Ballet Besties: Dante's Winning Dance

When Dante's soccer teammates start picking on him for taking ballet, his confidence tanks--until he asks a popular hip-hop artist to help give his class an edge at winning an upcoming competition.

Like everyone in his family, Dante has always been a dancer--all kinds of dancing. This term he's taking ballet at Shimmer and Shine, and he loves playing soccer, too. He sees them as two sides of the same coin, both involving intricate moves. But lately, his teammates have been teasing him about ballet and even refusing to pass him the ball during practice. What will get them to let up? Can Dante show them that dance is nothing to scoff at? When Dante sees a notice about an upcoming competition that might give him a chance, he asks his ballet instructor if the class can enter. And as he watches a video of his favorite hip-hop artist, Nitty Smitty, who hails from the same neighborhood, Dante gets an idea. What if Nitty Smitty would agree to help them blend chaînés with moonwalks for an original hiplet ("hip-lay") adaptation of Beauty and the Beast? Part of a series of joyful and inclusive chapter books about friendship, teamwork, and ballet, Dante's story, touching on themes of bullying and resilience, creativity and self-confidence, will appeal to aspiring ballet and hip-hop dancers alike and features an extensive glossary of ballet and hip-hop dance terms at the end.

Author: Yasmine Naghdi
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 05/26/2026
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.10w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781536250268
Audience: Ages 9-12


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2026
School Library Journal 03/01/2026 pg. 62
Booklist 03/01/2026

About the Author
Yasmine Naghdi is a principal of the Royal Ballet and has been dancing with the company since 2010. Her many roles include Odette/Odile (Swan Lake), Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), and the Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker). She has performed all over the world and is passionate about showing that ballet is for everyone. Yasmine Naghdi lives in London.

Chitra Soundar is the award-winning author of more than forty books for children, including a series of chapter books about Sona Sharma, illustrated by Jen Khatun, as well as A Sliver of Moon and a Shard of Truth: Stories from India, illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy, and It's Time to Hush and Say Good Night, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat. Chitra Soundar loves writing books in a variety of genres and travels the world visiting schools and appearing at festivals to bring Indian stories to children everywhere. She grew up in Chennai, India, and lives in southeast London.

Paula Franco studied illustration and graphic design at Instituto Superior Comunicación Visual in Argentina and now illustrates children's books. She lives in Argentina.