Dancing On Her Grave

The candid self-portrait of one of America's most famous ballerinas and a story of the high-pressure world of dance that brought the acclaimed dancer to a nightmare world of illness, drug addiction, and suicidal despair

From the co-author of I Would Find a Girl Walking and an award-winning true-crime television reporter comes the shocking story of Debbie Flores, a Las Vegas showgirl whose dreams of a dazzling career ended in a nightmare… Vivacious Debbie Flores was a college educated Washington Redskins cheerleader when she headed for “Sin City.” It was a smart move for the aspiring showgirl who’d soon be making her star-making solo debut at the legendary Luxor. But after the morning rehearsals of December 12, 2010, no one saw Debbie alive again. A cryptic text message she left for her mother led authorities to Debbie’s charismatic boyfriend, Jason “Blu” Griffith. A fellow Vegas dancer, Blu was hiding a terrible secret. It involved a rental van, bags of cement, two plastic tubs, and a handsaw. When the details of the crime unfolded, everyone asked: how could a girl with such passion and promise come to an end so violent and unexpected? In time, the truth would reveal a life more tumultuous than believed—and what exactly transpired on Debbie’s tragic final day would stun the nation. INCLUDES PHOTOS

The liberating power of anger has rarely felt so good and healing as in this complete collection of a landmark in feminist poetry."She digs her teeth into the slaveries of woman, she cries them aloud with such fulminating energy that the chains begin to melt of themselves. Reaching into the hive of her angers, she plucks out images of fear and delight that are transparent yet loaded with the darknesses of life. Diane Wakoski is an important and moving poet."--The New York TimesIn 1971, Diane Wakoski published The Motorcycle Betrayal Poems to tremendous acclaim. In the decades that followed, she wrote additional "betrayal" poems, which are now collected here in one volume for the first time. Relevant, moving--at times shocking--it is Wakoski's honesty and bravery as an artist that continues to astonish, delight, inspire, and liberate readers.Wakoski responds to betrayal in a variety of ways including fantasies such as drilling bullet holes into the bodies of unfaithful lovers. But even her anger can be winking, as in the book's sly dedication to "all those men who betrayed me at one time or another, in hopes they will fall off their motorcycles and break their necks." There is joy here because it is self-knowledge that the writer seeks, as in the collection's title poem: So some white wolves and I will sing on your grave, old man and dance for the joy of your death. "Is this an angry statement?" "No, it is a statement of joy." "Will the sun shine again?" "Yes, yes, yes," because I'm going to dance dance danceDiane Wakoski's art as a confessional, storytelling poet has rarely been equaled. Her revelations become shared emotional truth with readers. The collection's new introduction by poet and Green Mountains Review editor Elizabeth A. I. Powell gives context to the long wake of Wakoski's inspiring influence on generations of readers. Dancing on the Grave of a Son of a Bitch is for anyone who ever lost a love and wishes to embrace the freedom, rather than the pain, it can bring.

Provocative, moving, powerful, explicit, strong, unapologetic. These are a few words that have been used to describe the groundbreaking Brooklyn-based dance troupe Urban Bush Women. Their unique aesthetic borrows from classical and contemporary dance techniques and theater characterization exercises, incorporates breath and vocalization, and employs space and movement to instill their performances with emotion and purpose. Urban Bush Women concerts are also deeply rooted in community activism, using socially conscious performances in places around the country—from the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Center, and the Joyce, to community centers and school auditoriums—to inspire audience members to engage in neighborhood change and challenge stereotypes of gender, race, and class. Nadine George-Graves presents a comprehensive history of Urban Bush Women since their founding in 1984. She analyzes their complex work, drawing on interviews with current and former dancers and her own observation of and participation in Urban Bush Women rehearsals. This illustrated book captures the grace and power of the dancers in motion and provides an absorbing look at an innovative company that continues to raise the bar for socially conscious dance.

