Guest fille'smom Posted September 4, 2003 Report Share Posted September 4, 2003 I know that I made a list a year or two ago of ballet companies that like tall (5'7-5'9) female dancers but I can't seem to find it. Can anyone suggest some to me so I can make another list? Quote Link to comment
BW Posted September 4, 2003 Report Share Posted September 4, 2003 Pacific Northwest Ballet is one that historically has... I have to ask if the "like" of tall dancers might not have something to do with whatever is current at any particular company...as in: how tall are their male principals; how tall is their current "prima ballerina" or their corps? Wasn't Balanchine known for hiring tall women? I have no idea what the "average" height of the current NYCB roster is, but these things must change from time to time. When we saw SFB dance at City Center in NYC last year - everyone seemed to appear as though they were quite short except for a French ballerina, whose name I can't quite come up with now - she was in "Jewels"... Quote Link to comment
Guest kirovboy Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 I believe the name of the Ballerina you are looking for is Muriel Maffre! She was beautiful, but i believe looked giant like amongst her shorter corps de ballet! BUt nonetheless, she definitely struck me as an incredible dancer! Quote Link to comment
socalgal Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 Many companies take in 'taller' dancers. PNB, Ballet West, Pennsylvania and NYCB have been noted to hire dancers 5'7" or taller to my knowledge. But we also know a friend who was hired at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre that is very tall (over 5'8"). ABT has recently hired taller women. Is there a trend here? I remember way back when 5'5" was considered tall! Quote Link to comment
Funny Face Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 I think this has a lot to do with 'evolution' -- this generation is definitely taller. When I was in company, I was the tallest, and I'm just shy of 5'6". Now that I'm in a university dance major setting to finish what I started so long ago, many of the dancers are much taller than I. We even grouped the class one day by height for a particular combination, and little stump that I was, was in the shortest bunch. Even the shoe sizes have grown. Face it, our kids are dwarfing us. Quote Link to comment
BW Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 Yes, kirovboy - Muriel Maffre is the name I was searching for, and she did, indeed, appear to be several feet taller than most, when on pointe, for sure. Quote Link to comment
2dance Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 Several months ago Dance Magazine printed an artical about Ballet West and it stated they were looking for their company members to be 5'6" - 5'8". Quote Link to comment
fLexNpOinte Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 Hello! I am 5'11! I am quite tall and I stand out at my studio because of my height. I hope that there is in fact a trend and companies are starting to look for taller dancers! Does anyone know of any tall regional ballet companies or does height not really matter in smaller companies? Quote Link to comment
balletbooster Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 There is a topic on the Cross Talk forum that includes several suggestions of companies that like tall dancers. Here is the URL: Audition Info/Tall Dancers Quote Link to comment
tendumom Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 As my dancing daughter grows, I am more and more interested in knowing which dancers are on the taller side of the spectrum. I know many threads have dealt with the "can a tall dancer survive"... and I know that it depends on many factors. I am more interested in the raw statistics which I can't seem to dig up on the internet. How tall are the dancers that you know about - famous or otherwise? Quote Link to comment
Hans Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 I've heard that Julie Kent is one of the tallest ballerinas in ABT at 5'7", but I have a friend in ABT's corps who is 5'9". Quote Link to comment
BW Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 Tendumom, I'm sure Diana White, formerly of NYCB, is at least 5' 8"! Wasn't Balanchine known for being fond of tall women ballet dancers? I'm sure there are some balletomanes out there who could chime in here. Perhaps, tendumom, this might be better served on Cross Talk? Just thinking you might get more "air play". Quote Link to comment
Amy'sMom Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 I read in "Dance" magazine a few months ago that Michelle Wiles (ABT) is 5' 8". Quote Link to comment
Guest drval01 Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 I read a very disturbing story this morning about the Bolshoi firing Anastasia Volochkova, reportedly because at 5'7" she is too tall and too heavy to partner. There sounds like there's more to this story than meets the eye, but the Reuters' version concentrates on the size issue: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/...nment-headlines Wondering what the Bolshoi considers "too big," I looked for pictures of Volochkova online. There are some beautiful ones at: http://volochkova.nm.ru/ This is too big? Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 I wouldn't worry about it. There are several active threads currently on the board about this issue, and the "Too Fat" gambit sounds to me like a fig leaf for other things going on on both sides of the dispute. Quote Link to comment
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