First published 2005
In 1970, young dancer Alma Guillermoprieto leaves New York behind to teach at Cuba's National School of Dance. She finds herself working in studios stripped of mirrors, deemed more ideologically pure by the regime. Her students lack proper training but burn with ambition, dreaming of dance greatness while practicing without basic equipment. Cuba suffers from constant shortages and political turmoil, yet Guillermoprieto discovers something unexpected among the Cuban people. Their deep sense of mission moves her in ways that will last a lifetime. She witnesses a unique moment when dancers and political activists shared the same stage, when even simple floor exercises carried political weight. This memoir captures six transformative months that shaped both her artistic vision and her understanding of a nation in flux.
Genres: 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, activism
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Cuba, New York
Period: 1970s
304 pages · Paperback · Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group