Over eight visits to Paris, Deirdre Kelly has found herself — first as a 19-year-old and then later as a budding writer, a dance critic, and a fashion reporter. Subsequent visits — with her mother, her future husband, and later as a mother herself — have shown her that while some parts of Paris remain constant, her life is always evolving. More than just a beautiful and romantic backdrop for her self-discovery, Paris itself contributes to that discovery, emerging as a principal character in Kelly’s life, an influence that inspires, guides, and teaches as she ages. A terrific gift for budding travelers, Francophiles, and women on their own path toward growth, this book reminds readers of their own favorite place.

Throughout her history, the ballerina has been perceived as the embodiment of beauty and perfection— the feminine ideal. But the reality is another story. From the earliest ballerinas in the 17th century, who often led double lives as concubines, through the poverty of the corps de ballet dancers in the 1800's and the anorexic and bulimic ballerinas of George Balanchine, starvation and exploitation have plagued ballerinas throughout history.Using the stories of great dancers such as Anna Pavlova, Isadora Duncan, Suzanne Farrell, Gelsey Kirkland, and Evelyn Hart, Deirdre Kelly exposes the true rigors for women in ballet. She rounds her critique with examples of how the world of ballet is slowly evolving for the better. But to ensure that this most graceful of dance forms survives into the future, she says that the time has come to rethink ballet, to position the ballerina at its center and accord her the respect she deserves.