Dancing Queen

Under glittering lights in the Louvre palace, the French court ballets danced by Queen Marie de Médicis prior to Henri IV’s assassination in 1610 attracted thousands of spectators ranging from pickpockets to ambassadors from across Europe. Drawing on newly discovered primary sources as well as theories and methodologies derived from literary studies, political history, musicology, dance studies, and women’s and gender studies, Dancing Queen traces how Marie’s ballets authorized her incipient political authority through innovative verbal and visual imagery, avant-garde musical developments, and ceremonial arrangements of objects and bodies in space. Making use of women’s "semi-official" status as political agents, Marie’s ballets also manipulated the subtle social and cultural codes of international courtly society in order to more deftly navigate rivalries and alliances both at home and abroad. At times the queen’s productions could challenge Henri IV’s immediate interests, contesting the influence enjoyed by his mistresses or giving space to implied critiques of official foreign policy, for example. Such defenses of Marie’s own position, though, took shape as part of a larger governmental program designed to promote the French consort queen’s political authority not in its own right but as a means of maintaining power for the new Bourbon monarchy in the event of Henri IV’s untimely death.

The cult magazine editor describes her impressions of popular culture phenomena, including Tonya Harding, beauty parlors, plastic surgery, and romance novels

As the judges, coaches, and stage crew of Royally Dancing begin to prepare for the new season, Cassie Schultz finds herself paired with Gavin Myers. She doesn't want to win; Cassie just wants to solve the crime. Things get more difficult as time progresses though and Cassie finds herself in a situation that may be harder to get out of than it was to get in. Gavin Myers loves his job as a police officer but he also enjoys working as a dance coach for Royally Dancing. Although the crew does not know he is formally assigned to the murder case, they all know he works for the LAPD. As Gavin is starting to learn what Cassie Schultz has to offer in the way of dancing, he gets called out to hear about a fourth murder. When solving the mystery becomes more dangerous and more lives are found out to be at stake, Cassie and Gavin both realize something that may jeopardize their security and maybe even the entire mission. The question is: are they willing to lose either one of those?

Who needs Prince Charming if you've got a rock star? It's official. Olivia is a superfreak. Sure, she may have landed the hottest internship at an übercool TV music station. And yes, she's chilling with A-listers in London all summer. But when she meets her very first pop star, she gets caught in a revolving glass door and falls smack down on her bum -- all in one quick motion. Luckily, Rocker Boy thinks Liv's quirks are adorable. He takes her clubbing at the hippest spots! Liv may be clumsy on solid ground, but on the dance floor she sparkles. The summer's just begun and she's already captured the spotlight -- and a celeb's heart, too. Now if only she was sure he's the right guy...

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A female Jewish P.I finds herself involved in a deadly gang war while looking for a murder suspect in this new own voices crime novel. After her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Billie Levine revamped her grandfather’s private investigation firm and set up shop in the corner booth of her favorite North Jersey deli hoping the free pickles and flexible hours would allow her to take care of her mom and pay the bills. So when Tommy Russo, a rich kid with a nasty drug habit, offers her a stack of cash to find his missing girlfriend, how can she refuse? At first, Billie thinks this will be easy earnings, but then her missing person's case turns into a murder investigation and Russo is the detective bureau’s number one suspect. Suddenly Billie is embroiled in a deadly gang war that’s connected to the decades-old disappearance of a famous cabaret dancer with ties to both an infamous Jewish mob and a skinhead group. Toss in the reappearance of Billie’s hunky ex-boyfriend with his own rap sheet, and she is regretting every decision that got her to this point.Becoming a P.I. was supposed to solve her problems. But if Billie doesn’t crack this case, the next body the police dredge out of the Hudson River will be hers.

Kylie Jean wants to dance the main role in Swan Lake.

Ingrid Lundström, the daughter of a wealthy Swedish banker, has been a global roamer since she left school. An iconic blond, she resembles Agnetha Fältskog of Abba fame. These attributes dominate her existence, especially when she moves to Papua New Guinea, to work. Because of her connection to wealth, she becomes the target of criminals. Because of her appearance, she attracts special interest at every turn. When aspiring teacher Michael Mannion hears about Ingrid's fate at the hands of kidnappers, he travels to Papua New Guinea to track her down and attempt a rescue. However, he encounters many surprises. What he doesn't know is that he's as much the problem as the solution. They say love conquers all, but in a country where it's hard to separate fact from fiction, the serious from the lighthearted, and good guys from bad guys, love may not be enough. For Ingrid and Michael, love is their path to salvation but this path takes them on a different and sometimes unpredictable adventure.