I really want to do at least one positive review before the year is over as the one after this one isn't going to be a good review, you'll see why then I come to it. But for now lets review the manga only series Waltz no Ojikan.

Tango Minami is a Ballroom dance instructor and school student, however he stopped liking Ballroom and tries to maintain a cool image by doing break dancing much to his mother's dismay. Hime Makimura is a shy awkward girl, who curses her namesake as she feels that she hasn't got the qualities of a princess like her late mother said, however a chance meeting with Tango and a moment of curiosity outside the dance school draws her into the world of Ballroom Dancing, along with help from fellow dancers Yusei and Sumire, not only will Hime become the princess she was always told she could become but Tango will return to competitive Ballroom where he belongs.
There's an obvious reference to the whole Cinderella story and Hime even comments on doing that play, with this memorable quote: "When my class put on a play in Kindergarten, they chose the thin, cute girl with big eyes to play Cinderella, I was Mouse #4" but this is a much better take on Cinderella as a whole. Okay it doesn't feature any of the traditional elements but it doesn't need to, the whole premise is Hime going through a transformation from a girl who felt that she wasn't worth anything to a girl who feels she has a chance to become something great, it's a believable transition from hopelessness to hope and it's all done through her interactions with Tango rather than someone giving her it on a plate much like the Fairy Godmothers normally do. There's a wonderful scene where after tons of dance training she shreds so much weight that when she does enter her first dance competition she looks really beautiful and that's not through just reward that's effort creating a reward and she accomplishes it because she wants to, that's a much better lesson than what Cinderella already teaches us and the ending is such a good payoff as a result that you tend to forget the awkward love triangle from mid book 2 to book 3.
It's a relatively short story, being only three books long, not quite enough for a full series in anime form but none of Natsumi Ando's work has, but I feel it should, it's a great story and deserves some love.
Final Verdict: A perfect way to showcase the Cinderella story in a believable way that's actually achieved through hard work and perseverance, the pay off is worth reading through a few awkward love triangle moments to get to.