Dance Stance, Beginning Ballet for Young Dancers teaches readers, children, and adults, how to improve their posture with tips from an actual ballerina. Why was this an important book to write?

We’re making the books I wished for as a dance teacher and mom. I loved watching things click for my daughter when she’d have a new teacher describe things differently, so giving kids more ways to think about technique as well as a fun, entertaining book with a positive role-model was important. As a teacher with decades’ experience teaching all ages, these highlight some of the most effective descriptions that have helped my students. Weaved in are helpful lessons and tips from a ballerina that we wanted to share.

I love Prisilla the cat, where did the idea to include her come from?

​My illustrator added the kitty cat sidekick – it makes the book so special. We actually did a social media vote for the kitty’s name and got many great ideas—in the final draft, the cat’s name is Ballerina Kittina.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

The first book I wrote for this age group was actually all about falling, but I went back and created Dance Stance, thinking that was a better starting point. So Falling into Dance is next up, and then we want to deep dive into turning after that.

One of the messages from Dance Stance is that ballet doesn’t have to be life-consuming. I quit cold turkey when I was fourteen because I didn’t know how to take just a few classes – it felt like it had to be all (40 hours a week) or nothing, and I’ve talked to so many people who had similar experiences, some who returned to dance years later wishing they never stopped.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

Eka and the Elephants arrives in a few weeks. It’s part of the Dance-It-Out! series for kids ages 4-7.

Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website