A behind-the-scenes look at the world of dance as seen through the eyes of a talented young dancer on the brink of success.

When the director of the American Ballet Academy is tasked with infusing more contemporary styles of dance he recruits dancers who will help move the company forward.

Celebrates the legacy of the famed Paris Opera Ballet by weaving together rehearsals, interviews and snapshots as the dancers work on classical ballets as well as contempary works. Delve into the psychology of dance by talking candidly with some of the biggest stars in dance today, who give perspectives on how and why they endure the emotional and physical hardships of the drive to be on stage.

"As Morrison reveals in lush and insightful prose, the theater has been bombed, rigged with explosives, and reinforced with cement. Its dancers have suffered unimaginable physical torment to climb the ranks, sometimes for so little money that they kept cows at home whose milk they could sell for food. But the Bolshoi has transcended its own fraught history, surviving 250 years of artistic and political upheaval to define not only Russian culture but...

Nina is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company. Her life, like most in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her mother Erica, a former ballerina who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: new dancer Lily, who impresses...