Two books from Western Canadian dancers

Leap, a new novel by Jodi Lundgren, is a fictional story about a fifteen-year-old girl and her relationship with dance. Full of twists and turns, Leap captures the positive power dance can have on young girls as they wade through the social and personal pressures of growing up. A native of Victoria, BC, Lundgren herself grew up writing and dancing before moving to Seattle to pursue more training and performance opportunities, as well as a Ph.D. in English. Along with other published short works, Lundgren has written one other novel, Touched (2009). Leap was published in March by Second Story Press.

Another dance book to emerge from a Western Canadian dancer is Keltie Colleen’s Rockettes, Rockstars and Rockbottom, an autobiography about this celebrity-status dancer from Sherwood Park, Alberta. Her story starts with her move to New York City and struggle to become a dancer for The Radio City Rockettes and stumbles fast through broken hearts and career highs. Some of those highs include working with the New York Knicks, Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Panic at the Disco; dancing on the MTV Music Video Awards, 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live and Entertainment Tonight; and creating and writing for her blog: www.highkicksandhighhopes.blogspot.com. Colleen currently hosts Live Nation’s music news and her own web series “Living the Dream” on teen.com. Rockettes, Rockstars and Rockbottom was published last year by The Deadxstop Publishing Company in Chicago.