About

My Story

Grier began ballet lessons at age five and left home at fourteen to study at the School of American Ballet in New York. She has performed on three out of seven continents with companies such as San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet, totaling more than thirty years of experience as a dancer, teacher and performer.

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.

Contact: GrierCooper[at]gmail.com

Praise For WISH

“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’s WISH contrasts the elegant and disciplined beauty of ballet versus a gritty and often violent home life. She handles the topic of alcoholism with poignancy and honesty and choreographs in light-hearted moments of friendship, sibling rivalry and a budding romance to round out this touching story of art and love.”
–Paula Yoo (Good Enough, HarperCollins)
“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!”
–Jenna Lavin-Crabtree, Former dancer with Atlanta Ballet, Miami City Ballet
Full time Faculty/Choreographer, Ballet Academy East, NYC

Download Printable Press Kit

Buy Now
Read Excerpt