O Bailado das Estrelas

Shara Drummond was a gifted dancer & a brilliant choreographer, but could not pursue her dream of dancing on Earth. So she went to space, creating a new art form in three dimensions. When aliens arrived, there was only one way to prove that the human species deserved not just to survive, but to reach the stars. The only hope was Shara, with her stardance.
Stardance, by Spider & Jeanne Robinson, was published by Dial Press in '79 as part of its Quantum sf line. The opening segment originally appeared in Analog in '77 as the novella "Stardance," followed by the serialized conclusion, "Stardance II", in Analog in '78. After the Dial hardcover appeared in '79, Stardance was reprinted in paperback by Dell Books in '80, followed by reissues from Tor Books & Baen Books over the next decade. Baen compiled the novel, together with its sequel, Starseed, in a mass market paperback omnibus, The Star Dancers, in '97; in '06, Baen published a hardcover omnibus, The Stardance Trilogy, adding a 3rd novel, Starmind.