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The Swans of Harlem
- Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History
- Narrated by: Karlya Shelton-Benjamin, Sheila Rohan, Lydia Abarca Mitchell, Marcia Lynn Sells, Khadija Tariyan McKinney G., January LaVoy
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
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Publisher's summary
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE • The forgotten story of a pioneering group of five Black ballerinas and their fifty-year sisterhood, a legacy erased from history—until now.
“This is the kind of history I wish I learned as a child dreaming of the stage!”—Misty Copeland, author of Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy
“Utterly absorbing, flawlessly-researched…Vibrant, propulsive, and inspiring, The Swans of Harlem is a richly drawn portrait of five courageous women whose contributions have been silenced for too long!”—Tia Williams, author of A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
At the height of the Civil Rights movement, Lydia Abarca was a Black prima ballerina with a major international dance company—the Dance Theatre of Harlem, a troupe of women and men who became each other’s chosen family. She was the first Black company ballerina on the cover of Dance magazine, an Essence cover star; she was cast in The Wiz and in a Bob Fosse production on Broadway. She performed in some of ballet’s most iconic works with other trailblazing ballerinas, including the young women who became her closest friends—founding Dance Theatre of Harlem members Gayle McKinney-Griffith and Sheila Rohan, as well as first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells.
These Swans of Harlem performed for the Queen of England, Mick Jagger, and Stevie Wonder, on the same bill as Josephine Baker, at the White House, and beyond. But decades later there was almost no record of their groundbreaking history to be found. Out of a sisterhood that had grown even deeper with the years, these Swans joined forces again—to share their story with the world.
Captivating, rich in vivid detail and character, and steeped in the glamour and grit of professional ballet, The Swans of Harlem is a riveting account of five extraordinarily accomplished women, a celebration of both their historic careers and the sustaining, grounding power of female friendship, and a window into the robust history of Black ballet, hidden for too long.
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Critic reviews
“If [The Swans of Harlem] were just a quest for cultural redress, the result might have been a dusty scroll of the Swans’ ballet bona fides. It’s by getting personal that it leaps high…Valby skillfully maps the ugliness of a segregated art form…All of this [history] is absorbing. Yet it’s the odd details that shine brightest…There’s so much meaning and humanity in this kind of minutiae…The moral of this important and tear-stained book is actually a reminder: Bare oneself, fly into the grandest of jetés and live free.”—New York Times Books Review
“Karen Valby’s The Swans of Harlem brings to life the stories of Black dancers whose contributions to the world of ballet were silenced, marginalized, and otherwise erased. Karen introduces readers to important figures of our past, while inspiring us to courageously chase our dreams. This is the kind of history I wish I learned as a child dreaming of the stage!”—Misty Copeland, New York Times-bestselling author of Black Ballerinas: My Journey To Our Legacy
“These five original Dance Theatre of Harlem ballerinas fell in love with an art form that most of America believed was white and should remain so. Upon Arthur Mitchell’s founding of an all-Black company in 1969, they eagerly took their places at the barre and challenged themselves to the utmost. They triumphed. They showed that Blacks could not only excel at classical ballet but could also shape the art in their own vibrant image. Karen Valby weaves their stories together as a choreographer would: the women form an ensemble, yet each gets her own riveting solo. It’s thrilling to watch as they join forces at last and claim their unique place in American ballet’s past, present and future.”—Margo Jefferson, author of Constructing a Nervous System
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On June 24, 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned, and the impact was immediate: by 2024, abortion was virtually unavailable or significantly restricted in 21 states. In Undue Burden, reporter Shefali Luthra traces the unforgettable stories of patients faced with one of the most personal decisions of their lives.
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Women's reproductive rights stripped
- By Constance L. Brown on 06-11-24
By: Shefali Luthra
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Reckless Hearts (Short Story)
- A Story of Slim Hawks and Ernest Hemingway
- By: Melanie Benjamin
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Spain, 1959. Slim Hawks Hayward likes to think she doesn’t get jealous. But when her dear friend Lauren “Betty” Bacall learns that Papa Hemingway has come to watch the bullfights and insists that Slim make introductions, she can’t help feeling protective. Slim has known Papa for years. He always makes her feel like the most beautiful woman in the room—even when his wife is standing right beside him. Truth be told, Slim could have learned to love him all those years ago, in the streets of Havana or the mountains of the American West.
