Drina Ballet Series #1 Ballet for Drina

Why couldn't her grandmother understand?  There was only one thing that Drina wanted—one thing only—to dance.  And now it was forbidden!

Ever since she was very small, Drina—an orphan whose real name was Andrina Adamo—had wanted to be a ballet dancer.  She had read about all the great dancers of the past; she had practiced steps since she could first sway to music; she had been exhilarated by the dancers she had seen perform—and yet her grandmother still refused to let her train for the ballet.  Drina wondered if she would have to dance for her own shadow, in solitude; or could she hope for a real career?

The above summary was taken from the dust jacket of the American edition.  The jacket's back flap has this information about the author, Jean Estoril, and the creation of the Drina series.

"Drina" was born one night at the Royal Opera House at the opening of the ballet season.  Both Les Sylphides and Daphnis and Chloe were on the bill, and by the second intermission Miss Estoril knew that she would have to write a story about a ballet student.  This was fortunate for young readers, since Miss Estoril has the rare faculty of being able to present believable, lovable characters, involved in situations that are exciting and suspenseful yet always realistic. 

 

I read the Collins edition, where the back cover states:  "A new fiction series set in the magical world of ballet.  The first six books follow the career of Drina, the daughter of a famous ballerina, along the high road to Covent Garden.  Jean Estoril's appealing young dancer heroine will captivate readers who love ballet."

Since I had read the back cover blurb, I knew before beginning the book that Drina's mother was a famous ballerina.  When Mrs. Chester, Drina's grandmother, pulls out all the stops to prevent her from becoming a dancer, I knew that was the reason.  I assumed that whatever had happened to Drina's mother was considered to have been caused by ballet.  I already knew why, so it wasn't a surprise to me.  I still read with anticipation, wondering how Drina would react whenever she learned about her mother.

As I wrote in my previous post, I was reluctant to try these books since I have had bad experiences with books about young dancers.  The experiences were bad because the authors described dancing in excessive intricate detail, so much so that I was extremely bored.  I could not read those books.  These books do not go into that kind of detail, so they are not boring.

I found the story to be thoroughly engaging and excellent from beginning to end.  

In my previous post, I included scans of the early part of the book so that readers can determine whether this book is of a style they can enjoy.