Ballet School Confidential

2 primary works • 4 total works

I Forgot to Tell You

by Charis Marsh

Published 15 March 2012

The students of Vancouver International Ballet Academy are preparing to perform the ballet Coppelia. A ballet about dolls, love, and trickery, Coppelia doesn't have a moral, and neither do the rehearsals. If Taylor, Julian, Alexandra, and Kaitlyn don't rise to meet the challenges this ballet is putting them through, they might not make it on stage. The dancers might be fully alive, but they have more than enough real - life drama to keep them busy. The casting of the principal role of Swanhilda keeps getting changed, but is it really about who's the best dancer right now, or is something else influencing the casting decisions? Summer school acceptances and rejections are in, but who's telling the truth about where they're going? And who's coming back to VIBA after the summer?

Ballet School Confidential: The Complete 3-Book Bundle

by Charis Marsh

Published 12 February 2014

You're So Sweet

by Charis Marsh

Published 1 January 2012

As the second semester at the Vancouver International Ballet Academy approaches, how will four maturing dancers face the new challenges that await them?

The Vancouver International Ballet Academy has opened its doors after the winter break, and everyone is back!

Julian is finding it difficult to concentrate on dance because of his family; his teachers think he could be great if he could just focus. Kaitlyn believes she’s the best dancer, but her body type is getting in the way of her (and her mother’s) dance ambitions, tempting her to lie. Alexandra is as focused as usual, but others don’t seem to understand how much time and energy she has to give to ballet if she wants to be the best. While Taylor is still criticized at VIBA, she’s getting a lot of positive attention from outside – especially from a recently retired Canadian ballerina who’s taken an interest in her and Julian.

Who will get noticed in competition and the spring seminar? Whatever happens, someone’s going to lose and someone’s going to win.

Love You, Hate You

by Charis Marsh

Published 31 October 2011

Follow four young dancers in their first semester at the Vancouver International Ballet Academy while they work toward careers as professional ballet dancers. Kaitlyn, Taylor, Alexandra, and Julian are all students at the Vancouver International Ballet Academy where ballet and drama dominate everyone's lives. Kaitlyn was the star at her old school, but the competition at VIBA is fierce and her reputation as a prodigy is threatened. About to turn fifteen years old, Taylor is a bit of a scatterbrain. She's got a lot of potential, but the teachers are frustrated with her lack of confidence, and her troubles at school aren't helping. Alexandra has done everything right, and she's determined to become a dancer, but the teachers at VIBA seem to be against helping her. Julian, at fifteen, loves dance, so going to a professional ballet school seems fun - even if it does take over every aspect of his life. It's only their first semester, but these four students will have to push themselves to their limits to make it through their first major performance, The Nutcracker, and continue on the path to becoming professional dancers.