History Literature / BadNewsBallet

# ''Boo Hoo?'': The girls practice their parts in a performance of ''Literature/Dracula'' and try to find out who's been snatching purses in town.

[[caption-width-right:452:Just a bunch of misfits in ballet slippers. L to R: Rocky, Mary, Gwen, Zan, and [=McGee=].]]

* IAmBigBoned: Mrs. [=McGee=] describes Gwen politely as "plump," but [=McGee=] considers her to be fat.
* IHaveBrothers: Rocky is the youngest and only daughter in her family, with four older brothers who are as tough as their military father and [[BigBrotherBully picked on her when she was small]]. She's considered the toughest girl in the sixth grade, and the reason she got sent to take ballet in the first place was because she got caught fighting a neighbor boy and her mom said it was that or being grounded for a month.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Mary Bubnik, who has recently moved to Deerfield after a parent's divorce, is desperate to make new friends--in part because she's worried that if she doesn't find a way to fit in, she'll be sent back to live with her dad--and his new wife--in Oklahoma.

* TheKlutz: Mary Bubnik [[EstablishingCharacterMoment introduces herself]] by tripping over her feet in too-big dance shoes and falling across the floor. She's frequently described as the most klutzy student in class and didn't make it in gymnastics or cheerleading--she was last in the tryouts for cheer.

* SourOutsideSadInside: Gwen, along with being "plump", is a snarky mouthed unfriendly girl to start. [=McGee=] initially hates the idea of spending more time with her as she thinks she's unfriendly (and they're mostly forced together because their mom's are friends) and she's constantly being compared to her, while Gwen thinks that [=McGee=] is pretty in looks and perfect compared to her red hair, glasses, and overall fatness and she's constantly being compared to ''her''. (They start to come around to each other along with the other three.)

* SlobsVersusSnobs: The gang stands out in major contrast to the more upper class and snooty Bunheads--every book is a conflict with them, especially against Courtney and Page.

* StraightToThePointe: Averted. The girls are not into toe shoes until the fifth book of the series, and they have to practice hard to be allowed in them at all. However, they do seem to get into them very quickly, having only taken ballet full time since December and only taking one class a week (when toe shoes require extensive training).

** Rocky likes to try on her mother's formal gowns and dress up--but she's sure her bullying brothers would make fun of her if they ever found out she likes pretty clothes.
* WeightWoe: Gwen constantly worries about being fat, drinks diet cokes, and frets that she looks stuffed and overweight in her ballet leotard and tights. She frequently sucks in her stomach to look smaller and insists on dieting.

Like many girl-focused book series of the era, it was QuietlyCancelled after [[ShortRunners only ten books]] and is mainly a fond memory of Gen X and Millennial girls who read ''Literature/PaperbackCrush'' and went "Hey, I remember this series!" The series was republished again in 2000 partially, and under the name ''Scrambled Legs'' in Britain; the first eight are also available as e-books.

# ''Blubberina''[[note]]renamed ''The Lucky Stone'' in Britain[[/note]]: Gwen is considered too heavy to fit in toe shoes, and the Bunheads insult her for it--so she's determined to lose weight.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Miss Delacorte describes the [[UsefulNotes/RomanovsAndRevolutions deaths of the Romanov family]] as the Bolsheviks breaking into the palace and killing everyone in the family (except [[DidAnastasiaSurvive Anastasia, who had the bullet bounce off an amber stone]] Miss Delacorte now owns). The Romanovs were taken from the palace and initially imprisoned, but later murdered (along with several servants) in Yekaterinburg by being shot and bayonetted--Anastasia included.

* ArrangedFriendship: Gwen and [=McGee=] are this at first as they're only "friends" because their mothers are, and have been dragged together to attend things like mother-daughter teas and fashion shows with their moms. They don't like each other, in part because they're constantly compared to one another by their mothers.

* ClosetShuffle: [=McGee=] and Gwen try to take off from their audition and hide in a closet to not be found and get out of it entirely. They instead run into--and out--Rocky Garcia, and they're all escorted back to the auditions.

Compare the more well-known ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'' aimed at the same demographic; ''Literature/SleepoverFriends'', which is centered on girls who bond at [[SlumberParty slumber parties]];
''Literature/TheSaddleClub'' a PonyTale series; and ''Literature/TheGymnasts'' which focuses on another sport aimed at girls.

Like many girl-focused book series of the era, it was QuietlyCancelled after ten books and is mainly a fond memory of Gen X and Millennial girls who read ''Literature/PaperbackCrush'' and went "Hey, I remember this series!" The series was republished again in 2000 partially, and under the name ''Scrambled Legs'' in Britain; the first eight are also available as e-books.

