On the Same Page: Dances

January - February 2025 Selection

Dances by Nicole Cuffy is a striking debut novel that follows Cece Cordell, a 22-year-old Black ballerina who reaches the pinnacle of her career when she becomes the first Black principal dancer at the New York City Ballet. Her achievement makes her a trailblazer in the predominantly white ballet world, but the spotlight fails to provide the fulfillment she expected. As she celebrates her success, Cece is haunted by a series of personal struggles—her fraught relationships with family, a broken romantic connection, and the disappearance of her older brother, Paul.

Amidst the pressures of her newfound fame, Cece faces a difficult decision that could derail her career, prompting her to embark on a journey to find Paul in South Carolina and reclaim the parts of herself lost in the rigid demands of ballet. The novel explores the intersection of race, identity and artistry.

Written with poetic grace and insight into the ballet world, the story is as much about the body as it is about the spirit, capturing the discipline and vulnerability of a dancer's life. Dances is a compelling exploration of freedom, identity, and the costs of artistic pursuit, offering a captivating window into the mind and body of a ballerina navigating the complexities of success, race and family.

Nicole Cuffy is a DC-based writer with a BA from Columbia University and an MFA from the New School. When she is not writing, she is reading, and when she is not reading, she is probably dancing. Her work can be found in The Master’s Review Volume VI, Chautauqua, Blue Mesa Review and The New England Review. Her chapbook, Atlas of the Body (Black Lawrence Press), was an editor’s choice and finalist for the Black River Chapbook Competition. Her first novel, Dances, was released through One World Random House in 2023. Cuffy’s forthcoming novel, O Sinners!, is set to be released in March 2025. She can be found muddling her way through Instagram and life in general at @nikk2cole.