Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina

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Pan Macmillan UK, Aug 10, 2021 - Biography & Autobiography - 336 pages

In this enthralling memoir Georgina Pazcoguin - the first Asian American woman to be promoted to lead soloist with the New York City Ballet - blows the lid off the ballet industry to reveal the petty dramas, wild nights, beauty, ugliness, and occasional mayhem behind the wings, as well as the emotional highs and lows that come with devoting one’s life – and body - to such physically demanding art.

At a time at which the company of which she’s a member has been rocked by scandal - including the loss of famed ballet director Peter Martens, ousted after a blistering, anonymous letter detailed his abuse to the New York Times – Swan Dive dusts off old stereotypes, challenging the racism and exploitation that pervades dance companies the world over. It also addresses the tired narrative of ballerinas as uptight, untouchable perfectionists (with occasional eating disorders), to more accurately portray the wild sisterhood of artists, friends, and sometimes frenemies, who play just as hard as they work.

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About the author (2021)

Georgina Pazcoguin was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. She began her dance training at the age of four and is today a soloist with the New York City Ballet. She has also appeared on Broadway, making her debut in 2015 as Ivy Smith in On the Town, and also performed as Victoria in the 2016 Broadway revival of Cats. She lives in New York.

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