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Slim tale
- By L. Wroten on 01-20-20
By: Melanie Benjamin
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Chop Fry Watch Learn
- Fu Pei-mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food
- By: Michelle T. King
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lam
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1949, a young Chinese housewife arrived in Taiwan and transformed herself from a novice to a natural in the kitchen. She launched a career as a cookbook author and television cooking instructor. Years later, in America, flipping through her mother's copies of Fu Pei-mei's Chinese cookbooks, historian Michelle T. King discovered more than the recipes to meals of her childhood. She found, in Fu's story and in her food, a portal to another time, when a generation of middle-class female home cooks navigated the postwar transformations taking place across the world.
By: Michelle T. King
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The Swans of Harlem (Adapted for Young Adults)
- Five Black Ballerinas, a Legacy of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History
- By: Karen Valby
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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At the peak of the civil rights movement, Lydia Abarca was the first ballerina in a Black ballet company to grace the cover of Dance magazine. Alongside founding members Shelia Rohan and Gayle McKinney-Griffith and first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells, Abarca invited a bright light to shine on Black professional classical dancers. Grit, determination, and exquisite artistry propelled these swans of Harlem to dizzying heights as they performed around the world for audiences that included celebrities, dignitaries, and royalty.
By: Karen Valby
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Our Secret Society
- Mollie Moon and the Glamour, Money, and Power Behind the Civil Rights Movement
- By: Tanisha Ford
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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An engrossing social history and memoir of the unsinkable Mollie Moon, the stylish founder of the National Urban League Guild and fundraiser extraordinaire who reigned over the glittering "Beaux Arts Ball,” the social event of New York and Harlem society for fifty years—a glamorous event rivalling today’s Met Gala, drawing America’s wealthy and cultured, both Black and white.
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Inside Pool --Behind the Struggle
- By JRR on 10-13-24
By: Tanisha Ford
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Not Your China Doll
- The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong
- By: Katie Gee Salisbury
- Narrated by: Caroline McLaughlin, Katie Gee Salisbury
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Before Constance Wu, Sandra Oh, Awkwafina, or Lucy Liu, there was Anna May Wong. In her time, she was a legendary beauty, witty conversationalist, and fashion icon. Plucked from her family’s laundry business in Los Angeles, Anna May Wong rose to stardom in Douglas Fairbanks’s blockbuster The Thief of Bagdad. Fans and the press clamored to see more of this unlikely actress, but when Hollywood repeatedly cast her in stereotypical roles, she headed abroad in protest. Not Your China Doll showcases the vibrant, radical life of a groundbreaking artist.
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Beautiful & worthwhile read
- By Rebecca Lee on 03-18-24
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Undue Burden
- Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America
- By: Shefali Luthra
- Narrated by: Suehyla El-Attar Young, Shefali Luthra
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On June 24, 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned, and the impact was immediate: by 2024, abortion was virtually unavailable or significantly restricted in 21 states. In Undue Burden, reporter Shefali Luthra traces the unforgettable stories of patients faced with one of the most personal decisions of their lives.
-
-
Women's reproductive rights stripped
- By Constance L. Brown on 06-11-24
By: Shefali Luthra
-
Reckless Hearts (Short Story)
- A Story of Slim Hawks and Ernest Hemingway
- By: Melanie Benjamin
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spain, 1959. Slim Hawks Hayward likes to think she doesn’t get jealous. But when her dear friend Lauren “Betty” Bacall learns that Papa Hemingway has come to watch the bullfights and insists that Slim make introductions, she can’t help feeling protective. Slim has known Papa for years. He always makes her feel like the most beautiful woman in the room—even when his wife is standing right beside him. Truth be told, Slim could have learned to love him all those years ago, in the streets of Havana or the mountains of the American West.
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Slim tale
- By L. Wroten on 01-20-20
By: Melanie Benjamin
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Chop Fry Watch Learn
- Fu Pei-mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food
- By: Michelle T. King
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lam
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1949, a young Chinese housewife arrived in Taiwan and transformed herself from a novice to a natural in the kitchen. She launched a career as a cookbook author and television cooking instructor. Years later, in America, flipping through her mother's copies of Fu Pei-mei's Chinese cookbooks, historian Michelle T. King discovered more than the recipes to meals of her childhood. She found, in Fu's story and in her food, a portal to another time, when a generation of middle-class female home cooks navigated the postwar transformations taking place across the world.