* BreakTheHaughty: Zan and the others decide they need to make the Bunheads embarrass themselves. They convince them to put detergent on their ballet shoes in place of resin and to lace the ribbons up their calves. The Bunheads--who were cast as flowers--do so and end up ruining the floor of the dance studio by coating it in a layer of soap--''and'' get lectured by Mr. Anton for it and the bad lacing.

* BlackAndNerdy: African-American Zan is described as preferring a book to ballet; she's read tons of books including the entire Tiffany Truenote series, and in the first class is able to explain the plot of ''The Nutcracker'' excellently. She's this way in part because, [[HugeSchoolgirl as the tallest girl in fifth grade]], she feels that books let her be "any height" she wants.

''Bad News Ballet'' is a series of [[MiddleGradeLiterature middle grade]] books published in the late 1980s and early 1990s, written by Jahnna N. Malcolm (the PenName of married couple writers Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner), focused on a set of five girls who are misfit dancers in their beginner {{Ballet}} lessons in the fictional town of Deerfield, Ohio.

* FunetikAksent: Miss Delacorte is said to have a Russian accent, which has her saying "lee-tle" for little and "look-ink" for looking.

* StraightToThePointe: Averted. The girls are not into toe shoes until the fifth book of the series, and they have to practice hard to be allowed in them at all.

# ''The Terrible Tryouts''[[note]][[AdaptationTitleChange also titled]] ''We Hate Ballet!'' in Britain and ''Drat, We're Rats!'' in the rerelease[[/note]]: The five girls meet, all hating ballet--and hating it even more when they're cast as rats in the school's performance of ''Theatre/TheNutcracker''.

Compare the more well-known ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub''--aimed at the same demographic; ''Literature/SleepoverFriends'', which had the main girls bond at [[SlumberParty slumber parties]];

* ArrangedFriendship: Gwen and [=McGee=] are this at first as they're only "friends" because their mothers are, and have been dragged together to attend things like mother-daughter teas, fashion shows. They don't like each other, in part because they're constantly compared to one another by their mothers.

* ClosetShuffle: [=McGee=] and Gwen try to take off from the audition and hide in a closet to not be found and get out of it entirely. They instead run into--and out--Rocky Garcia, and they're all escorted back to the auditions.

* WeightWoe: Gwen constantly worries about being fat, drinks diet cokes, and frets that she looks stuffed and overweight in her ballet leotard and tights. She frequently sucks in her stomach to look smaller.

# ''The Terrible Tryouts''[[note]][[AdaptationTitleChange also titled]] ''We Hate Ballet!'' in Britain and ''Drat, We're Rats!'' in the rerelease[[/note]]: The five girls meet, all hating ballet--and hating it even more when they're cast as rats in the school's Nutcracker performance.
# ''Battle of the Bunheads'': A famous ballerina is choosing who will be her flower bearer--and it's a clash between the gang and the snooty Bunheads.

''Bad News Ballet'' is a series of [[MiddleGradeLiterature middle grade]] books published in the late 1980s and early 1990s, written by Jahnna N. Malcolm (the PenName of married couple writers Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner), focused on a set of five girls who are misfit dancers in their beginner {{Ballet}} lessons in the factional town of Deerfield, Ohio.

[=McGee=] ([[LastNameBasis who goes by her last name]]), Zan Reed, "Rocky" Garcia, Mary Bubnik, and Gwen Hayes all have different reasons for not wanting to be in ballet at all. But their mothers, insisting ballet is good for them for one reason or another, enroll them together in the local Deerfield Academy of Dance. The five of them make fast friends, as outsiders to the more posh and skilled dancers who often bully them (and who the group derisively call the "Bunheads" for their trait of pulling their hair into tight dancer's buns).

Like many girl-focused series of the era, it was QuietlyCancelled after ten books and is mainly a fond memory of Gen X and Millennial girls who read ''Literature/PaperbackCrush'' and went "Hey, I remember this series!" The series was republished again in 2000 partially, and under the name ''Scrambled Legs'' in Britain; the first eight are also available as e-books.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Zan (Suzannnah), Gwen (Gwendolyn), Rocky (Rochelle), and [=McGee=] (Kathryn). Mary's the only one who goes by her full first name.

* TheKlutz: Mary Bubnik [[EstablishingCharacterMoment introduces herself]] by tripping over her feet in too-big dance shoes and falling across the floor. She's frequently described as the most klutzy student in class and didn't make it in gymnastics or cheerleading.

