32 replies to this topic

[LaFilleSylphide]

So... I'm in my 30's and I still want to be a ballerina. I also want to be a space pirate and a fairy-tale princess, none of these ambitions have come close to fruition. I do find myself encountering balletic looking people and feeling a deep pang of regret (and maybe a little envy) when I see that this long necked, hyperextended, ultra instepped, long limbed person has never taken ballet in his or her life. Like one of the posters mentioned, actual professional dancers do tend to not only be ultra technically skilled (as the job requires), but also ultra beautiful. I find that when a fashion photographer uses a taller ballet dancer as a model, the photo is never lacking despite not having a regular fashion model. Sometimes I look at dancer-fashion photos and think, "Wow. She could have been a model too."

As for "ballet fashion" and imitating the ballerina look, I love much of it. Some of it I adore because I feel like I can traipse around in public wearing what I consider to be ballet costume or dancewear. Often it looks rather ridiculous though. I'm really glad those neon petticoat "tutus" that were "Mommy & Me" matched sets went out of style. A 3 year old may look adorable in a frothy neon ruffled tulle thing, a 30 year old not so much. Again... just my personal opinion.

[Clara 76]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder- it truly is. There are plenty of people who would not call models and dancers beautiful, because they favor a different aesthetic. Stop worrying about it. Celebrate the dancer within you, and let the pangs go- life is much too short.

[Redbookish]

A 3 year old may look adorable in a frothy neon ruffled tulle thing, a 30 year old not so much.

What a wonderful image I dare you, LaFille!

[BlleFille]

Sarah Jessica Parker would wear that!!!! I adore her balletic clothing in the last season of Sex and the City...the Oscar de la Renta...the long tulle gowns....SOOOOOO beautiful!!
I also love dancer wear as street wear!!! I am one of those who just throws on a jacket or sweater and cool boots after class to go to the store, letting my black leggings and leotard and shorts show ;) I LOVE it!!!! And then sometimes one is mistaken for a dancer :)THAT is a huge compliment to me!

No...not everyone loves the model or ballet dancer look...but it IS gogeous to me! A few of the dancers where I take classes actually DO model also...there a a couple of ladies who are not only lovely dancers but are also five foot 10 and facially ideal too ....

http://circavintagec...cks-of-the-00s/
Scroll down to see this Versace tulle dream gown!!!
And the Oscar de la renta
http://fashionablero...x-and-city.html
WOW!!!

[LaFilleSylphide]

I think someone just dared me to don a neon tutu. Ohhh.... I'd do it for the dare alone, if only I actually owned one! All I have is a boring white Sansha Rehearsal tutu. The one that everyone already has in white or black.

I like that the dancer in me says, "The one that everyone already has..." as if a rehearsal tutu is a necessary wardrobe item in the everyman's closet. HAHA!

[Hamorah]

I have to say something with my teacher cap on - there is something in ballet training and its required aesthetics that can make even a plain child beautiful. I look round my studio at all these little girls and with their hair neatly tied in a bun and their bodies lifted and their heads held high on their necks, they look quite different from when they're in ordinary life. And I love seeing the expressions on their faces when they're lost in their own private world of creating beautiful lines - especially in ports de bras. Ballet is quite simply a beautiful art and when we dance it well with softly held arms, well extended legs etc it makes us look beautiful. I'll never forget when I went back to class after seven years of having babies. When my dad came to baby sit the third one for me, he looked at me with my hair ready for class in a bun and almost sighed with pleasure - "Aaaah" he said "My beautiful dancing daughter has come back to me!"

[Willimus]

I'm joining the conversation late...sorry about that. But with respect to the original post regarding the "ballet look"...I had a teacher once who gave an interview for a "dance talk show" on a local cable station. This question came up, and her answer was very interesting. She said "no one would ever try to become an opera singer if they didn't have a beautiful voice to begin with, even before the training starts. So, why would anyone try to become a ballet dancer, if they didn't have a beautiful body to begin with.

I have a dear friend who is quite chubby, who danced recreationally in her 20's and 30's. When this topic came up, she would say "My father is blind. He might want to be a bus driver, but try as he might, he will never be a bus driver". The fact of the matter is, that dance is a visual art. I was a late starter, so I was never going to have a career at the highest level, but when I was in my 20's I danced in a Nutcracker for a small company. Most of the company members told me that I should have been the Nutcracker Prince. I am 5'5". I was the Mouse King and did "Chinese". That's how it goes.

[LaFilleSylphide]

Willimus... we must carve this into a stone tablet and display it in the front of our Ballet Talk digital front yard.

[Clara 76]

I'd like to make mention that the quote was referring to people desiring a professional career as a dancer- not recreational adult ballet dancers who are dancing because it is great exercise, and they are studying an art form.