By: Michelle T. King
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This Great Hemisphere
- A Novel
- By: Mateo Askaripour
- Narrated by: Emana Rachelle
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Northwestern Hemisphere, 2529: an Earth on which half of people are now born literally invisible. Sweetmint, a young woman, is one of them and thus relegated to second-class citizenship. She has done everything right her entire life, from school to landing a highly sought-after apprenticeship. But all she has fought so hard to earn comes crashing down when she learns that her brother (whom she had presumed dead) is not only alive and well but also the primary suspect in a high-profile political murder.
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Thin Metaphor and Poor Use of Central Conceit (Invisibility)
- By Christine K. on 08-27-24
By: Mateo Askaripour
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Ghostroots
- Stories
- By: Pemi Aguda
- Narrated by: Délé Ogundiran, Ore Apampa-Araba
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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A debut collection of stories set in a hauntingly reimagined Lagos where characters vie for freedom from ancestral ties.
By: Pemi Aguda
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The Volcano Daughters
- A Novel
- By: Gina María Balibrera
- Narrated by: Gisela Chipe, Elena Rey, Alma Cuervo, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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El Salvador, 1923. Graciela, a young girl growing up on a volcano in a community of Indigenous women, is summoned to the capital, where she is claimed as an oracle for a rising dictator. There she meets Consuelo, the sister she has never known, who was stolen from their home before Graciela was born. The two spend years under the cruel El Gran Pendejo’s regime, unwillingly helping his reign of terror, until genocide strikes the community from which they hail.
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A Masterpiece, a must read!
- By Plant lover on 09-30-24
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My Black Country
- A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future
- By: Alice Randall
- Narrated by: Alice Randall
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Alice Randall, award-winning professor, songwriter, and author presents “a celebration of all things country music” (Ken Burns) as she reflects on her search for the first family of Black country music.
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Not so much a indictment of country music but a hey you are missing a piece of evidence here
- By Chris Lane on 10-02-24
By: Alice Randall
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The Secret Keeper of Main Street
- A Novel
- By: Trisha R. Thomas
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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1954: In the quaint town of Mendol, Oklahoma, Bailey Dowery is a Black dressmaker for the wives and daughters of local oil barons. She earns a good living fitting designer gowns and creating custom wedding dresses for the town’s elite. But beyond her needle and thread lies a deeper talent, one passed down from her mother: the gift of insight. With just a fleeting touch or brush against the skin, Bailey has sudden flashes of intuition.
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Wheeww…
- By Britainy M. on 08-25-24
By: Trisha R. Thomas
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Fire Exit
- By: Morgan Talty
- Narrated by: Darrell Dennis
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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From the porch of his home, Charles Lamosway has watched the life he might have had unfold across the river on Maine’s Penobscot Reservation. On the far bank, he caught brief moments of Roger and Mary raising their only child, Elizabeth from the day she came home from the hospital to her early twenties. But there’s always been something deeper and more dangerous than the river that divides him from this family and the rest of the tribal community. It’s the secret that Elizabeth is his daughter, a secret Charles is no longer willing to keep.
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Wonderful story about love, family , truth and deception and identity
- By ReallyNelie on 06-23-24
By: Morgan Talty
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We Were the Universe
- A Novel
- By: Kimberly King Parsons
- Narrated by: Kristen Sieh, Justis Bolding
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The trip was supposed to be fun. When Kit’s best friend gets dumped by his boyfriend, he begs her to ditch her family responsibilities for an idyllic weekend in the Montana mountains. They’ll soak in hot springs, then sneak a vape into a dive bar and drink too much, like old times. Instead, their getaway only reminds Kit of everything she’s lost lately: her wildness, her independence, and—most heartbreaking of all—her sister, Julie, who died a few years ago.
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The author’s use of detail is exceptional
- By Jane Roth on 06-17-24
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Silver Nitrate
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Gisela Chipe
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood. Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy.
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Good story but the narrator…
- By MAW on 07-21-23
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Traveling
- On the Path of Joni Mitchell
- By: Ann Powers
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Celebrated NPR music critic Ann Powers explores the life and career of Joni Mitchell in a lyrical style as fascinating and ethereal as the songs of the artist herself.
