Allegra Kent [own] parents. She borrowed a neighbor's working papers and took a job at twelve. By fourteen, she was teaching ballroom dancing at night in someone's private home, mostly to Japanese men". Born in Santa Monica, Kent studied with Bronislava Nijinska and Carmelita Maracci before joining the School of American Ballet. She discovered music and dance at the age of 7 and enjoyed both, but she was 11 before she took her first ballet lesson. She had completely flat feet as a little girl and consulted a doctor, who prescribed wedges in her shoes to give her arches. She then began
Allegra Kent Swan", with Holiday House Books for Young People, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully. It has received good reviews from "The New York Times","Kirkus Reviews", and "School Library Journal". She eventually had plastic surgery on her nose and chin at the insistence of her mother in an attempt to make her look "less Jewish". The operation was botched and Kent fell into a deep depression because of it. Balanchine dropped several roles for her because of it. In 2013, "Ballerina Swan" was adapted for the stage as a dance piece by New York City Children's Theater, featuring choreographer Michael