Center Center: A Funny, Sexy, Sad Almost-Memoir of a Boy in Ballet
- Downloads：4570
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-18 18:21:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：James Whiteside
- ISBN：0593297830
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A daring， hilarious， and inspiring memoir-in-essays from the American Ballet Theatre principal dancer， drag queen， and pop star who's redefining what it means to be a man in ballet
There's a mark on every stage around the world that signifies the center of its depth and width， called center center。 James Whiteside has dreamed of standing on that very mark as a principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre ever since he was a twelve-year-old blown away by watching the company's spring gala: the glamour， the virtuosity， the extremely fit men in tights！
In this absurd and absurdist collection of essays， Whiteside tells us the story of how he got to the top of his field--stopping along the way to muse about the tragically fated childhood pets who taught him how to feel， reminisce on summer dance camps at which he paid more attention to partying than to ballet， and imagine fantastical run-ins with Jesus on Grindr。 Also in these pages are tales of the two alter egos he created to subvert the strict classical rigor of ballet: JbDubs， an out-and-proud pop musician， and �hu Betch， an over-the-top drag queen named after Yoohoo chocolate milk。
Center Center is an exuberant behind-the-scenes tour of Whiteside's triple life， both on- and offstage--a raunchy， curious， and unapologetic celebration of pushing boundaries and expressing yourself to the fullest， as well as the debut of a sparkling comedic voice that will resonate with anyone who has a mortifying Google search history or cringe-worthy teenage memories they'd rather forget。
There's a mark on every stage around the world that signifies the center of its depth and width， called center center。 James Whiteside has dreamed of standing on that very mark as a principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre ever since he was a twelve-year-old blown away by watching the company's spring gala: the glamour， the virtuosity， the extremely fit men in tights！
In this absurd and absurdist collection of essays， Whiteside tells us the story of how he got to the top of his field--stopping along the way to muse about the tragically fated childhood pets who taught him how to feel， reminisce on summer dance camps at which he paid more attention to partying than to ballet， and imagine fantastical run-ins with Jesus on Grindr。 Also in these pages are tales of the two alter egos he created to subvert the strict classical rigor of ballet: JbDubs， an out-and-proud pop musician， and �hu Betch， an over-the-top drag queen named after Yoohoo chocolate milk。
Center Center is an exuberant behind-the-scenes tour of Whiteside's triple life， both on- and offstage--a raunchy， curious， and unapologetic celebration of pushing boundaries and expressing yourself to the fullest， as well as the debut of a sparkling comedic voice that will resonate with anyone who has a mortifying Google search history or cringe-worthy teenage memories they'd rather forget。
Reviews
Phoebe （readandwright） Wright
，
Thank you to the publisher for my copy！ I enjoyed reading about James’ life in this mixed media memoir。 TW: homophobia， suicide， violence， loss of a parent， cancer
Kathleen Gray
，
A slim but inspired set of essays that together create a compelling memoir about growing up gay with a dysfunctional family， a challenged mother and a desire to dance。 Know that ballet takes a sort of back seat to Whiteside's other interests but that doesn't make it any less illuminating on that score。 I was highly entertained by his exploits as a drag queen。 Some of the essays are more successful than others but all give insight into this complicated man。 I read these one or two at a time over A slim but inspired set of essays that together create a compelling memoir about growing up gay with a dysfunctional family， a challenged mother and a desire to dance。 Know that ballet takes a sort of back seat to Whiteside's other interests but that doesn't make it any less illuminating on that score。 I was highly entertained by his exploits as a drag queen。 Some of the essays are more successful than others but all give insight into this complicated man。 I read these one or two at a time over a period of days， which I don't normally do with memoirs but the book does lend itself to that。 Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC。 It's a good read。 。。。more
Lisa Watson
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I loved this humorous， fun， romp of a book。 James's adventures are hilarious and I would love to read more！ I loved this humorous， fun， romp of a book。 James's adventures are hilarious and I would love to read more！ 。。。more
John Amory
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Some amusing parts， but Whiteside isn't nearly as witty as he seems to think he is。 The most affecting parts were his family history and his introduction to the ballet world。 But the portions that were meant to be funny came across as try-hard and kind of cloying。 Some amusing parts， but Whiteside isn't nearly as witty as he seems to think he is。 The most affecting parts were his family history and his introduction to the ballet world。 But the portions that were meant to be funny came across as try-hard and kind of cloying。 。。。more
Ruth
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"I laughed， I cried， it was better than Cats！"James Whiteside， principal dancer with ABT， has written a personal memoir about growing up gay， a professional memoir about becoming an artistic athlete， a creative memoir about his expansion and personal expression of his craft， and a meditation about growing wiser through all the difficult changes getting older brings- all in the same book。 The stories are told with empathy， understanding， and a wry and sardonic humor that engages the reader from t "I laughed， I cried， it was better than Cats！"James Whiteside， principal dancer with ABT， has written a personal memoir about growing up gay， a professional memoir about becoming an artistic athlete， a creative memoir about his expansion and personal expression of his craft， and a meditation about growing wiser through all the difficult changes getting older brings- all in the same book。 The stories are told with empathy， understanding， and a wry and sardonic humor that engages the reader from the very first pages。James describes vividly and meticulously the process of becoming a professional dancer。 His path was rocky and he is open and honest about his disappointments and successes。 The same can be said about his writing about growing up gay， his relationships with his family， and relationships with the men in his life。 His frustration with the heterosexual pigeonholes for male ballet dancers inspires his creation of alternate personas and avenues for himself as an artist。 This evolution and his subsequent involvement in the wild NYC club scene is described colorfully and joyfully。The memorable final segment of the book， a harrowing tale of being deathly ill on tour in Lake Placid， brings the various tones throughout the book together。 Recalling this frightening time on the page， he engages the reader with humor， vivid description of physical pain and emotional alienation， and finally insight to share for the future。 Center Center is a welcome addition to the ballet memoir canon， and also to the ever-expanding LGBTQA memoir canon。 Bravo， James！Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for eARC！ 。。。more
Melissa
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