For younger dancers, having a mentor could be a lifesaver. However not each scholar has entry to that one dancer on the studio with the proper recommendation for each state of affairs—the form of knowledge that comes from lived expertise.
American Ballet Theatre principal Misty Copeland and New York Metropolis Ballet principal Tiler Peck, having reached nice heights in their very own dance careers, are serving to to fill that hole. Lately, they each wrote books that lend a serving to hand to youthful dancers—or youngsters with any pursuits—by offering ideas, how-tos, and anecdotes on navigating younger life. Letters to Misty (Simon & Schuster, Might 2025) and XO Ballerina Huge Sis (Penguin Random Home, October 2025) are books that readers can end in a single sitting or reference once they want some pro-dancer knowledge.
Right here’s some extra data about each of those thrilling new books you possibly can add to your fall studying record:
Misty Copeland, Letters to Misty
Copeland has revealed 10 books for youngsters, younger adults, and adults to this point. Her newest middle-grade e-book is Letters to Misty: How you can Transfer By means of Life with Confidence and Grace. Co-written with writer Nikki Shannon Smith, the e-book reads like {a magazine}’s recommendation column, with Copeland answering questions on matters that may be utilized to bop or to life usually. The e-book is break up into 5 sections, every akin to one of many positions of the toes and arms in classical ballet.
Copeland weaves private anecdotes in along with her recommendation. When answering a query about making pals, she tells the story of how she met Catalina, one among her oldest pals, when she simply began coaching at her first ballet faculty. She shares how in her friendship with Catalina, she feels secure sufficient to be herself, and emphasizes that as an necessary attribute in any relationship. Whereas Copeland typically refers again to her ballet coaching and profession for examples, Letters to Misty focuses on life recommendation that may be related to any younger individual going by a interval of self-discovery and progress.
Tiler Peck, XO Ballerina Huge Sis
Peck can also be no stranger to writing, having revealed the middle-grade novels Katarina Ballerina (Simon & Schuster, 2020) and Katarina Ballerina & the Victory Dance (2021). Her newest, XO Ballerina Huge Sis, is written with co-author Leslie Tonner and is Peck’s first nonfiction work. Devoted followers may discover that the e-book, which has a tone as heat and pleasant as Peck’s on-line voice, relies on her social media video collection of the identical identify.
In an interview with Pointe, Peck shared that XO Ballerina Huge Sis covers all the things she needs she knew when she was youthful: “I didn’t need youngsters to really feel alone in the event that they weren’t raised in a dance household.” The books’ matters vary from tying pointe shoe ribbons to dealing with competitors in a wholesome manner. Peck says that the e-book, whereas aimed toward performers ages 8 by 12, is devoted “to each younger dancer with large goals.”
