Hi friends! Today I’m shining the brightest spotlight on a book I’m so excited about. I’m hoping to read more non-fiction this year, and one of the non-fiction books that I’m really looking forward to reading is The Swans of Harlem (Adapted for Young Adults): Five Black Ballerinas, a Legacy of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History by Karen Valby. When Random House reached out to see if I was interested in a copy and participating in the blog tour, I jumped at the opportunity!
- Title: The Swans of Harlem (Adapted for Young Adults): Five Black Ballerinas, a Legacy of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History
- Author: Karen Valby
- Publisher: Delacorte Press
- Publication Date: January 14, 2025
- Genre: Nonfiction, Performing Arts
- Targeted Age Range: YA
As someone who loves theatre, I also love dance. I took a few ballet classes to help with my dance technique and there are certain ballets that I absolutely love watching — I just think that it’s such a beautiful art form. I always love reading non-fiction about the performing arts and artists, so I’m really excited about reading The Swans of Harlem. I started reading my copy last week, and haven’t gotten too far in, but I’m really looking forward to diving into this book and the lives of Lydia Abarca, Sheila Rohan, Gayle McKinney-Griffith, Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells.
A full accounting of five incredibly talented Black ballerinas from The Dance Theater of Harlem, founding members among them, that illuminates their hard-fought, historic, and overlooked contributions to the world of classical dance at a time when racism shut out Black dancers from major dance companies.
It was true until only recently, their past achievements had been erased—that’s what happened to five Black ballerinas, members of the groundbreaking Dance Theater of Harlem. At the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, Lydia Abarca, who dance critics praised effusively, was the first Black prima ballerina of this major dance company, performing lead roles in the most iconic ballets. She was also the first Black ballerina to grace the cover of Dance magazine.
Alongside fellow founding members Sheila Rohan and Gayle McKinney-Griffith, and first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells, these swans of Harlem shone a bright light on the depth of Black professional classical dancers. Their grit, determination, and exquisite artistry propelled them to dizzying heights, but over the decades, their trailblazing and triumphs were largely forgotten. Now these ballerinas and longtime friends are giving voice to their stories on and off stage—reclaiming a past so that it is finally recorded and acknowledged.
The Swans of Harlem is now available everywhere books are sold, and I definitely recommend checking it out if you’re interested in learning more about a part of ballet history that isn’t spoken about nearly enough.
Links for The Swans of Harlem: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | Penguin Random House
Tour Schedule:
February 24th — The Candid Cover
February 25th — The Story Sanctuary
February 26th — Lit Lemon Books
February 26th — Tea Time Lit
February 27th — Twirling Book Princess
February 28th — Bloggin’ ’bout Books
5 winners will receive a paperback copy of The Swans of Harlem (Adapted for Young Adults) by Karen Valby. US only, Publishers will select the winners and ship directly. The giveaway starts at 12:01am ET on February 24th and ends March 9th at 11:59pm ET. Enter the giveaway here.
KAREN VALBY is the author of two books of nonfiction: The Swans of Harlem and Welcome to Utopia: Notes from a Small Town. A contributing editor for Vanity Fair, she also writes for the New York Times, O Magazine, Glamour, Fast Company, and EW, where she spent fifteen years writing about culture. She and her family live in Austin, Texas, where her daughters study dance at Ballet Afrique.
Sounds like a great read!