Dancing Shapes: Ballet and Body Awareness for Young Dancers

Movement.Creativity. Gratitude. Persistence. Wisdom.

"A visually stunning and interactive" pandemic creation from an award-winning dance teacher and her ballerina daughter, both immersed in the ballet worlduntil coronavirus.

Dancing Shapes is a 2021 Independent Press Award Winner. 

The book provides an inside gorgeous glimpse into one ballerina's journey. Konora, whosecareer has been sidelined by COVID-19, leads readers through warm-up steps, a basic ballet technique lesson, and an exploration of movement and form.

With more than fifty poses to contemplate orre-create, aspiring young dancers:
     * learn basic ballet techniqueand vocabulary
     * develop an eye fordetail                  
     * explore movement concepts
     * increase bodyawareness                
     * strengthen spatialperception and balance
     * celebrate gratitude, thevalue of practice, and making healthy choices

What Moms and Dads Said:
Gorgeous! Inspirational!Dancing girls alllllll over my backyard!!!

...while looking at the cover with all those posessaid, "I can do that one. I can't do that one. I can do that one. I can'tdo that one..." Then she started trying them. The pictures alone inspired her...

As soon as we read something like, "Can youtry..." she would hop right up and try it...

She thinks the book is just right for her age [9], not too young or old feeling...

[This 11-year old] thought it was easy to followand liked all the interesting shape pictures, she liked that there were "challenges" to try...

About the Author:
Konora climbed the pre-professional ballet ladderup to Pacific Northwest Ballet's Professional Division. Along the way, shedanced iconic roles such as Sugar Plum Fairy and Cinderella. She's now a full-scholarship trainee at BalletIdaho.

Konora's mother taught creative movement andballet for decades and was honored to be chosen and recognized by her local City Council for embodying the spirit of partnership and commitment to children in ourcommunity for her work with young dancers. She'sbreathed dance from every angle: child to pre-professional to adult balletstudent, zoom student, dance teacher, dance mom, competition mom, ballet-schoolparent-guilder, audience member, recital planner, business owner, and boardmember. 

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Konora is a Professional Division student at Pacific Northwest Ballet. Konora's mother taught creative movement and ballet for twenty years and was honored to be chosen and recognized by her local City Council for "embodying the spirit of partnership and commitment to children in our community" for her work with young dancers. Once Upon a Dance was created during Covid-19. It started with amateur videos encouraging kids stuck at home to join ballerina Konora on a journey of movement and dance for exercise and meditation. While the site is targeted toward a younger audience, readers can check it out at www.OnceUponADance.org.