Published Works
A Dancer's Diary: Around the World in Thirteen Dances (2017)
This book is your passport to the mesmerizing, multicolored and memorable world of dance. Join the author on her journeys through the art of dance, including classical ballet, contemporary/modern, kathak, flamenco, and many other unique styles. With stops in Bali, Spain and Cuba, and additional performances/choreographers from China, Isra
This book is your passport to the mesmerizing, multicolored and memorable world of dance. Join the author on her journeys through the art of dance, including classical ballet, contemporary/modern, kathak, flamenco, and many other unique styles. With stops in Bali, Spain and Cuba, and additional performances/choreographers from China, Israel and Germany, each chapter forms a vivid account of the author's firsthand experiences; spanning performances and travels from 1983 to 2017. Combining memoir, travel writing and performance review, McDermott creates a lavish sampler of international dance. If you love dance, travel, cultural studies, music or visual arts, you will enjoy this narrative, written by a a professional dancer, teacher, choreographer with over thirty years in the field.
Award:
American Legacy Book Award-Finalist, Performing Arts category, 2024
Additional publications:
The New Yorker: "Notes on Dance", July 29, 2019
Dance International- Inside Ed: "Creative Movement as a Foundation for Ballet, "Winter, 2018
Criticaldance.org-Moderator and Contributor
- Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet, April 2,2016
- Kid Pivot and Electric Company Theater: March 19, 2016
- Akram Khan Company in Kaash, November 14, 2014
- National Ballet of Cuba, June 20, 2014
- New Israeli Voices in Dance, Hillel Kogan and Danielle Agami, March 21, 2015
Contact Quarterly: "Dancing and Climbing Mountains: Choreographic Processes", Summer/Fall 1995
Woman Image Now: "Did You Ever meet a Woman who Wanted to be Pope?", Volume Four, 1989-1990
Birds of a Feather, a Memoir (2021)
Growing up in a family of six girls was by turns harrowing, hilarious and character-building, but never boring. Looking back on her childhood with a mixture of humor and incredulity, the author's tale takes the reader on a nostalgic dance down memory lane as seen through the prism of the COVID pandemic. Touching on themes of immigration,
Growing up in a family of six girls was by turns harrowing, hilarious and character-building, but never boring. Looking back on her childhood with a mixture of humor and incredulity, the author's tale takes the reader on a nostalgic dance down memory lane as seen through the prism of the COVID pandemic. Touching on themes of immigration, (her mother was a child of Hungarian immigrants) assimilation and memory, it invites the reader to contemplate their own ancestry and lineage and how our pasts shape our present and future.
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Tammy the Troll, A Dance in the Forest (2023)
Tammy the Troll, A Dance in the Forest (2023)
A children's picture book for ages 3-8 years old, Tammy the Troll, A Dance in the Forest, is published by Once Upon a Dance, and features illustrations by Christian Gheorghita. Kirkus Reviews called it " a delightful narrative...a wonderful choice for dance teachers, librarians, and other educators who regularly work with preschoolers. C
A children's picture book for ages 3-8 years old, Tammy the Troll, A Dance in the Forest, is published by Once Upon a Dance, and features illustrations by Christian Gheorghita. Kirkus Reviews called it " a delightful narrative...a wonderful choice for dance teachers, librarians, and other educators who regularly work with preschoolers. Children will find the story charming."
Awards:
- Dance Teacher magazine-Recommended read, 2023
- Reedsy Discovery-5 stars
- Wishing Shelf Book Awards- 4 stars
- Mom's Choice-Gold Level Award