Being a Ballerina

The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life

By: Gavin Larsen

Narrated by: Lexi Mae

Inspiring, revealing, and deeply relatable, Being a Ballerina is a firsthand look at the realities of life as a professional ballet dancer. Through episodes from her own career, Gavin Larsen describes the forces that drive a person to study dance; the daily balance that dancers navigate between hardship and joy; and the dancer's continual quest to discover who they are as a person and as an artist.

Starting with her arrival as a young beginner at a class too advanced for her, Larsen tells how the embarrassing mistake ended up helping her learn quickly and advance rapidly. In other stories of her early teachers, training, and auditions, she explains how she gradually came to understand and achieve what she and her body were capable of.

Larsen then re-creates scenes from her experiences in dance companies, from unglamorous roles to exhilarating performances. Working as a ballerina was shocking and scary at first, she says, recalling unexpected injuries, leaps of faith, and her constant struggle to operate at the level she wanted-but full of enormously rewarding moments.

An ideal listen for aspiring dancers, Larsen's memoir will also delight experienced dance professionals and fascinate anyone who wonders what it takes to live a life dedicated to the perfection of the art form.

©2021 Gavin Larsen (P)2022 Tantor

Editing needs to be better

Some parts were read twice - this happened at least three times- editing needs to be better.

Excellent and accurate description of being a ballet dancer.

If only the narrator knew how to read and took the time to research how to pronounce ballet terms and dare I say English! Otherwise, this is a wonderful and truthful depiction of what it is to be a professional ballet dancer. Poignant and beautiful.

Mispronunciations so annoying

In a ballet book the reader can’t pronounce words like rosin, Balanchine, the titles of famous ballets, even the word “choreographer.” Shame for ruining a good book.

Good Story Bad Narration

As dancers are perfectionists, I find it odd that the author didn't pre listen and correct the mispronunciation of more words and names than I can count. It got to be laughable after a while. Rosein? One ballet term had me scratching my head to figure out what step it was and wondering why had I never heard of it. .....Too bad I wanted to like this.