetric hems that clung
discreetly to one ankle before soaring up
the opposite thigh. My daughter bit
down hard on her own anger, looked
the teacher in the eye and slowly, stiffly,
started walking backwards to the door,
her middle finger raised
behind the paper dress's hourglass waist.

Posted with permission.

Sue Ellen Thompson is the author of four previous books of poetry and the editor of The Autumn House Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry (2005). Her work has been included in the Best American Poetry series, read on National Public Radio by Garrison Keillor, and featured in U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser's national syndicated newspaper column. She has been a mentor to adult poets and an instructor at The Writer's Center in Bethesda and Annapolis. In 2010, she received the Maryland Author Award from the Maryland Library Association. Her website is http://sueellenthompson.com/

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Poetry Friday: 8th Grade Dance

Poetry has been in the news lately. We lost Maya Angelou on May 28 and this week gained a new U.S. Poet Laureate in Charles Wright. But I'll leave others to laud Wright's work this Poetry Friday.

To find those poetry posts and more, visit Catherine Johnson's blog. Thanks for hosting Poetry Friday this week, Catherine!

There is only one "current event" at the Shovan household this week: Tonight's 8th grade dance.

Our central Maryland school district doesn't believe in pomp and circumstance ceremonies, except in the case of completing high school. Instead of walking across a stage to receive a middle school diploma, my daughter has a bevy of smaller celebrations. Tuesday was the 8th grade picnic. (My prize for chaperoning, a tick bite on the ankle.) Next Friday, there will be a slide show and awards celebration.

Tonight is the big event. I'll spend the afternoon decorating the school with other parents. The theme is "Glow in the Dark." My daughter almost wore a black t-shirt dress with hand-decorated with glow-in-the-dark paint (which would have been SO COOL), but opted for a traditional party dress.

We had a last minute panic as she realized her shoes did not match her dress. It was Mom to the rescue with a pair of pink sandals. Whew!

There is a favorite poem playing in my mind this week. It was written by one of my early writing mentors, Maria Mazziotti Gillan. I have known and loved this poem since before my daughter was born. It's strange to find her here -- at this moment of becoming -- which Maria describes with such clarity.

My Daughter at 14, Christmas Dance

by Maria Mazziotti Gillan

Panic in your face, you write questions
to ask him. When he arrives,
you are serene, your fear
unbetrayed. How unlike me you are.

After the dance,
I see your happiness; he holds
your hand. Though you barely speak,
your body pulses messages I can read

all too well. He kisses you goodnight,
his body moving toward yours, and yours
responding. I am frightened, guard my
tongue for fear my mother will pop out

of my mouth. "He is not shy," I say. You giggle,
a little girl again, but you tell me he
kissed you on the dance floor. "Once?"
I ask. "No, a lot."

We ride through rain-shining 1 a.m.
streets. I bite back words which long
to be said, knowing I must not shatter your
moment, fragile as a spun-glass bird,

you, the moment, poised on the edge of
flight, and I, on the ground, afraid.

Source: MariaGillan.blogspot.com

Poem from Where I Come From, Guernica

Here is Maria, featured on PoetryVlog.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Quicksilver Ballerina: 2014 Poetry Project

Writerly Friends, I am the type of girl who cannot resist a hot-pink tutu. Show me a box of dress ups, and I’m happy to pull on hats, scarves, and tulle creations for hours.

Dressing up as a "Merry Man"
at Nottingham Castle.

It’s Day 22 of the Pantone® Poetry Project. (“What’s that?” you ask. Read about the month-long writing project here.)

Today’s colors are Quicksilver and Ballerina.

Day 22 Quicksilver
Pantone ® 17-3907

Day 22 Ballerina
Pantone ® 13-2807

Many of us tied on a pair of ballet slippers at some point, or helped a child pull on tights, or pinned a grandchild's hair into a bun. Dance is a rich metaphor for life and the passage of time, as you’ll read in today’s poems.

Ballet Slipper
by Patricia VanAmburg

Her slippers, leotard and skin
are all the wrong color on
this very first day of class—
brilliant jungle dancer
pirouetting through the house—
leaping—twirling—unable to sit
still in the four-year-old circle
with fingers slippering the floor
in time to some very small music.

Patricia's granddaughter is a girl after my own heart. As long as we're wearing a costume, let's go crazy!

Ballerina
by Diane Mayr

At four it is all about the tulle,
pink and light as French buttercream.
At fourteen it is all about the pointe,
toes raw, pink with blood and sweat.
At twenty-four it is all about the anguish
of seeing pink roses tossed for another.
At thirty-four it is all about the dance
lesson for four-year-olds in pink tulle.

I love the circular nature of Diane's poem, which we'll return to in a moment. Margaret's daughter celebrated a birthday this week. This is a "not" poem -- Margaret cleverly uses pink (NOT her daughter's color) as a jumping off point for this portrait.

29 year old

For Maggie, 2/24/14

By Margaret Simon

Ballerina pink is not your color

as you take to the streets in an obsidian Lexus,

Independent,

daring,

bold

You fly to San Francisco. Run by the Golden Gate;

International orange looks good on you!

Undaunted, throw your hair to the wind—

Quick like silver, don’t look back.