The Nutcracker Chronicles Book Launch

Join Gilman Brewing and East Bay Booksellers to celebrate the release of Janine Kovac's new book The Nutcracker Chronicles with the author in conversation with Grace Kraaijvanger!

JANINE KOVAC enjoyed a twelve-year career as a professional ballet dancer in Iceland, Italy, San Francisco, and her hometown of El Paso, Texas. Outside of the ballet world, her distinctions include U.C. Berkeley’s Glushko Award for Distinguished Research in Cognitive Science, an Elizabeth George Foundation Fellowship from Hedgebrook, and the Calderwood Fellowship for Journalism from MacDowell. Janine is the author of Brain Changer: A Mother’s Guide to Cognitive Science and Spinning: Choreography for Coming Home, which received a National Indie Excellence Award. She lives in Oakland, California. Learn more about her life and work at: https://www.janinekovac.com/

Grace Kraaijvanger is the award-winning Founder of The Hivery, where we mentor and connect women on creating next chapters through starting businesses, writing books, and getting paid for their art. In 2024 she was named Mill Valley's Business Citizen of the Year. A former professional ballet dancer, Grace is the creator and host of the podcast The Art of What's Next.

The Nutcracker Chronicles

Janine Kovac was seven years old when she got a fluttery feeling in her chest while watching her first performance of The Nutcracker. From that moment, she knew she wanted to be a ballerina. It wasn’t long before she herself was dancing the part of a snowflake, flower, mouse, soldier, and Fritz, Clara’s brother, who snatches the nutcracker from her and yanks off its head—all in search of the magic she felt only on the stage.

Over a twelve-year career, Janine dances with ballet companies in San Francisco, Seattle, Germany, Iceland, and Italy, returning home every holiday season to perform The Nutcracker with Ballet El Paso. Despite the challenges of the ballet world, Janine can’t resist the inner glow and effortlessness she feels on stage, under the lights, dancing to Tchaikovsky in the Land of Sweets, ruled by a sugar plum fairy. Eventually, however, she is relegated to watching other people dance—her husband, her children, her students—and her claim to the spotlight is replaced by the quest to find joy in her new roles.

Praise for “The Nutcracker Chronicles”

"The descriptions of [Kovac's] emotional highs and lows of pursuing a passion—such as the thrill of performance, the sting of competition, and how personal relationships coexist—will resonate with anyone who has ever chased a dream."
–Readers’ Favorite, 5-star review ★★★★★

“Smart, vivid, and full of heart, Kovac nails what it feels like to be a little kid with a big dream, then fearlessly leads us to that dream's realization and--maybe best of all--to what comes after.”

—Sara Nović, New York Times bestselling author of “True Biz” and “Girl at War”

“‘The Nutcracker Chronicles’ traces the root of one girl’s dream to dance and reach for the divine while laying bare the hard truths that come with that kind of stretching—the emotional, physical, spiritual and financial costs incurred in the name of relentless artistic callings. This book dazzles with vulnerability and vibrates with the unbridled innocence and energy of youthful convictions, reminding us that certain human needs, like love and confidence and simply being seen, are inside jobs, and while the human body has its limits, the search for that single thing that makes our hearts soar is illimitable. This book is a triumph for our times and a tribute to every one of us who knows what it means to feel more than see the beauty around and in us.”

—Putsata Reang, author of Pacific Northwest Book Award winner “Ma and Me”

"...an inspiring account of dedication and the transformative power of dance, inviting readers to reflect on their own journeys of self-discovery and resilience. Very highly recommended."

—Readers’ Favorite, ★★★★★

"Filled with vivid, transporting descriptions of dance, from the fabric of sumptuous costumes to the fascinating mechanics of balance, The Nutcracker Chronicles is a true insider's take on what transpires behind the scenes, on and off stage, and in the hearts and bodies of dancers. Kovac highlights not just the pure beauty of ballet, but the interconnected waves of enthrallment, hard work, setbacks, celebration, and self-possession that shaped her life from childhood lessons to professional fruition and success."

—Savala Nolan, author of “Don’t Let It Get You Down: Essays on Race, Gender, and the Body”

“A voice as distinctive and moving as they come. Kovac writes from deeply inside the experience and through it all we are privy to what isn’t seen on stage, for she not only knows she tells, ‘exactly what’s happening on the other side of the curtain.’ Janine Kovac has penned a new ballet of prose that will stay with you long after that final curtain call.”

—Toni Mirosevich, author of “Spell Heaven”

“Janine Kovac’s evocative memoir of her life in dance, punctuated by all the Nutcrackers in her long and circuitous career, takes us on a journey that is both relatable and extraordinary. Her precise memory for poignant detail took me straight back to those early days of our shared Ballet El Paso Nutcrackers! Brava Janine, you so expertly portray all the complicated facets of a life devoted to dance and all the shapes that life can take.”

—Tanya Rivero Warren, network news anchor, and former New York City Ballet dancer

“Janine Kovac's vividly written and cleverly structured memoir will give anyone delighted with Nutcracker an insider understanding of what it's like to be a working dancer, as well as deepen their understanding of the Tchaikovsky classic.”—Rachel Howard, San Francisco Chronicle dance critic and author of “The Risk of Us”

Janine Kovac’s witty, honest, heartfelt ballet-centric memoir moves with the grace of dance, from little girl enthusiasms, oven-baked toe shoes, petty jealousies, and nasty teachers to the tireless competition of international auditioning, performance and struggling to make a life on stage. For those who love dance, for those who know nothing of dance, this bittersweet book will speak to you about perseverance, friendship, and what is really important.

—Lauren Kessler, author of “Raising the Barre: Big Dream, False Starts and My Midlife Quest to Dance the Nutcracker”

Host or Publisher Gilman Brewing Company