Mary Lou Sanelli, The Starstruck Dance Studio of Yucca Springs

*Join us for this FREE Lit Live! event -- meet the author and get your book signed!*

This is a story that explores the wide range of human emotion as if from behind the intimate curtain of a dance studio; the meaning of family in all its diverse varieties; determination; the struggle to understand ourselves and the behavior of others; the hope that comes from compassion and acceptance; and resilience — how pursued dreams become, over time, simply the way life is if you stay true to yourself.  With humor, compassion, a sprinkling of irreverence, and a sharp eye on contemporary life, Sanelli explores, through Lucy, what it means to be a daughter, a teacher, and a friend at a moment in her life when she is forced to approach life as a lesson in forgiveness in an attempt to understand why haters hate.

Mary Lou Sanelli, author, speaker, and dance teacher has published seven collections of poetry and three works of non-fiction. Honorariums include an Artist Trust GAP Award, Poetry on the Buses, A Jack Straw Writers Award, A Seattle Bumbershoot Festival Book Award, The Skagit River Poetry Festival, and a GoodReads Notable Book Award. She is a regular columnist for Art Access & City Living magazine, and a regular contributor to Dance Teacher magazine. Her work appears on the opinion page of the Seattle Times, and has been aired on Weekend Edition, National Public Radio. The Star Struck Dance Studio of Yucca Springs is her first novel. For more information about her and her work, visit www.marylousanelli.com.

"After a friend of mine, also a dancer, was attacked on Capitol Hill by two men from Idaho who came into the city for a little spree of "gay bashing," I knew I would one day write a novel about a dancer and the struggle he goes through to forgive his attackers. After 19 years of owning a dance studio, I now teach Master Classes throughout the world. I’ve witnessed first-hand how dance saves lives. Students from dysfunctional homes or cultures that forbid them to be themselves, feel safe in the studio. With a sprinkling of humor, I try to capture this safety net in my narrative, but also to approach the story as a lesson in forgiveness in an attempt to understand why haters hate."

Mary Lou Sanelli will be joined by dancers from the Northwest Ballet Theater who will include a bit of dance and movement as part of the event!

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