WHEN IT ALL SYNCS UP
Sixteen-year-old Aisha Bimi has worked hard to be one of the best dancers in her ballet-focused boarding school, but she is continually reminded that, in many people’s eyes, she doesn’t look the part. Aisha is Ghanaian Canadian, and there are few Black people in the world of ballet. After she fails to receive an apprenticeship with the Western Canadian Ballet, Aisha makes the split-second decision to return home to Toronto. There, she toys with the idea of enrolling in an arts high school with her best friend, Neil. She can see that Neil, who is of Korean descent, has an alcohol problem, and she is determined to help, enlisting the aid of Algerian Canadian Ollie, one of Neil’s quiet yet compelling school friends. Can Aisha balance her relationships old and new, her mental health, and ballet, or is it all too much? Aisha’s feelings about dance consistently ring true, from the isolation of having few role models or friends who look like her to her love of classical technique and her hunger for something new. Her struggles with body image are especially authentic. Aisha and her friends face real problems and are not without their stumbles and missteps, but they also work to support each other in finding healing and healthy ways to move forward.
