Ballet Besties by Chitra Soundar
Ballet Besties is a new series for younger readers, co written by Chitra Soundar and principal ballerina Yasmine Naghdi. We have a lovely blog about the series from Chitra!
Ballet Besties
Bringing out the best amongst friends
Ballet Besties is a new series for 7+ readers about Yara and her new friends at a community ballet school in her neighbourhood.
Yara loves ballet and aspires to become a professional ballerina. But her father’s job has taken them all over the world with no way to settle down in one place and learn ballet – until now. Yara joins Shimmer and Shine, run by Miss Diamond and meets her class and she is particularly drawn to Indu, Momoka, Dante and Charlie. They start hanging out together and sometimes jokingly refer to themselves as Ballet Besties.
Yara believes joining this class and under Miss Diamond’s coaching, she can become a ballerina and the best part is – she can do it with friends. She is not alone. Through Yara’s story, we see how her friendships play an important part in her finding her feet in a new school during the day and new dance school in the evening.
When Miss Diamond announces that they will put on a show, Yara’s dreams are coming true. She’s going to be the lead and she can’t wait to go up on stage.
But putting on a show with a shoestring budget is no mean feat. Especially when the landlady is threatening eviction of the studio. Yara refuses to give up on her dream without a fight. But no battles are fought alone.
Yara’s determination inspires her friends too. They support her wholeheartedly and they all want to put on a great show so they can prove to Dame Audrey Clougston-Willmott that the ballet class is important to them and dance is important to their lives, even if they were all not going to be become professionals.
In this series, while each book might track the story of one character, the group of friends are right next to the main character, shoulder to shoulder. Yara knows that her friends will help her make her dream come true. She understands that on her own she might not be able to fix it. But together, as a class, as a close-knit group of friends they can make things happen.
Throughout the series, it was important for Yasmine and I to bring the camaraderie of the friendship – through their jokes, sharing meals and hanging out with each other.
We wanted to highlight that when you join a ballet class, one that is preparing you for a show, you become a kindred spirit with the others. Just like a performance it’s a team-effort. Everyone has to bring their best to the show.
Through the story we also wanted to highlight that our friends want the best for us. This is not a group of friends who are jealous of each other or pick fights. They show that friendships can be supportive, fun and inspiring. Whether it’s Indu helping Yara with her schoolwork or cheering her on for the main part or Charlie and Momoka enjoying Dante’s unique take on his role in the ballet Sleeping Beauty.
We hope you enjoy reading Yara’s Chance to Dance, the first book in the Ballet Besties series and peep into the everyday world of learning ballet, managing school and hobbies and being part of the magic of putting on a show.