Love Bytes says hello and welcome to author Cass Lennox joining us today on the blog tour for newest release “Finding Your Feet”.
Welcome Cass 🙂

The Good, the Great, and the Ugly

 

Dancing is epic and wonderful, and I live in total awe of people who can express themselves so beautifully with their bodies. That said, dancing is hard, hard work. Think blisters, bleeding feet, torn muscles and tendons, diet watching, strength training, endless repetition and practice, and lots of bruises from falling, kicking yourself, kicking other people, kicking the wall, etc etc etc. The level of ugly detail behind the beauty is immense – a good example is how the grace of en pointe work in ballet is a little at odds with the way they treat those lovely shoes:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwmwsGT8IQ4

 

(A rather more dramatic depiction is here, from the 90s movie Center Stage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJstVljFytg )

 

Apparently, dancers have very ugly feet—I would disagree, as I see them as muscular and incredibly strong, and therefore inherently beautiful, but I’m not sure my opinion is in the majority! (I admit to being glad the cover designer for Finding Your Feet neglected this point.)

 

The dancing in the book isn’t gorgeous and smooth, as the point is about learning and expression. In looking up videos on how to dance – for once, research that encourages me to watch videos! – I found a lot of brilliant dance videos, so many that I encourage people to go looking for themselves. Here’s a round-up of the fun and interesting ones I found, as well as the styles which feature in the novel. The characters in Finding Your Feet do not do ballet, but a few of them have a ballet background, so that’s the reason why some of these videos feature ballet. Also, I understand quite a few dancers find their route into the dance world via ballet lessons as children. Things to look out for: the accuracy of movements, the conversation between two people (even if they aren’t partners), athleticism and strength, energy, how certain moves seem to cross dance styles, and the message of the dance.

 

How ballet class has changed over the years:

 

 

Contrast the calm and genteelness of that with modern dance classes

 

Washington Ballet’s hardest dance moves (including fouettes, which are mentioned in Finding Your Feet)

 

Lindy Hop

 

Argentine tango

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcs4LY_ljQk

 

Hip Hop

 

Interpretative (solo)

Interpretative (group)

Interpretative (science)

 

Pop locking at any age

 

I’ve been sharing more videos on my Facebook page!

 

 

About Finding Your Feet

 

While on holiday in Toronto, Evie Whitmore planned to sightsee and meet other asexuals, not audition for a dance competition. Now she’s representing Toronto’s newest queer dance studio, despite never having danced before. Not only does she have to spend hours learning her routine, she has to do it with one of the grumpiest men she’s ever met. Tyler turns out to be more than a dedicated dancer, though—he might be the kind of man who can sweep her off her feet, literally and figuratively.

 

Tyler Davis has spent the last year recovering from an emotionally abusive relationship. So he doesn’t need to be pushed into a rushed routine for a dumb competition. Ticking major representation boxes for being trans and biracial isn’t why he went into dance. But Evie turns out to be a dream student. In fact, she helps him remember just how good partnering can be, in all senses of the word. Teaching her the routine, however, raises ghosts for him, ones he’s not sure he can handle.

 

Plans change, and people change with them. Learning a few steps is one thing; learning to trust again is another entirely.

 

Available from:

Riptide Publishing

Amazon

 

About Cass Lennox

 

Cass Lennox is a permanent expat who has lived in more countries than she cares to admit to and suffers from a chronic case of wanderlust as a result. She started writing stories at the tender age of eleven, but would be the first to say that the early years are best left forgotten and unread. A great believer in happy endings, she arrived at queer romance via fantasy, science fiction, literary fiction, and manga, and she can’t believe it took her that long. Her specialties are diverse characters, gooey happy ever afters, and brownies. She’s currently sequestered in a valley in southeast England.

 

Connect with Cass:

• Blog: casslennox.wordpress.com/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cass-Lennox-1704635609768647/
• Twitter: twitter.com/CassLennox

 

 

To celebrate the release of Finding Your Feet, one lucky winner will receive $15 in Riptide Publishing credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on January 21, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!