About the Author

Raymonda is the first in a series of children's books called "Desdamona presents..." produced by The Adventures of a Rogue Swan. The series follows the dreams of Desdamona, a mixed race, ballet loving, eight year old who dreams of becoming a ballerina when she grows up. Each book is a story within a story as Desdamona falls asleep each night dreaming a different ballet. The Adventures of a Rogue Swan is an arts and education project created and produced by ballerina Matina Banks. The project produces multimedia performances and books for children. The students who create content for these performances and books are immigrant children who through the project are learning English and becoming acculturated in their new home. For more information on the project check out www.theadventuresofarogueswan.com All proceeds from book sales go to supporting this not-for-profit project. Matina Banks is a ballerina and former teaching artist of 17 years. Throughout her years of teaching she developed a love of children's books and using them as teaching tools to help her students with their academics. Now retired from teaching to focus more on her ballet career, Ms. Banks is combining all her passions; dance, media, and literacy into this wonderful project. Ms. Banks is a mixed race ballerina herself and the inspiration for Desdamona is a composite of herself and several family members who also grew up loving ballet. She currently lives and works in New York City where she shares a studio/office/apartment with a crazy cat named Cheech.