Dante's Winning Dance (Ballet Besties)

Pirouette your way into the Shimmer & Shine dance studio, where the ballet besties are ready to put on a show!

'This bubbly, inclusive story, filled with meticulous detail, will be a winner for 7+ dance fanatics' - Guardian, on Ballet Besties: Yara's Chance to Dance

Pirouette your way into the Shimmer & Shine dance studio, where the ballet besties are ready to put on a show!

Dante loves nothing more than scoring goals on the football pitch then racing to Shimmer & Shine to ace his pas de chats.

But when his football friends start to tease him for his passion, Dante struggles to find the confidence to keep doing the two things he loves most.

Will encouraging Miss Diamond to enter their class into a dance competition be just what Dante needs to prove how fantastic dance can be? Will their adaptation of Beauty and the Beast win over his friends? Or will Dante have to put his own modern spin on things to truly shine?

A fun, inclusive and accessible series that will bring the joy of dance to young readers!

About the Authors

Yasmine Naghdi is a Principal of The Royal Ballet and has been dancing with the Company since 2010. Her many roles with The Royal Ballet include Odette/Odile (Swan Lake), Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) and The Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker). She has performed all over the world and is passionate about showing that ballet is for everyone.

Chitra Soundar is a writer and dreamer of many things. As well as writing books, Chitra is a speaker, oral storyteller and screenwriter. Her stories are inspired by her family, her childhood in India, which was filled with epics and folktales, and her travels around the world. Chitra has performed at literary festivals across the globe, telling stories and introducing the magic of writing to children everywhere.

About the Illustrator

Paula Franco is an illustrator living in Rosario, Argentina. She studied Illustration & Graphic Design at Instituto Superior Comunicación Visual. Her work has been featured in the New York Times Children's Best Seller list and has been awarded a Kirkus Star and a School Library Journal Star.