As dancers our talent is a big part of what can make or break us in the industry. Although this is true we also have to consider sometimes it is just as important to value what you know as well as who you know. Developing supernodes is a substantial aspect in keeping ballet alive to assure that we are exposed to the most valuable performers and also to make sure we have an audience to keep watching so that we can keep the art of ballet very active and relevent.
This page in particular I keep a connection through other blogs such as The Ballet Bag or my Tumblr peer Regan who runs The Dance Blog. My connection with these to blogs allows others who haven’t seen my blog before to maybe give a chance because of the credibility of the other two blogs that are linking me and sharing my posts. This is a great example of the importance of Supernodes because just like other blogs can bring exposure to my own personal thoughts and writing, staying in touch with dancers or teachers that have a voice in the very small ballet world could be your ticket into a company.
The biggest thing for dancers is to remember, your competition could be your opportunity into your next company job so you have to make positive connections in your attitude and technique all the time. Every time you are in class you have to dance like you are performing for your way into American Ballet Theatre because truth be told you never know who is watching and wha opportunities it can lead to. Following the footsteps of other ballet bloggers in my community as aided me because now my voice can be heard, so if you follow the footsteps and grab the attention of other dancers and instructors you can build a network which makes starting a professional career a little bit easier.
Below is a video of the apprentices of New York City Ballet and their journey of trying to make it as a professional dancer,
It’s a good example to remember to stay on your toes and that you have to always consistently dance your best because you never know what network is watching!
I recently voyaged on Wikipedia just to see what “history” (or lack there of) that they had on ballet, companies, and dancers within the industry. While out on my search I found a little piece of shocking knowledge and that was that there wasn’t a page for African-American or Black ballerinas in the industry. This was important to me because little girls should know that there is diversity within the ballet world and that no matter your skin color or ethnic background, there is a possibility that you could be a prima ballerina with a prominent ballet company. With this being said I took it in my own hands to do some research and attempt to create a ballet page for African-American Ballerinas (It’s a continuous work in progress but check it out!).
I must say I am no Wikipedia wiz, by no means at all, but I wanted to create the page to continuously make the issue relevant and let people know that African-American ballerinas exist and not just in Dance Theatre of Harlem or Complexions. Some of the challenge I faced was finding where to start and who to write about. There are a lot of African-American ballerinas that have made the industry more lucrative for up and coming black ballerinas that I didn’t want to leave anyone important out. I had to take into consideration that this is Wikipedia and there is plenty of room for outside spectators to add to the page and help it continue to grow. The coding was also a little tricky for me but I am more that sure the genius’ of Wikipedia would be more than happy to trail behind me and fix all that I have wronged.
Alicia Graf Mack
My Main point in creating this page is awareness that ballet is changing, and hopefully growth will continuously happen. It’s so much motivation for Minorites in general when they see a Paloma Herrera or Misty Copeland living their dream on stage and prominent ballet companies. Hopefully the ballet world continues to transform and focus not about color but more about talent. As an African-American dancer in this generation of dance, I am fortunate for those that broke the boundaries so that I could possibly succeed. Hopefully the Wikipedia page continues to grow with names and achievements so growing African-American dancers can be encouraged to possibly be a ballerina themselves.
Below I will leave you with a performance of the Legendary Lauren Anderson and the up and coming Ballerina MIchaela Deprince
Svetlana Zakharova Principal Dancer of the Bolshoi
When people think of ballet, most of the time they think of the pretty tutus or the gracefulness of the dancing. What is often forgotten about what the dancers are doing. Yes of course the audience the big leaps and the multitude of turns, but rarely tend to notice the small things such as the transitions in between or the port de bras of the dancers. The bigger question is, if there was a difference in all the little details of the ballet would the audience notice? To a dancer the difference in Russian training and American training is gargantuan. It affect how the repertoire is performed and the expectation of what it takes as a ballet dancer. Training and trends of ballet from the east to the west completely differ, and they the styles vary across the world. The turn out, the flexibility, and the port de bras all are so different in the two trainings, some Americans might even find themselves a little jealous of the difference in trainings. The styles are apparent to dancers, but they can also be very apparent to an audience.
Let’s take a look at Odile Pas de Deux with the American Ballet Theatre and the Mariinsky Ballet
Gillian Murphy, American Ballet Theatre Swan Lake, 2005
Ekaterina Kondaurova, Mariinsky Ballet Swan Lake, 2013
Between those two videos, besides being absolutely mesmerized by the dancing you would notice that the training in the to dancers differs, and begins to affect the demeanor of the performance that you are watching. Watching Gillian, you still get the aggression that it requires to take in role of being Odile but at the same time you get a sort of softness that creates the texture that you see more in American training. Watching Ekaterina, there is this sort of attack that devours your while watching her dance. The emphasis on flexibility and port de bras in the Russian training is very apparent in the performance and also provides a sense of the training that Russian Ballet requires. When I think of American ballet of course the first thing that comes to mind is Balanchine. The more contemporary works are a huge focus here which changes the gears to a more contemporary style of training. Russian Ballet on the other hand is way more classical. Russian Ballet produces Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet which are classics in the ballet world, and stand out as defining ballets in dance history. When styles cross, it can be epic and the possibilities of ballet become endless. (See the video below and you will see exactly what I’m talking about)
An American at the Bolshoi
Ballet Compared to Pop Culture: What are you training for?
