Roanoke,  – Gavin Larsen, a world-renowned author and former career ballerina, will be making a special appearance in Roanoke on Saturday, August 3rd, 2024 from 2 to 4 pm. The event is scheduled to take place at Carolina Connection in the Towers Shopping Center, where Larsen will be available to sign copies of her much-anticipated memoir.

 

In her captivating book, Larsen paints vivid scenes from her illustrious career in dance, spanning from unglamorous roles to awe-inspiring performances. She candidly discusses her initial fears and unexpected challenges in the realm of ballet, highlighting the resilience and dedication required to excel in the demanding art form. Her memoir also delves into the poignant decision she made to retire at the age of 35, offering a glimpse into the sacrifices and triumphs of her remarkable journey.

 

Whether you are an aspiring dancer, a seasoned professional, or simply curious about the intricacies of a life devoted to dance, Larsen's memoir promises an engaging and enlightening read.

 

Don't miss this exclusive opportunity to meet Gavin Larsen in person and acquire a signed copy of her insightful memoir.

 

For more information, contact Star City School of Ballet (540) 685-7552

 

August 4, 2024 from 2 to 4pm at Carolina Connection at Towers Shopping Center

662 Brandon Ave SW, Roanoke, VA 24015,

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Who is Gavin Larsen? 

Gavin Larsen is a writer, teacher, and former professional ballet dancer.

 

Born and raised in New York City, Gavin received her professional dance training at the School of American Ballet, the Pacific Northwest Ballet School and the New York School of Ballet. Over the course of her 18-year professional career, she was a member of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Alberta Ballet, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and Oregon Ballet Theatre, dancing prominent roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Anthony Tudor, James Kudelka, Christopher Wheeldon and Paul Taylor, as well as the major classical works and numerous original contemporary pieces.

 

Gavin retired from full-time performing in 2010 to focus on teaching, coaching and writing about dance, while continuing to pursue unique artistic opportunities. She has taught and coached widely across the country and been a guest teacher for schools in Japan and Canada. In 2010, Gavin was a founding member of Incoroporamento, a collaborative trio combining dance, poetry, and music, producing several performances to critical acclaim.

 

Gavin has been a regular contributor for Pointe, Dance Teacher, and Dance Spirit magazines, and her essay “Why I Dance” was published in Dance magazine in 2009. Her writing has appeared in Dance/USA’s online journal In the Green Room, Oregon ArtsWatch, the Dancing Times and Artslandia as well as the literary journals the Threepenny Review, Page & Spine, Sunlight Press, KYSO Flash, and The Maine Review. In 2015 she was honored with a fellowship to the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, NM, to pursue her work as a writer. Being a Ballerina: The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life is her first book. She lives in Asheville, NC.

 

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BEING A BALLERINA

2021 Marfield Prize National Award for Arts Writing Finalist

In a series of 57 essay-like chapters of Being a Ballerina: The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life brings the reader inside the dancer’s world. Inspiring, revealing, and deeply relatable, these episodes, memories, and musings illustrate the realities of life as a dancer from earliest years through retirement from the stage. As you journey with Gavin through the arc of her dancing life, you stand next to her at the barre, look out through her eyes as she rehearses an emotional pas de deux, listen to her inner dialogue as she performs an exhilarating ballet— and as an ankle tendon tears in the middle of company class. The reader learns how to sew a pointe shoe and do a partnered pirouette, and will also examine the forces that drive a person to dance and the sometimes tormented relationship between a dancer and her body, her craft, her job, and ultimately, herself.

 

From the unglamorous grunt work in the ballet trenches to a moment on stage that she thinks may be the apex of her life, Gavin’s story shows that the drama of ballet lies in the countless  routine moments that are far from mundane. This is the true story of all dancers, artists, athletes or any of those whose passion has compelled them forward through seemingly insurmountable challenges towards an elusive, amorphous

 

 

Being a Ballerina: The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life

by Gavin Larsen

A look inside a dancer’s world

“A luminous new memoir. . . . Poignant . . . Both a personal account and a universal take on the life of a professional ballet dancer.”—New York Times

 

“There is power and perfection in this captivating memoir—the power of personal experience

and the perfection of writing that carefully captures the life of a dancer. . . . Dancing ‘full out’

means going all out during practice rather than saving energy for the performance. In this

memoir Larsen is writing full out, and we are the lucky audience of her performance.

Balletomanes, dance students, and aspiring dancers will applaud this absorbing account.”—

Library Journal, Starred Review

 

“A lovely debut that’s relatable, engaging, and unafraid to show vulnerability. A thorough,

evocative, and deeply reverent remembrance.”—Kirkus Reviews

 

“Warm, insightful and enjoyable to read, Being a Ballerina helps cast the life of a professional

ballet dancer in a new light.”—Dancing Times

 

“One has to be grateful to Larsen for taking the time to write so well about the thoughts and the emotions that she revealed—and passing on the art form and those experiences to the next generation of ballet students and professional dancers.”—Mark Kappel, NewsNotes Dance Blog

 

“A lush memoir that spans Larsen’s 18-year career. . . . It’s a vivid insider’s perspective on the

rigors of professional ballet, as well as what a dancer’s life is like beyond the footlights.”—

Oregonian

 

“A memoir to sweep you off your feet. . . . Vividly engaging. . . . A pleasure to read not just for

the backstage stories it tells but also for the line-by-line, sentence-by-sentence reward of

[Larsen’s] way with words. Like a good dance, it’s swift, taut, and abundant.”—Oregon

ArtsWatch

 

“This is the best book I’ve ever read about becoming and being a dancer. Every word rings true.” —Robert Gottlieb, editor and dance critic

 

“Larsen relates in great detail and remarkable prose how she became a ballerina. With her we

enter a school. With her we enter a theater. With her we listen in the wings and rush out onto the stage, the destination of her desire, the music her guide. We read about the difficult training that must be mastered and the fragility of the body during the process of learning technique. We learn about the joy of performance. I loved reading it.”—Allegra Kent, former principal dancer, New York City Ballet

 

“Gentle, genuine, and honest, Larsen shares her experiences generously, offering a compelling glimpse into a ballerina’s world—one that beautifully illustrates not only what it takes to become a professional dancer but what it means to be a ballerina.”—Jennifer Carlynn Kronenberg, author of So, You Want to Be a Ballet Dancer?

 

“I laughed out loud, cringed, and teared up relating to the joys and trials that a career in ballet

requires and that Larsen so vividly conveys. Her wit and humanity bring behind-the-scenes

experiences to life with the candor of a good friend along with the invaluable insights of a real

ballerina. If you want to be a ballerina or want to know what it takes to be one, this is a must-

read.”—Elysia Dawn, arts consultant and former dancer