Every Step You Take

June 20, 2011
Following his mother's death and his 2005 retirement as a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, Soto probes his past for meaning in order to confront the challenges of inventing a new chapter in his life. At age four, a spellbound Soto saw ballet star Edward Villella on the Ed Sullivan Show and, mimicking Villella's leaps, told his working-class Native American mother and Puerto Rican father that he wanted to be a dancerâand they took his request seriously. By five, Soto began his ballet training in Phoenix, Ariz.; at 13 he entered the famed School of American Ballet, in New York City; and at 16 George Balanchine invited him to join the New York City Ballet, where Soto danced until he was 40. As he became a fixture in a hip, glamorous world and embraced his gay sexuality, Soto distanced himself from his father's disapproval of homosexuality and found surrogate parents and mentors in two of NYCB's leading dancers, Peter Martins and Heather Watts. He also had a fruitful professional collaboration with choreographer Christopher Wheeldon that survived their romantic liaison. Although there are patches of awkward, unfocused writing, Soto, now a teacher at SAB, offers inspirational insights into a dancer's creative process. 8 pages of b&w photos.

July 15, 2011

Acclaimed dancer Soto—a principal for the New York City Ballet for 20 years (1985–2005)—writes about his career, his Native American heritage, his homosexuality, his passion for cooking, his struggles to find a family and his discovery of love.

Now a teacher at the School of American Ballet, the author is not a talented writer—few pages pass before the clichés begin arriving (he was "determined to hit the ground running" and to avoid "falling between the cracks")—but as his story, a true nowhere-to-somewhere tale, gathers momentum, it achieves a narrative power and an essential sweetness that is never cloying or annoying. The son of a Navajo mother and a Puerto Rican father, Soto recalls dancing native steps with his mother before he was 5. After seeing a ballet on the Ed Sullivan Show when was about 10, he fell permanently in love with the art. His parents—to their eternal credit—encouraged his passion (his macho father, though skeptical, drove him to countless lessons in the Southwest). It was soon evident to his teachers that his was no ordinary talent, and his career accelerated at warp speed. By his mid-teens, he was living on his own in New York City, working ferociously hard at the NYCB, developing relationships—colleagues, choreographers, lovers—and fashioning for himself an record. He has few unkind things to say about anyone and praises heavily his mentors (Balanchine, Robbins, Martins) and dancers (Heather Watts, Wendy Whelan). His kindest words are for his partner, Luis Fuentes. We learn, too, about his efforts to reunite his mother's family, to exorcise a disturbing ghost and to find peace once his dance career ended.

A powerful story, affectionately told, about the demands and dimensions of personal and professional success.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from August 1, 2011

Soto, esteemed over a 24-year dancing career (1981-2005) for his sinuous grace, elegant partnering, and the breadth of ballets choreographed on him, occupies a special place in the hearts of ballet fans generally and New York City Ballet (NYCB) fans in particular. Now a teacher at NYCB's School of American Ballet and founder of a catering business, Soto must add "eloquent memoirist" to his attainments. As with his dancing, he moves here gracefully, weaving in and around his life, turning now to his dancing, now to his partnerships, both on and off the stage, now to reflect on his parents--his Navajo mother on whose reservation he and his brother spent their early years, and his Puerto Rican father--who both lovingly supported his wish to dance, even as they knew little about classical ballet. The stories of his parents' peripatetic lives are as stirring as any part of the book. VERDICT There are many dancers' memoirs around; Soto's is lovely for its graceful inward and outward gaze and its narrative flow. Highly recommended for all dance fans, LGBT collections, and readers of today's memoirs.--Margaret Heilbrun, Library Journal

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2011
Son of a macho Puerto Rican father and a Navajo Princess mother, Soto performed Navajo ceremonial dances at 3, began formal training at 5, received scholarships to the School of American Ballet, and joined the New York City Ballet at 16. Now in his forties, teaching and retired from performing, he offers a memoir, refreshing in its natural, unforced, engaging manner, which recounts his dance addict's life, alone at 15 in New York City, where, with other students, he seamlessly dropped out of any semblance of a family life into a completely unchaperoned life with a pack of boys. There he could feel himself learning to dance as he developed discipline and respect for the value of hard work. Craving stability in a volatile environment, he became a surrogate child of Heather Watts and Peter Martins and, eventually, an NYCB principal. His story of artistic commitment may draw readers from far beyond the realm of dance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)