A Time to Dance
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A heartfelt contemporary story of a classical Indian dancer who will not let a prosthetic leg stop her from reclaiming the art form that has given her so much happiness.
“A beautiful integration of art, religion, compassion, and connection.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
When you are driven by passion, nothing can get in your way.
Veda is a prize-winning dancer, considered a prodigy in the fine art of traditional Indian Bharatanatyam. Then she is injured in a bus accident, and her right leg must be amputated below the knee. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. Her dance teacher does not believe she will ever dance again.
But Veda is too passionate to abandon her dream and finds a new teacher who shares her hope. And though she must relearn even the most basic of steps, his faith in her allows her to reclaim the art form that has brought her so much joy.
Told through lyrical, evocative verse, this is a powerful novel of loss, recovery, and the resilience of the human spirit.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Venkatraman (Island's End) again follows the maturation of a passionate and serious young woman, this time in a verse novel set in contemporary Chennai, India. After teenage classical dancer Veda loses part of her right leg, her teacher doesn't believe she can succeed even after Veda is outfitted with a prosthesis. Veda joins a new studio, where her perfectionism and determination clash with her instructors' philosophy of emotional and religious expression. "You dance like a demon," her attractive young tutor tells her, envying Veda's strength while inadvertently highlighting her spiritual shortcomings. Aided by a cast of stock characters a supportive grandmother, a disapproving but loving mother, and a wise older mentor Veda sets aside her longing for applause and develops the "three kinds of love.... A healthy love of one's physical self,/ compassion for others,/ and an experience of God." Veda's questions about the nature of God, her growth as an artist while performing a Buddhist tale of grief and acceptance, and her transcendent experiences linked to Shiva, often portrayed as a dancer, lend depth to her spiritual journey. Ages 12 up.