[=McGee=] ([[LastNameBasis who goes by her last name]]), Zan, "Rocky" Garcia, Mary Bubnik, and Gwen Hayes all have different reasons for not wanting to be in ballet at all. But their mothers, insisting ballet is good for them for one reason or another, enroll them together in the local Deerfield Academy of Dance. The five of them make fast friends, as outsiders to the more posh and skilled dancers who often bully them (and who the group derisively call the "Bunheads" for their trait of pulling their hair into tight dancer's buns).

* AlphaBitch: Courtney Clay, leader of the Bunheads. She's snotty to all the other misfits and thinks she's better than them because she's a skilled dancer.

* EmbarrassingFirstName:

* FullNameBasis: The book descriptions ''always'' call Mary Bubnik by her first and last name. Mary doesn't call herself that, though.

* HugeSchoolgirl: Zan is the tallest girl in her entire fifth grade and is shy and embarrassed because of it.

* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Mary Bubnik, who has recently moved to Deerfield after a parent's divorce, is desperate to make new friends--in part because her mother has been pushing her to. She's worried that if she doesn't fit in, she'll be sent back to live with her dad--and his new wife--in Oklahoma.
* TheLadette: Rocky, due to a mix of her military father and [[BigBrotherBully bullying big brothers]], is tough and gets in fights often. [[spoiler:Funny enough, she's the one of the group to get a boyfriend.]]

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The five main girls--each for a different reason--do not mesh well with the Bunheads or ballet initially. By the end of the first book they've bonded to the point they all want to remain in ballet class--even if only for each other's sake.

* ShrinkingViolet: Zan, who is tall and shy, doesn't speak much to the others until she warms up to them.

* SternTeacher: Miss Jo establishes herself as this in the very first class when Rocky and [=McGee=] start fighting--she coolly informs them that they are not in a boxing ring and need to behave.
* StraightToThePointe: Averted. The girls are not yet into toe shoes until the fifth book of the series, and they have to practice hard to be allowed in toe shoes at all.
* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: [=McGee=]--who goes by her last name, [[EmbarrassingFirstName as she hates her first name of Kathryn]]--is a massive tomboy who starts the series off by stating she hates ballet and much prefers hockey. By the end of the first book (having bonded with her fellow misfits) she's a bit more accepting, and--though she retains her tomboy ways--she remains part of the class through the full run.
* WeightWoe: Gwen constantly worries about being fat, drinking diet cokes and fretting that she looks stuffed and overweight in her ballet leotard and tights.

[[caption-width-right:452:Just a bunch of misfits in ballet slippers. L to R: Rocky, Mary Bubnik, Gwen, Zan, and [=McGee=].]]

''Bad News Ballet'' is a series of [[MiddleGradeLiterature middle grade]] books published in the late 1980s and early 1990s, written by Jahnna N. Malcolm (the PenName of married couple writers Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner), focused on a set of five girls who are misfit dancers in their beginner {{Ballet}} class in the factional town of Deerfield, Ohio.

[=McGee=] ([[LastNameBasis who goes by her last name]]), Zan, "Rocky" Garcia, Mary Bubnik, and Gwen Hayes all have different reasons for not wanting to be in ballet class at all. But their mothers, insisting ballet is good for them for one reason or another, enroll them together in the local Deerfield Academy of Dance. The five of them make fast friends, as outsiders to the more posh and skilled dancers who often bully them (and who the group derisively call the "Bunheads" for their trait of pulling their hair into tight dancer's buns).

# ''Battle of the Bunheads'': A famous ballerina is choosing who will be her flower bearer--and it's a clash between the gang and the Bunheads.

* ArrangedFriendship: Gwen and [=McGee=] are this at first as they're only "friends" because their mothers are, and have been dragged together to attend things like mother-daughter teas, fashion shows.
* BlackAndNerdy: African-American Zan is described as preferring a book to ballet; she's read tons of books and in the first class is able to explain the plot of ''The Nutcracker'' excellently.

* FullNameBasis: The books ''always'' call Mary Bubnik by her first and last name.

* IHaveBrothers: Rocky is the youngest and only daughter in her family, with four older brothers who are as tough as their military father and [[BigBrotherBully picked on her when she was small]]. She's considered the toughest girl in the sixth grade, and the reason she got sent to ballet class in the first place was because she got caught fighting a neighbor boy and her mom said it was that or being grounded for a month.

