Fourteen years ago,
Delphine abandoned her prestigious soloist spot at the Paris Opera
Ballet for a new life in St. Petersburg––taking with her a secret that
could upend the lives of her best friends, fellow dancers Lindsay and
Margaux. Now 36 years old, Delphine has returned to her former home and
to the legendary Palais Garnier Opera House, to choreograph the ballet
that will kickstart the next phase of her career––and, she hopes,
finally make things right with her former friends. But Delphine quickly
discovers that things have changed while she's been away...and some
secrets can't stay buried forever.
Moving between the trio's adolescent years and the present day, The Ballerinas explores
the complexities of female friendship, the dark drive towards physical
perfection in the name of artistic expression, the double-edged sword of
ambition and passion, and the sublimated rage that so many women hold
inside––all culminating in a twist you won't see coming, with magnetic
characters you won't soon forget.
Praise for The Ballerinas:
"Forever shaped by
their friendship and the most grueling artform in the world, three
friends navigate love, secrets, ambition and the pursuit of artistic
perfection within the hallowed walls of the world’s most prestigious
ballet school and company. Engrossing, deft and insightful, I loved THE
BALLERINAS―from its provocative opening pages, to its blistering climax, to its exactly right final scenes."––Cathy Marie Buchanan, New York Times bestselling author of The Painted Girls and Daughter of Black Lake
"Wonderfully
atmospheric, THE BALLERINAS is a twirling dream of a story exploring
the sacrifices and pain of creation, the shrinking of women and the
pressure of always being on show." ––Araminta Hall, author of Our Kind of Cruelty
"A
dark and searing exploration of bodily autonomy, friendship, memory and
loss set in the gritty, bloody world of elite ballet. I was hooked from
the first line of this shimmering debut."––Ella Berman, author of The Comeback
"There
is a moment in THE BALLERINAS when Rachel Kapelke-Dale describes ballet
as a place where women “both reign and serve.” If you are anticipating
competition and sabotage here, you won’t be wrong―but to distill this
novel to its rivalries is to do it a great injustice. THE BALLERINAS is
an incisive examination of a place and institution that both depends
upon and diminishes women; Kapelke-Dale has crafted a sharp exploration
of bodies, art, and agency that left me wondering what it means to be an
audience member, and what it means to be seen."––Emily Layden, author of All Girls
"Kapelke-Dale's
debut comes roaring out of the wings with all the grace and strength of
a prima ballerina. Deftly constructed and crackling with tension, THE
BALLERINAS is a stunner of a novel, with electric prose and careful
observations on loyalty, ambition, power, and rage within the crucible
of intense female friendships. I tore through this unforgettable
thriller―and I'll never look at professional dance the same way again."––Andrea Bartz, author of The Herd
"Rachel
Kapelke-Dale's THE BALLERINAS is an engrossing, smart, and page-turning
novel about sacrifice in the name of art. The characters at the heart
of THE BALLERINAS hold their loyalty to loved ones up against their
loyalty for ballet, measuring how much of themselves and their bodies
they are willing to offer. Kapelke-Dale's writing confronts questions of
aging, violence, and friendship to confront ballet's allure and
brutality. The result is a novel filled with grace and strength."––Ellen O'Connell Whittet, author of What You Become in Flight
Rachel Kapelke-Dale
Rachel Kapelke-Dale is She is the co-author of GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND (Penguin 2014), a memoir about the significance and nuances of female friendships. The author of Vanity Fair Hollywood's column "Advice from the Stars," Kapelke-Dale spent years in intensive ballet training before receiving a BA from Brown University, an MA from the Université de Paris VII, and a PhD from University College London.
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