The young dancer learns, however, that she’s not in total control – of anything. In effortless prose laced with powerful metaphors, Schabas skilfully conveys Georgia’s passion for ballet, its rigours and her confidence in her perfect body. Unfortunately, that means she gets the attention of choreographer and teacher Roderick Allen. Fortunately, she’s better than almost everybody in the class. Georgia is a gifted dancer who gains admission to Toronto’s Royal Ballet Academy – an obvious stand-in for our National Ballet School. Yes, teen protagonist Georgia learns some of life’s essentials, but the fact that almost everything happens inside an art institution – specifically a ballet academy – deepens the narrative beyond the “Ooh I feel sexual” level. I hesitate to refer to Various Positions as a coming-of-age story, because that makes Martha Schabas’s debut novel sound smaller than it is. VARIOUS POSITIONS by Martha Schabas (Doubleday), 361 pages, $22 paper.
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