I do love a ballet story, and this lovely novel delivered that and more. I loved reading about the technical side of ballet, but I also found Cece's journey as the first Black ballerina at an NYC company to be intriguing, emotional, and a perfect pairing to the challenging physical elements of ballet itself. Cuffy is a beautiful writer, and I'll definitely be on the lookout for what she writes next.

Dances by Nicole Cuffy is a beautifully moving exploration of identity, love, and the unspoken rhythms of life. The novel follows the life of a young Black woman, navigating her way through love, grief, and personal growth as she attempts to find herself in a world that often feels both overwhelming and confining.

Cuffy’s writing is lyrical and evocative, drawing you into the protagonist’s inner world, where every moment feels both delicate and urgent. The themes of dance and movement aren’t just literal but symbolic, representing the ways we shift, adjust, and flow through life’s challenges and joys. The character’s journey is one of self-discovery, and Cuffy captures it with such depth and authenticity that you can’t help but feel connected to the protagonist’s experience.

What struck me most about Dances was its exploration of relationships—whether it’s the complex ties with family, friends, or romantic partners. It’s a story about finding balance between personal desires and the expectations placed on you by the people around you. The emotional depth of the book will make you reflect on your own relationships and how they shape your path forward.

If you’re looking for a story that feels both intimate and expansive, with rich, multidimensional characters, Dances is a must-read. Cuffy’s talent for capturing the nuances of human connection, while weaving in the power of movement and personal transformation, makes this book unforgettable.

As a former ballet dancer, I definitely wanted to pick this one up. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting but in a good way. Pleasantly surprised by this narrative

The book focused too much on the dance aspects of the story more than the plot. The dance terms bogged down the story.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this one. There were some plot holes and too many technical ballet terms. I got lost.

If there's one thing about me, I am going to love a book about ballet. For that reason, I was pulled to Dances by Nicole Cuffy. This made me think a bit about Misty Copeland's memoir, as Cuffy introduces readers to Cece Cordell as she navigates the world of elite ballet as the NYC ballet company's first Black ballerina. Themes of family, dance, race, and identity are explored.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I will not be providing feedback on this book for I had not the opportunity to read it before it got archived! However, I am still interested in reading this book and I’m hoping to review it in the future on my social media platforms!

So glad I was able to read this book! As someone with a small ballet background, I was taken back to the studio with my short but fierce teacher yelling at the class in French. You can tell Nicole Cuffy has a dance background with the accuracy of the terms used in the ballet world, which contributed to my immersion in the high stakes of the professional ballet world.

What keeps this book from being a 4 or 5 star read is that, for all the strength of CeCe’s story as a black ballerina in the notoriously white world of ballet and her grappling with sudden fame, her connection to her family is underdeveloped. Her connection to her lost brother is there, but I would’ve loved to have more.

Nevertheless, Nicole Cuffy is incredibly talented and I can’t wait for more from her!

This book taught me so much about the ballet world. I had to research a little on my own but the book gave me the desire to do so. It is a captivating story and well written.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- a powerful story of dance, the struggle to flourish in a competitive world, and finding who you are. Cuffy conveyed the story in a simple, yet intricate way that spoke to me, and will speak to many others who relate to the themes in the story.

This book was a beautifully written character study into a Black ballerina living in NYC and getting promoted to a principal dancer. I loved the look into how she handles this new life and position, but I especially liked the little glimpses we got into her childhood and early career when she was younger, especially the parts between her and her brother.

Although I didn't dance growing up, I still found myself relating to her youthful passion and her desire to dance professionally as a child. Some of the parts were a little hard to follow as they used a lot of technical ballet terms, which I was unfamiliar with.

The story itself doesn't quite move along quickly, but I didn't find the plot to be the most important part of the book -- it was more about the characters and her relationships.

Content warning for eating disorders.

I was so excited to be approved for this one; I love dance novels. But after trying to settle into the book four or five times, I gave up. I couldn’t connect with the characters or the storyline.

I do not share my DNF reviews publicly.

For those immersed in the dance world, this title will sing. For others, it may not hold interest for long.

Cece is at the height of her career and being celebrated for being a role model for other Black dancers. But her search for her brother begins to take over her mental focus.

This was a lovely, lyrical lit-fic-drama about a Black ballerina, dealing with professional pressure, a strained familial relationship, and a sometimes-tempestuous romantic relationship. I love books steeped in the atmosphere of an intense and competitive environment, and ballet certainly fits the bill. This wasn't a plot-driven book, but if you're looking for an atmospheric and character-forward read in this kind of setting, this is a great book to pick up. Recommended!

Thanks so much to One World and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

This was interesting and I read through it extremely quickly. I love Cece as a character, I spent the whole novel rooting for her, and I loved reading about her and her journey as a black ballerina.

I love that Cuffy didn't explain ballet terms to us, it would've made the novel feel like it was meant for children.

I wish we had been given more information about Cece's family. They were presented and were so interesting but the novel does not delve into them.

I look forward to reading other works by Nicole Cuffy.

I read a lot of these ballet books. It's one of my favorite tropes (sub-genres? no idea). This one felt a little flat for me. A young woman is having an existential crisis, mostly due to body image and pressure and having like the worst boyfriend. And her brother is missing. Or at least she has no idea where he is. It is very good. I just maybe wasn't totally drawn into the main character. And the story could have been tighter without losing depth. Having too many things to sort out seemed like a weird bottom line for this story.

I really enjoyed the way this story was woven around dance, as if the book itself was a ballet unveiling itself scene after scene. "Dances" felt very honest and because of this, there was quite a bit to like about the writing and the protagonist. The first half of the book held my interest as it moved between CeCe's personal life and professional life, and between her past and her present, but as it veered into the latter half, I found myself getting bored. Overall it was a good read, but not a memorable one.

Nicole Cuffy set out to write the kind of book she could not find about a Black ballerina, and she delivered. This was a beautifully written book that had me remembering my meager 10 years as a dancer and taking breaks to look up ballet terms, watch YouTube videos, and listen to the musical pieces mentioned in the book. This created a truly immersive experience I have not enjoyed in quite some time. I am giving 4 stars because the book was a little repetitive at times and I would have liked more closure about Paul.
Highly recommended, would read more by this author

3.5 ⭐️ For about two thirds of the book I had a hard time connecting with the Cece. I can’t explain it. There was some kind of distance. Also, the dance descriptions were way to technical for the average person so that there were several paragraphs at at time in which someone like me not familiar with the terms had no idea what was going on. But as the story and Cece evolved, I very much enjoyed the final third of the book.

I really enjoyed this book about a black ballerina's love of dance and her search for an identity beyond dance. This resonated with the young woman in me, wanting the world, but still wanting to be true to my roots. I love the detail and the determination in this book. I thoroughly recommend this.


Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an e-arc in exchange for an unbiased review.