I'm 5'3" on a good day, and a professional basketball career never was a consideration. But that doesn't mean I couldn't play basketball recreationally should I care to. (I was fairly good at those things you do when you're standing on the painted line and the corps oops I mean other people on the team are standing there on those other painted lines, and you have to throw the b a l l up into that ropey thingy...... )

Hamorah makes such a great point as well- ballet can make you feel beautiful, which in turn, means you are!

[Redbookish]

there is something in ballet training and its required aesthetics that can make even a plain child beautiful. I look round my studio at all these little girls and with their hair neatly tied in a bun and their bodies lifted and their heads held high on their necks, they look quite different from when they're in ordinary life

Hamorah, I think it's exactly that. I'm by no means at all beautiful, and I'm not thin either, but ballet training has taught me how to hold myself, so I give the impression of being slim and graceful!

[Hamorah]

I think it would be a great shame if all those kids with totally unsuitable bodies who dream of being a ballerina were to decide not to learn to dance, because they were told from the outset that they would never make a career of it. You just never know what will happen and I've had girls with perfect physical attributes and looks, who didn't make it because they didn't want it enough or had such high expectations of theselves that they were afraid of failing and so didn't even try to succeed. I've also had girls with not immediately obviously suitable bodies and feet, who were so determined to succeed that they did. I've learnt to take a wait and see attitude and just give them support in their quest. Of course height in boys is a big problem and whilst it won't stop a talented boy from becoming a pro, it does limit their possible repertoire. That's why Wayne Sleep eventually went into commercial theatre and look what an amazing career and fame he's had since!

As far as adult students go watch what happens to you as you learn to dance ballet and become more proficient at it - I promise you that your posture will improve and you will indeed get that "ballet look" about you. It's magic!

[BlleFille]

Yes Hamorah..the ballet look does seem to creep upon one ;) Maybe it's because I now wear a bun to class (I actually understand now how much it make sense for dancing and for the line) and also feel more comfortable in suitable ballet attire.
You find also that generally in life, you are more conscious of posture, holding yourself correctly and thinking about alignment..
I DO agree with what you say, that seeing even "plain"children in class, they look more beautiful moving in a balletic way, with their leotards and buns...

I was mistaken for a professional the other day at my studio...I couldn't have been more pleased...really made my day...
And yes, one looks beautiful when one moves beautifully, like princes and princesses from fairy tales or yore...
Too much about the world is ugly now and too few people strive to be beautiful in their souls.....ballet students and dancers still do though!

[insidesoloist]

Yes. Yes to everything Hamorah said in her last two posts.

Ballet does make us look beautiful. (Or handsome.) It's transformative. In the classroom, on stage, and it can carry over into the outside world, too.

From a personal perspective, I know that I am often mistaken for much taller than I am simply because of the way I carry myself, and it's not until someone gets right up next to me -- or tries to pair me with a much taller partner -- that they say, "Oh! You're shorter than I thought you were!"

And as a teacher, yes, I look around the room at my students, and I know I get to see many of them at their personal best (or one of their "bests" -- they are, after all, multitalented), and it's a "best" the outside world probably doesn't always see. It pains me to think that some people might look at them outside of my class and think -- or maybe even say in front of them -- that they don't have ballet bodies or the ballet look. To be sure, outside of class, they don't, always. They dress in goodness knows what when they are leaving their homes for school -- everything from booty shorts and ginormous fur boots and wild makeup à la Kesha, to layers and layers that hide their figures, and everything in-between. People out in the world look at my students, and I'm afraid all they see is "geeky" girls, "plain" girls, and "popular" girls. No one would suspect that one of my heaviest girls is one of my best jumpers, or that another has captured and embodies the ballet aesthetic in a way none of her peers have yet. I've got girls with crooked legs who work with a determination you don't often see in elementary and middle-schoolers. And yes, some of the ones with the "perfect" bodies for ballet aren't that into it or may not have the drive it takes to succeed. And they are all lovely. All of them. They just need to be given a chance and to work what they have.

And the reality is that my kids are gonna grow, and their bodies may well change. And as adults, our bodies are likely to change less than theirs will, but I'd say never underestimate your own ability to have that "ballerina" look. No matter what shape you are or what the scale says in the morning. Posture and strength and grace look good on everyone, and they all can be gained through studying ballet.

[Claude_Catastrophique]

Insidesoloist, with the height the same happens always to me! I am rathers short, oh well, very short, actually the shortest in the room but usually I am not considered short. Recently we had to line up according to height and it turned out, that I was the shortest but everyone thought it would be someone else. I have short legs (when I compare myself to other people my torso is as long as theirs but it is the legs that make the difference in height) but people tell me that my legs would be long (I guess they mean "look long" ;-) )

I would say that even if you do not have the tipical ballet body (slim, long legs, long neck and so on) a person looks much better when they are walking with a straight back and the shoulders down. It just gives a more harmonic picture of a body.

[LaFilleSylphide]

I've been told once that I looked elegant walking my dog. I thought it was a great compliment, and I couldn't tell if it was because of the ballet or because my dog is simply handsome. He also has a very balletic look (sighthound).