Jock Soto

Every Step You Take: A Memoir is a look back for Jock Soto at his family and his career, sorting through the influences that made him a unique figure in the ballet world. The writing took great courage, as some of his family history must have been hard to face — some unpleasant truths about his father, in particular, and his mother’s family. He has an amazing life story, a story that I don’t think could even happen today, and his telling of it is quite humble.

Jock got interested in ballet at the ripe old age of four, while watching Edward Villella dance on the Ed Sullivan Show. (He was performing a piece from Jewels, by George Balanchine, who Jock would later dance for at the New York City Ballet.) His parents took his request seriously and enrolled him in ballet classes. At 12 years old he auditioned for the School of American Ballet and was awarded a full scholarship. After a brief interruption in his training, he returned to New York with his family and at 14 years old, his family left, leaving Jock alone in New York City, with no income (other than his school stipend) and no adult supervision.

Who does that? Who leaves their kid alone in the big city like that? It’s crazy! I don’t think you could get away with that today. But he roomed with other dancers, couch-surfed a bit, and eventually built a family for himself among the dancers there. This new family of his is a theme throughout the book, the way he drew together with people who could give him the support and understanding that his family could not.

Read my full review at my website, Alive on the Shelves.… (mehr)

Jock Soto had a long and storied career at the New York City Ballet: he was a corps de ballet dancer in 1981 at the tender age of 16 and a principal by 1984, a ranking he held until his retirement 20 years later in 2005. He partnered famous NYCB ballerinas Heather Watts, Darci Kistler, Patricia McBride, Wendy Whelan and more. He was there when Mr. Balanchine passed away, and he was there on 9-11 when the Twin Towers were brought down.

As if being a star dancer for one of the world's greatest geniuses isn't enough, Jock has a unique back story, beginning with his ethnicity. He's half Navajo and half Puerto Rican. Talk about exotic! Rumor has it "the boy is gorgeous" in real life.

The passing of Jock's beloved mother from colon cancer in 2008 prompted him to do something he'd never done: take a long look at his roots and his relationship with his family of origin. The sensitive nature of this artistic introvert is evident throughout the book, and while this quality no doubt inspired his dancing, we see its down side when he beats up on himself about his absence from family during his NYCB years.

But the shy "Navajo brave" definitely found his voice in Every Step You Take. It has wide audience appeal, whether you're a ballet lover, mixed kid, aspiring chef (he loves to cook), or a bunch of other stuff.

One of my favorites: When Stanley Williams was alive and teaching at the School of American Ballet, famous dancers came from all over the world to take class with him. Jock says you could always tell when Nureyev was in the building ("I nearly fainted...") because the dressing rooms would clear out quickly. "Rudy had quite a foul mouth and a creative and seemingly endless supply of lewd comments." Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of that!

That's all I'll give away. Pick up this memoir by one of our greatest ballet dancers and find your own favorite parts. There's plenty to choose from, no matter what your pleasure.

Thanks to Mr. Soto for sharing his world with us. It's one of the tastiest dishes he could possibly serve.… (mehr)