Johanna Schwartz

Dancing, Suspended in Air Johanna Schwartz

Do you know what it's like to love to dance? More than anything?

It's 1959 and in a small town in New Hampshire, 12-year-old Jo is a diligent ballerina in Mrs. Evans's Saturday morning dance class. She dreams of becoming a professional ballerina, but isn't sure it's possible, due to a birth defect that resulted in a drooping eyelid.

Things only become worse when Jo's best friend, Laura, abandons her for another dancer, explaining that Jo isn't pretty enough to keep as a friend. Jo is devastated and begins wondering if she wants to dance at all.

It isn't long before she finds new friends who encourage her passion, as well as a slew of adults who support her dream. Over the course of a year, Jo starts to realize that maybe she is a talented dancer, and maybe she's perfect just the way she is.