Dancing on the barricades

Playwright-turned-novelist John Coriolan presents a pleasantly enigmatic glimpse into the lives of disparate people brought together for a ballet program to tour the country, and he deftly captures the essence of spirit found in the artists, their sexual ruminations, their politics, amidst the personal/political turmoil of a hidden agenda. The well-characterised individuals tell you the story as it progresses from their perspective with clever dialog (or often monologue) masterfully engineered and skilfully interwoven across the individual musings. The need to expose social taboos against nudity and self-expression, and also a lurking, concealed plan for political domination runs through each of the chapters