Dive into the world of ballet
A creator book writer and bloger
Hi! I’m Grier Cooper
Grier Cooper is a California based writer, photographer, and dancer who has performed worldwide with the San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. She draws on over thirty years of experience as a dancer, teacher and performer to create both fiction and nonfiction to inspire readers.
Her work has been praised as “poignant and honest” with “emotional hooks that penetrate deeply.” She writes and blogs about dance in the San Francisco Bay Area and has interviewed and photographed a diverse collection dancers and performers including Clive Owen, Nicole Kidman, Glen Allen Sims and Jessica Sutta. She is the author of Build a Ballerina Body and The Daily Book of Photography. Grier’s work has also appeared in Conscious Dancer, Discovery Girls, Skipping Stones, and Dance Advantage, among others.
The Indigo Ballet Series
WISH: book #1
I have to escape. My mother is driving me crazy. For Indigo Stevens, ballet classes at Miss Roberta’s ballet studio offer the stability and structure that are missing from her crazy home life. At almost 16, she hopes this is the year she will be accepted into the New York School of Ballet so she can start her real life. First she must prove she’s ready, and that means ignoring Jesse Sanders – the cute boy with dimples who is definitely at the top of Miss Roberta’s List of Forbidden Things for Dancers.
But Jesse is the least of Indigo’s concerns. When she discovers what’s really wrong with her mother, it simultaneously explains everything and heaps more worry on Indigo’s shoulders. As her mom’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, Indigo fights to maintain balance, protect her younger brothers, and keep her mother from going over the edge. When the violence at home escalates, Indigo realizes she can no longer dance around the issue. At the risk of losing everything, she must take matters into her own hands before it’s too late.
HOPE: book #2
Perfection. Beauty. Pain. This is life for Indigo Stevens at the famed New York School of Ballet, where there’s no such thing as weakness or privacy and every movement is scrutinized and judged. Indigo hopes she’ll be chosen for the company, but her ballet teachers aren’t talking and their silence is confusing.
When Indigo is singled out for a coveted solo she feels her dreams are finally within reach, until she discovers she’s dancing with Felipe Gonzalez, the school’s smolderingly hot rising star. In the days that follow, Indigo questions everything she thought was true and finds herself making surprising choices. Will she create the life she wants or lose everything?
Testimonials
“An extremely touching, heartfelt, and often humorous account of a young woman’s journey to live her passion. WISH reminds us, that despite our obstacles, we can live the life we dream. You won’t be able to put it down.”
– Zippora Karz, Former Soloist, New York City Ballet
Author of The Sugarless Plum/ Ballerina Dreams
“Grier Cooper expertly weaves her insider knowledge into this compelling read. Even if you’ve never danced en pointe, you may find yourself reaching for ballet slippers after reading WISH.”
– Charity Tahmaseb, co-author of The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading
“Grier Cooper writes with emotional hooks that penetrate deeply. Her wonderfully-flawed characters are unforgettable. This book and its lovely dancing protagonist sparkle as if onstage!”
–Corina Vacco, author of My Chemical Mountain
“I absolutely loved WISH; it brought back such memories of high school, boys and ballet. What a gift this is to young dance students.”
–Lauren Jonas, Artistic Director, Diablo Ballet
“Grier Cooper is completely able to express these years of sweat and tears with the accuracy of someone who has lived through it herself. It’s a great read; I highly recommended WISH!”