"Don't expect just tulle and toe shoes. In this fascinating insider's tale, NYCB dancer Pazcoguin reveals her world. . . . A striking debut." —People Award-winning New York City Ballet soloist Georgina Pazcoguin, aka the Rogue Ballerina, gives readers a backstage tour of the real world of elite ballet—the gritty, hilarious, sometimes shocking truth you don’t see from the orchestra circle. In this love letter to the art of dance and the sport that has been her livelihood, NYCB’s first Asian American female soloist Georgina Pazcoguin lays bare her unfiltered story of leaving small-town Pennsylvania for New York City and training amid the unique demands of being a hybrid professional athlete/artist, all before finishing high school. She pitches us into the fascinating, whirling shoes of dancers in one of the most revered ballet companies in the world with an unapologetic sense of humor about the cutthroat, survival-of-the-fittest mentality at NYCB. Some swan dives are literal: even in the ballet, there are plenty of face-plants, backstage fights, late-night parties, and raucous company bonding sessions. Rocked by scandal in the wake of the #MeToo movement, NYCB sits at an inflection point, inching toward progress in a strictly traditional culture, and Pazcoguin doesn’t shy away from ballet’s dark side. She continues to be one of the few dancers openly speaking up against the sexual harassment, mental abuse, and racism that in the past went unrecognized or was tacitly accepted as par for the course—all of which she has painfully experienced firsthand. Tying together Pazcoguin’s fight for equality in the ballet with her infectious and deeply moving passion for her craft, Swan Dive is a page-turning, one-of-a-kind account that guarantees you'll never view a ballerina or a ballet the same way again.

Eleven-year-old Rosie must choose between the two things she loves most--ballet and horseback riding.

“My head is spinning. I couldn’t figure out who was out for revenge!! My eBook froze as I quickly tried to turn the pages!! Could not put it down!!… Don’t want to give anything away but don’t miss this book!!!” Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It’s a sleepy morning in the leafy town of Oakhurst when Jo finds Britney’s body on a running trail. She stares into the girl’s blue eyes as she gently lifts her off the ground—and finds a tarot card… A few days ago, Detective Jo Fournier stood in the middle of the local college, looking at a truly horrifying scene: a well-respected staff member murdered in his office. And it was there that Jo met Britney—a smart and pretty student in the same department who was utterly distraught about the killing. One thought is now racing through Jo’s mind: who would want to kill them both? When another body turns up inside a cabin in the woods, Jo is the only person who can see the link between the murders—the killer left a tarot card with all three bodies. She desperately wants to stop the killing before anyone else dies. Jo knows how it feels to lose someone you love. Her failure to protect her fiancé on the night he was murdered has always haunted her. As the body count rises, no one else will take Jo’s theory seriously. She’s absolutely sure that the cards are the clue that will break this entire case wide open and lead them to the person who has stolen so many innocent lives. But she’s out on her own—can Jo track down the dangerous killer or will they find her first? From USA Today bestseller M.M. Chouinard, Taken to the Grave is a completely addictive detective thriller that will keep you guessing into the early hours of the morning. If you love Kendra Elliot, Melinda Leigh and Lisa Regan, you’ll be utterly gripped! Everyone is utterly addicted to Taken to the Grave: “Keeping you enthralled and on the edge of your seat till the final page… Like a pressure cooker that keeps building up as you wait for the explosion!… Chock full of mystery and suspense, with twists and turns at every corner… A reveal that will knock your socks off.” Once Upon A Time Book Blog ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “OMG what a great lead character… I DID NOT FIGURE OUT THE TRUE BAD GUY UNTIL THE END!” NetGalley Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Amazing… Gripping and suspenseful… Five stars from me. Jo Fournier is one of the greatest characters ever written.” NetGalley Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “If you haven’t already added this to your series lists, DO IT NOW… Highly recommend it, it’s full of twists and turns, red herrings, you will be left guessing, everything you want in a book.” Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I could not stop turning the pages of this book… I wasn’t able to figure out who the killer was.” Fireflies and Free Kicks Book Reviews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A gripping and intense thriller… Fast-paced and will keep you up well into the evening.” Sinfully Wicked Book Reviews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ramon Sosa, a successful businessman and former pro-boxer, thought he had found the perfect woman. The devoted father of three, committed to rebuilding his life after his first divorce, met Maria De Lourdes Sosa (aka Lulu) while out dancing at a salsa club in Houston, Texas. She took his breath away. They began a whirlwind romance and married a year later. Shortly after the wedding Lulu, a once doting and loving wife began to change. She was now a U.S. citizen with her grandiose sights set on the American Dream for her and her children. Those plans no longer included Ramon. She wanted it all; the house, the business and the money and she would do everything in her power to get it, including having Ramon murdered. “I Walked On My Own Grave” tells the harrowing story of how Lulu, after trying to destroy Ramon’s life for months, plotted with two “hitmen” to have her husband killed. Her carefully orchestrated plan would have been successful, were it not for the quick thinking of a brave young man who Ramon had once mentored. Little did he know one day his protégé would return the favor by saving his life.