Ballet outside, and a track

[britlitfantwin]

I'm working on a story where my MC is a ballet dancer. She's built for powerful elegance rather than delicacy, is 5'11, and nineteen years old. This is a fantasy, and things are going on in her mind that are making her a little unstable. There's a scene where she's outside in the rain, walking around a track (as in, made of cinder). My

Comments

[smellingbottle]

What kind of shoes is she wearing? And do you mean a proper, recognisable fouette, with feet and arms in the appropriate positions, and everything balanced, or just some kind of vague, sloppy-ish turn? I imagine you could do a bad one anywhere, on virtually any surface, but if it's a fantasy, does it matter?

[britlitfantwin]

Barefoot (my apologies, I should have mentioned that). And I do mean a proper fouette. It is a fantasy, but she's still in the "real world" right now (i.e. Earth as we know it). The only fantasy elements so far are the voices in her head.

[sollersuk]

Barefoot sounds difficult and 5'11" might be OK for fantasy but is far too tall for the UK.

[britlitfantwin]

I do understand that her height would keep her from advancing as part of a company, but she lives in a small town. She's never had a chance to be a part of a company, and never really wanted to be. She just wanted to dance as much as possible, and spent years taking proper lessons however she could. Would her height keep her from being able to turn the fouettes well? i.e. throw her off balance?

[jazzy_fay]

You said in one of the other comments that she's barefooted. So depending on her strength, yes she could theoretically do one. The thing is, on a track, it would likely hurt her supporting foot. So in order to do a correct foutte, she'd have to be so lost in her own world that she wouldn't notice or react to the discomfort. As far as doing one on muddy, slippery grass goes...Sounds like a very quick way to end up with a broken ankle to me.

[britlitfantwin]

Thank you both for your help. She's not so lost in her own little world that she would forget a dancer's common sense! I'll rewrite the scene so she turns two and then comes to her senses. Thanks again!

[britlitfantwin]

(I'm so glad I asked this! I would have hated to have someone read it and say, "That wouldn't happen!!")

I think what I'll do is have her turn two and then come to her senses. She's not so lost in her own little world that she would forget a dancer's common sense! Thank you both for your help.

[faeriesluver9]

Given that ballerinas are never the most mentally stable of people anyway, and also that "dancer's common sense" is probably a bit of an oxymoron, might it be more likely that she attempts the fouettes in the mud (Not the track. my little toes just ran away in fear and are now cowering in a closet), only does a few badly, and stops not because it occurs to her that she is being recklass, but because she gets even more upset and frustrated?

[britlitfantwin]

Now there's an idea to consider ... it fits very well with her temperament and state of mind at the time. Thank you!

[anonymous]

yes it is very possible to turn fouettes in slick grass and on a track-I am assuming this track is like a high school race track. I also do not beleive that this would be such a dangerous thing as you might think it would be. It would be quite easy actually to pirouette on such surfaces.