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good story - the author interjected too much about herself
- By Arthur Keown on 07-10-24
By: Ann Powers
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Women and Children First
- A Novel
- By: Alina Grabowski
- Narrated by: Abigail Reno, EJ Lavery, Maria McCann, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Nashquitten, MA, is a decaying coastal enclave that not even tourist season can revive, full of locals who have run the town’s industries for generations. When a young woman dies at a house party, the circumstances around her death suspiciously unclear, the tight-knit community is shaken. As a mother grieves her daughter, a teacher her student, a best friend her confidante, the events around the tragedy become a lightning rod: blame is cast, secrets are buried deeper.
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The Relationships of Mother’s & Daughters!
- By Amazon Customer on 06-30-24
By: Alina Grabowski
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Stories Are Weapons
- Psychological Warfare and the American Mind
- By: Annalee Newitz
- Narrated by: Alexandra Cohler
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Annalee Newitz traces the way disinformation, propaganda, and violent threats have evolved from military weapons deployed against foreign adversaries into tools in domestic culture wars. Newitz delves into America's deep-rooted history with psychological operations, beginning with Benjamin Franklin's Revolutionary War-era fake newspaper and nineteenth-century wars on Indigenous nations, and reaching its apotheosis with the Cold War and twenty-first-century influence campaigns online.
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Overcoming psyops
- By Terry DeBriere on 09-01-24
By: Annalee Newitz
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How the Word Is Passed
- A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
- By: Clint Smith
- Narrated by: Clint Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the listener on an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not—that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation's collective history, and ourselves.
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Sincerely grateful read
- By Kelvin Dixon on 06-08-21
By: Clint Smith
What listeners say about The Swans of Harlem
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- E.R.
- 09-04-24
Beautiful, complex story, and important history!
A gem of a book. These women are powerful trailblazers and it’s wonderful to have their history captured with such detail and nuance. As a dancer myself, I loved so many aspects of this book - the accurate description of the unique bond dancers have, the complexity of the struggles we face, and the indescribable way the art form lives in those of us who were born to be dancers.
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- Tee
- 06-03-24
Superb! Well written and informative
This was a great book which provided background and did s full circle from describing early black ballerina treatment to current day.
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- Gary
- 09-23-24
An important story finally told
I am an eighty year old, straight, white man. I know little of ballet. This book is a fascinating description of the strength, determination, suffering, and sisterhood of superb artists in gaining the recognition that is so often denied black Americans. The story is sometimes hard to hear, but so very necessary to be told. I will be watching videos of these dancers and their ballets.
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- Heather M.
- 06-24-24
Truly Captivating Read, So Good
"The Swans of Harlem" is a remarkable audiobook that offers an in-depth look into the lives of extraordinary women. Their challenges, determination to succeed, and quest to be recognized for their talents are truly inspiring. Each of their stories captivated me, and I gained a newfound appreciation for the arts and the struggles these women endured due to racial discrimination. I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially those interested in understanding the true essence of determination. poise, and hard work. Thank you so much for this wonderful book and thank you to the women featured in the book, truly inspiring!!!
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-17-24
history
they need to be in the hall of fame and more please 🙏 work on this
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- Chanel Boyd
- 08-07-24
Wonderful
We need more of these untold stories!! So beautiful I’m so glad I was originally gifted this book.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-14-24
Fantastic
What a page turner I couldn’t put this book down .what I really liked is that I had no idea. I learned this whole chapter of my history black ballet and black ballerinas don’t stop and end with Misty Copeland. Having some type of archive type of like document of everything down so it doesn’t disappear.
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- Angela F
- 07-05-24
A Story That Needs to Be Heard Again and Again!
This is a story that reaches beyond the Dance Theater of Harlem, Arthur Mitchell, and the 152nd Street Ballet Legacy to the contemporary history and experiences of Black Americans in the arts. Wonderfully told and comprehensively researched, author Karen Valby brings to life the stories of five Black ballerinas whom Misty Copeland wishes she had learned about as a child. You need not be a fan of ballet or the performing arts to appreciate the stories of these five groundbreaking women.
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- Raquel
- 06-24-24
Finally - Acknowledgement!
It was enjoyable and eye opening. Thank you ladies for sharing your experiences. Loved it!
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- STroutt
- 06-27-24
call Ken Burns!
this would make a fascinating documentary where I could see pictures or even just video of generic ballerinas showing the moves discussed... but I struggled to just listen to it.
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