Prima Ballerina of ABT, Misty Copeland, With platinum Recording artist Prince.
It’s interesting how from East to West, the art of dancing is taken very seriously. In Russia, when they practice ballet, it’s a big deal. They have to go through rigorous training, and the top ballet schools only choose the best of the best. Rarely ever choosing foreign students. I can definitely compare that rigorous training to the entertainment industry in Asian countries. Some refer to the process as “manufacturing stars”. For example, in Korea, to become a korean pop idol, you have to be trained. If you can’t sing, you rap, if you can’t rap, you become the what they call “the visual”. If you can’t sing or dance or rap, often times, if they decide to keep you, you will either be trained to become an actor or a model. If you go to Korea, trying to find someone who hasn’t been approached by an entertainment company at some point in their life would be hard. Trainees will go through rigorous training and classes just to be able to debut as pop stars. Some start at young ages, and don’t debut for YEARS.
The whole idol dream is based off of the fact that everyone dreams of being famous and living the celebrity lifestyle.
Krystal Jang from the popular Korean girl group F(X) was scouted at the age of 5, but her parents opposed to the idea of Krystal debuting, so at age 11, they used her sister, Jessica Jung, and had her train with one of the top entertainment companies in Korea called SM Entertainment. The top big 3 companies in South Korea are SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment.
F(x) at SXSW 2014
When a trainee passes all the various levels of auditions, they are finally able to sign with their company. (See a YG ENT trainee, Jennie Kim’s debut video here) The only trick is, that when they sign with their company, they are basically signing and acknowledging that their company cannot guarantee when their debut will be. It can take months and ever years after a group is signed to be able to show their faces to the entertainment world.
The idol life is not all candy and games. Idols barely have enough time for a social life, and the trainee life is not as inviting either. Trainees are trained to sing ballads as well as korean pop songs. They are also trained to sing a lot of western music as well. A lot are actually schooled on western artists like Chris Brown and Michael Jackson.
So it is very interesting to see how training for a professional ballet career can vary from coast to coast, and how it also compares to the dedication that it takes to succeed in pop culture. Styles maybe different but the goal of being successful is the common denominator when talking about ballet or pop culture.
This article was in collaboration with Cheyenne! Check her blog out if you like pop culture and enterntainment from east to west coast!
As dancers we all know the blood, sweat, and tears that it takes to make it in the professional ballet world. As a professional dancer, most train five to six days a week a minimum of 4 to 6 hours of rehearsals after class, so we definitely put our bodies through a lot to make sure look amazing on stage. With this being said this poses a popular question, are dancers artists or athletes? I think Dance Consortium said it best in their article talking about dancers as athletes. Dance Consortium first defines what an athlete is and then compares how the life of a dancer fits around that definition. Dance Consortium uses the ideas of stamina used through performances, the injuries that are endured as a dancer, and the physicality that it takes to make it through the week as a professional all as an example to why dancers are not just artists, but they are athletes as well.
“Dancers are the athletes of God.” – Albert Einstein
Being involved in dance and sports both in my past, the athleticism that you face are both parallel; the only difference is that you don’t have to look pretty playing basketball.Dance is such a commitment to your body because you have to train your technique consistently and constantly remind your body the do’s and don’t’s in class, so that on stage it looks effortless. Dancers consistently fight through a lot of the strain and injuries that are also faced by football players because when you continuously train and work your body rigorously overuse and long term injuries become a problem. The New York City Ballet describes the injuries that they face as professional dancers, and just like any other athlete one major injury can really put your career on the line. Dancers are now more than ever rehabilitating themselves as athletes by going to physical therapy regularly and strengthening themselves using outlets such as Pilates or yoga. Although dancers meet some of the same demands of an athletes I think I can hardly call it a sport because it is so much more that. The heart, soul, and passion that goes behind the performance to tell a story as dancer is what takes more than athleticism, but also artistry to convey. There is no way that a ballerina can portray both the roles of Odile and Odette of Swan Lake without the passion and emotion that comes behind both the characters. Ballet is definitely not as easy as it looks, but the athletic and artistic values that requires are what makes it such a beauty to watch. Below I will leave you with Soloist Jilian Vanstone of the Canada National Ballet talking about her life as a ballet dancer and what it means to her.
As always dancers,
Keep calm dance on!
Jilian Vanstone – A Day in the life of a Ballerina
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