Where Athene gets on her dance soapbox
If you don't know what I'm about to talk about here you need to read this, this and this to understand my arguments. I don't know what to think of this. Ballet has evolves SO completely far from it's roots in the court dances of france and the early ballet of Italy in the latter 1700s that it is a much different field. Macaulay's arguments about the french dancer hold very little water when the argument he uses is about a woman who cannot be aware of her own body enough to notice when NOT to have relations with a man (and I understand if people give me what-for on my seemingly sexist statement until I point out he is using it to defend his argument that a prima ballerina is too FAT when she has been very open about her history of anorexia). I think the body is fair game ONLY if they say that the line looks wrong, that is a real critique. Just saying someone looks a little chubby doesn't explain why nor does it give the dancer ANY input on how to correct these issues.
My god, this is one of a handful of very serious reasons I never went into ballet as a career and dance in general. For the longest time my impression was that this opinion was endemic across all dance forms. When I was in junior and senior high school (and even earlier) I had decided that I wanted to be a ballerina as a career. Back then it was the only one I felt a connection to even though I enjoyed tap it wasn't something I would have made a career out of. By the time I was sixteen two things became exceedingly clear. One: I had pretty much missed the boat. If I had wanted to be a ballerina of any caliber I should have been going to a dance academy three days a week for two hours at a time instead of a community school that only required you there once a week for an hour. Two: while I was called anorexic by students in my class or admired for my physique (which I always pointed out was because I would practice my ballet outside of class for an hour or two each day) if I had decided to make a career in ballet I might well have been called "fat" instead of pointing out where my line needed improvement or more stretching was required. Three: If I was to have ANY chance of a career as even a low lever corps de ballet member I would have to drop out of school and be homeshooled and my parents would almost have to take a loan out to send me to the local semi-professional ballet company for classes five days a week. There would never be time for my sister (a lot more voluptuous than I) or my younger brother (who was on the tale end of his "dance career" at twelve when he had to partner with me as Prince Siegfried to my Princess Odette in "Swan Lake").
My impression of dance in general has softened extensively but my feelings towards these issues is still with me as I consider whether or not I want to watch "The Black Swan" with Natalie Portman. I know enough about that life to say that I am glad I am not a part of it but in the exact same sentence I would admire and wish I was a ballerina once again. That I could press my feet into those painful pointe shoes and rise up like a slyph or the fae and fly. I have to wonder if Portman was given an opportunity to practice rising onto pointe (they used a double for the shots were they have her on pointe) and gracefully (or attempt to gracefully) releve into an attitude turn or even spin in a pique into croisee.
You're probably wondering why I put this under the fairytales heading. You see, in some ways ballet itself is a fairytale manifest. No, I am not talking simply the stories, I'm talking about the act of ballet itself. The reality of it is a much more disciplined and fraught life than anyone can imagine. I loved dancing, I would have made a career of it. As masochistic as it sounds, I almost miss the heavy weight and clunking sounds the pointe shoes make as you leap across the stage and the pain that comes from the outward grace made manifest. It is where ballet is not feminist that the fairytale becomes real.
To the new people on my f-list, *waves* hello! Sorry a rant had to be the first thing you saw but dance has been a subject very close to my heart so when I see something in the news like this I have to respond.
ETA: Does anyone know where I can get a good icon with a dancer on it? Something thought provoking would be nice but it doesn't have to be.
My god, this is one of a handful of very serious reasons I never went into ballet as a career and dance in general. For the longest time my impression was that this opinion was endemic across all dance forms. When I was in junior and senior high school (and even earlier) I had decided that I wanted to be a ballerina as a career. Back then it was the only one I felt a connection to even though I enjoyed tap it wasn't something I would have made a career out of. By the time I was sixteen two things became exceedingly clear. One: I had pretty much missed the boat. If I had wanted to be a ballerina of any caliber I should have been going to a dance academy three days a week for two hours at a time instead of a community school that only required you there once a week for an hour. Two: while I was called anorexic by students in my class or admired for my physique (which I always pointed out was because I would practice my ballet outside of class for an hour or two each day) if I had decided to make a career in ballet I might well have been called "fat" instead of pointing out where my line needed improvement or more stretching was required. Three: If I was to have ANY chance of a career as even a low lever corps de ballet member I would have to drop out of school and be homeshooled and my parents would almost have to take a loan out to send me to the local semi-professional ballet company for classes five days a week. There would never be time for my sister (a lot more voluptuous than I) or my younger brother (who was on the tale end of his "dance career" at twelve when he had to partner with me as Prince Siegfried to my Princess Odette in "Swan Lake").
My impression of dance in general has softened extensively but my feelings towards these issues is still with me as I consider whether or not I want to watch "The Black Swan" with Natalie Portman. I know enough about that life to say that I am glad I am not a part of it but in the exact same sentence I would admire and wish I was a ballerina once again. That I could press my feet into those painful pointe shoes and rise up like a slyph or the fae and fly. I have to wonder if Portman was given an opportunity to practice rising onto pointe (they used a double for the shots were they have her on pointe) and gracefully (or attempt to gracefully) releve into an attitude turn or even spin in a pique into croisee.
You're probably wondering why I put this under the fairytales heading. You see, in some ways ballet itself is a fairytale manifest. No, I am not talking simply the stories, I'm talking about the act of ballet itself. The reality of it is a much more disciplined and fraught life than anyone can imagine. I loved dancing, I would have made a career of it. As masochistic as it sounds, I almost miss the heavy weight and clunking sounds the pointe shoes make as you leap across the stage and the pain that comes from the outward grace made manifest. It is where ballet is not feminist that the fairytale becomes real.
To the new people on my f-list, *waves* hello! Sorry a rant had to be the first thing you saw but dance has been a subject very close to my heart so when I see something in the news like this I have to respond.
ETA: Does anyone know where I can get a good icon with a dancer on it? Something thought provoking would be nice but it doesn't have to be.