The Cranes Dance

I threw my neck out in the middle of Swan Lake last night. So begins the tale of Kate Crane a soloist in a celebrated New York City ballet company who is struggling to keep her place in a very demanding world. At every turn she is haunted by her close relationship with her younger sister Gwen a fellow company dancer whose career quickly surpassed Kates but who has recently suffered a breakdown and returned home. Alone for the first time in her life Kate is anxious and full of guilt about the role she may have played in her sisters collapse. As we follow her on an insider tour of rehearsals performances and partners onstage and off she confronts the tangle of love jealousy pride and obsession that are beginning to fracture her own sanity. Funny dark intimate and unflinchingly honest The Cranes Dance is a book that pulls back the curtains to reveal the private lives of dancers and explores the complicated bond between sisters.