Swan Dive

Pazcoguin, the first Asian American female soloist with the New York City Ballet, provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a ballerina and a ballet company. An uproarious, yet sobering glimpse inside the balancing act between an abusive and discriminatory system and Pazcoguin’s love of dance. Listeners will feel as if they are in a private conversation with Pazcoguin as she discusses becoming a professional dancer, costume mishaps, ill-conceived French dance-offs, the truth about the Nutcracker stage snow, and the abuse she endured over her 20-year ballet career. Her narration of the audiobook reflects her passion; humor; and, most importantly, her healing. Amazingly, Pazcoguin hasn’t lost her affection for ballet; through this book and her activism with “the Final Bow for Yellowface,” a movement dedicated to improving Asian representation in ballet, she aims to impact the dance world for the better.