Moving as One

""In Carlos Vargas's arms I can be anything. Light as a whisper. Secret as smoke."" So muses vixen Roxanna Ivanov in this lead-footed debut of the Heart Beats series, as the two teens tango at Rainbow Dance studio. The pair dreams of becoming famous partners on the ballroom circuit, but Roxanna would like to extend her relationship with Carlos well beyond the dance floor. Meanwhile, over at Ballet Academy, top student Sophy Bartlett is devastated to learn that the financially strapped school is closing its doors. A last-minute merger with Rainbow Dance saves the Academy, even if Sophy is sure that the association will ruin the Academy's stellar reputation. But when Sophy--much to Roxanna's chagrin--is paired with Carlos in a fund-raiser, the would-be ballerina discovers that salsa dancing has its redeeming features, not least of which is ""moving as one"" with Carlos. Unfortunately, sloppy descriptive writing and much inconsequential dialogue keep Rees's soap-opera-like plot from moving with much grace, and the dance passages are both scanty and superficial. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)