Dances

Starred review from March 13, 2023
An African American ballerina battles racial profiling and personal demons in Cuffy’s brilliant debut novel (after the chapbook Atlas of the Body). At 22, Celine “Cece” Cordell gets the biggest break of her career when she’s promoted to principal dancer at the New York City Ballet. Surrounded by white dancers, she is immediately considered a trailblazer by the media. The newfound attention is spoiled, though, after her lover and fellow troupe dancer cheats on her with another performer just as Cece learns she is unexpectedly pregnant. Then, her beloved yet troubled older brother, Paul, who first encouraged her dancing, goes missing. Paul has struggled with a drug addiction, and Cece, fearing he might have died, travels to South Carolina to find him. A ballet dancer herself, Cuffy brings grace, control, and vigor to her prose. Through Cece’s trials, the story movingly explores the secrets and inner demons of a performer who struggles with artistic competition, betrayal, guilt, family, and “the ever-present weight” of her race. Indeed, as Cece acknowledges, “the ballet body is an intimidating mystique.” Readers will be enchanted. Agent: Heather Carr, Friedrich Agency.

Starred review from June 10, 2024

With lush prose and intricate descriptions of dance, Cuffy's debut (after the short fiction Atlas of the Body) transports listeners into the world of 22-year-old Black ballerina Cece Cordell. Since her older brother Paul encouraged her to become a dancer, Cece has worked tirelessly, overcoming pain, hunger, and doubt to shine in the cutthroat world of professional ballet. She is indeed living the life she always wanted, having found a prestigious place in the New York City Ballet as the first Black principal ballerina and preparing to dance the role of her dreams. Narrator Samya De Meo fully inhabits Cece's character, skillfully communicating her encounters with the racism that runs throughout this world. She also captures her struggles with a challenging maternal relationship, an absent father, and her consuming worry for Paul, who has gone missing. Though the lovingly detailed descriptions of dance sequences are occasionally quite technical, they are presented with such focus and care that listeners will likely be entranced. VERDICT A beautifully written and well-narrated page-turner that takes listeners along as a young ballerina discovers who she is and who she wants to be.--Whitney Bates-Gomez

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