"A classic in the making. Under the guise of an easygoing and well—written travelogue, we are taken away into the unbelievable story of Bahia Street. And we come out of it bewildered and refreshed. . . . If true—to—life anthropology can be this breathtaking, who needs fiction?"

"Inspiring, unique, and perfectly honest. The idea that street girls can actually escape a life of poverty and destruction through schooling and education is as old as the world. Bringing this idea from a nineteenth—century Victorian fiction setting to the real life slums of a Brazilian favela at the turn of the twenty—first century is an adventure…and at times enormously funny. Some books talk about life. Some books give you insight. And once in a blue moon you find a book like this that gives life."

"Always poignant and often productively uncomfortable, Dance Lest We All Fall Down is a highly personal, beautifully written, and theoretically sophisticated ethnography of modern connections in Brazil’s northeast that focuses on the successes as well as the shortcomings of non—governmental institutions and contemporary means of addressing social inequality."

"A very moving tale about race, gender, and class in the ‘Capital of Happiness’ in Brazil, Bahia . . . and a powerful and personal account of succeeding against the odds in breaking the cycle of poverty for young poor black girls there…Beautifully illustrates that, yes, it can be done through local empowerment and determination."