* LastNameBasis: [=McGee=] goes by her last name; she hates her first name, Kathryn. This results in the ballet teacher referring to her as "[=McGee=] [=McGee=]" in her first ballet class, which she has to then clarify.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The five main girls--each for a different reason--do not mesh well with the Bunheads or ballet class initially. By the end of the first book they've bonded to the point they all want to remain in ballet class--even if only for each other's sake.
* ShrinkingViolet: Gwen, along with being "plump", is a shy withdrawn perfect student. [=McGee=] initially hates the idea of spending more time with her as she thinks she's unfriendly and they're mostly forced together because their mom's are friends. They start to come around to each other along with the other three.

* MilitaryBrat: Rocky lives on the fictional Curtiss-Dobbs Air Force Base with her military father, Sergeant Garcia.
He's a strict father who always barks his orders and runs the house like a miniature branch of the military. When any of her or her four older brothers get in trouble, they all get punished, and this can result in being "confined to quarters" (sent to your room) or "KP", which means washing dishes for a week.

''Bad News Ballet'' is a series of [[MiddleGradeLiterature middle grade]] books published in the late 1980s and early 1990s, written by Jahnna N. Malcolm (the PenName of married couple writers Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner), focused on a set of five girls who are misfit dancers in their beginner {{Ballet}} class in the factional town of Deerfield, Ohio

[=McGee=] ([[LastNameBasis who goes by her last name]]), Zan, "Rocky" Garcia, Mary Bubnik, and Gwen Hayes all have different reasons for not wanting to be in ballet class at all. But their mothers, insisting ballet is good for them, enroll them together in the local Deerfield Academy of Dance. The five of them make fast friends, as outsiders to the more posh and skilled dancers who often bully them (and who the group derisively call the "Bunheads" for their trait of pulling their hair into tight dancer's buns).

* IHaveBrothers: Rocky is the youngest and only daughter in her family, with four older brothers who are as tough as their military father and who picked on her when she was small. She's considered the toughest girl in the sixth grade, and the reason she got sent to ballet class in the first place was because she got caught fighting a neighbor boy and her mom said it was that or being grounded for a month.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The five main girls--each for a different reason--do not mesh well with the Bunheads or ballet class. By the end of the first book they've bonded to the point they all want to remain in ballet class--even if only for each other's sake.

''Bad News Ballet'' is a series of [[MiddleGradeLiterature middle grade]] books published in the late 1980s and early 1990s, written by Jahnna N. Malcolm (the PenName of married couple writers Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner), focused on a set of five girls who are misfit dancers in their beginner {{Ballet}} class.

* DownOnTheFarm: [=McGee=]'s family lives on the edge of Fairview's town in what's called the farming community; she lives in a house surrounded by pasture. She hates it.

[=McGee=], Zan, "Rocky" Garcia, Mary Bubnik, and Gwen Hayes all have different reasons for not wanting to be in ballet class at all. But their mothers, insisting ballet is good for them, enroll them together in the local Deerfield Academy of Dance. The five of them make fast friends, as outsiders to the more posh and skilled dancers who often bully them (and who the group derisively call the "Bunheads" for their trait of pulling their hair into tight dancer's buns).

* LastNameBasis: [=McGee=] goes by her last name; she hates her first name, Kathryn. This results in a teacher referring to her as "[=McGee=] [=McGee=]" in her first ballet class, which she has to clarify.
* MilitaryBrat: Rocky lives on the fictional Curtiss-Dobbs Air Force Base with her military father.

* ShrinkingViolet: Gwen, along with being plump, is a shy withdrawn perfect student. [=McGee=] initially hates the idea of spending more time with her, as they're mostly forced together because their mom's are friends.
* SlobsVersusSnobs: The gang stands out in major contrast to the more upper class and snooty Bunheads--every book is a conflict with them, especially Courtney and Page.

# ''Battle of the Bunheads'': A famous ballerina is choosing who will be her flower bearer--and it's a clash between the gang and the Bunheads

# ''Who Framed Mary Bubnik?'': Mary Bubnik's family has financial problems, and a thief is stealing things from the dressing room.
# ''Blubberina'' [[note]]renamed ''The Lucky Stone'' in Britain[[/note]]: Gwen is considered too heavy to fit in toe shoes, and the Bunheads insult her for it--so she's determined to lose weight.

# ''The King and Us'': The gang try out for parts in ''Theatre/TheKingAndI''--and then screw up their roles and have to earn them back
# ''Camp Clodhopper'': The gang attends a ballet camp--which is not all that was promised.

* BlackAndNerdy: African-American Zan is described as preferring a book to ballet; she's read and