Ballerinas: A Balancing Act Between Grace and the Great Outdoors?
Darling, gather 'round and let me tell you, the world of ballet is full of drama – no, I don't mean "drama" like crying your mascara off, but rather, drama like a whirlwind of sequins, pliés, and, well, quite a bit of emotional turmoil, let's be honest! This week, the world of ballet had its feathers ruffled over a curious dilemma: Can you truly be a ballerina if you've never so much as brushed a grass blade with your, er, rather expensive-looking satin shoes?
It all began when a renowned ballerina, let's just call her "Olivia" (no names mentioned, but let's just say her name rhymes with "prima donna," because you know, it does) , published an article titled "Ballerina or Picnic Princess? The Disgraceful Fall of Ballet into Pastoral Paradise." You could just hear the collective gasp in all the world's ballet studios – as if a pointe shoe had fallen on the wrong, er, foot, and the shock sent reverberations all the way to the stage manager’s table. Olivia lamented the rise of "rural" ballet – ballet in gardens, on meadows, even, horror of horrors, a ballet performance where a group of ballerinas in their white tutus, darling, white tutus!, danced with a few adorable little sheep, (imagine! Ballet, bleating! It's enough to make a tutu twirl!)
Now, Olivia has a point – a tutu and a sheep, well, let’s just say they are a recipe for disaster. Olivia argues that ballet demands discipline, refinement, a certain level of…well, poshness. She says that the "meadow ballet" movement is a dangerous slippery slope: if ballerinas start wearing flip-flops and tutus made of meadow daisies (dare I say, oh the horror!) instead of the finest silk and satin, where does it all end?! It's as though all those years of standing on one leg were in vain. Is that what the Great Masters intended?! She paints a grim image, a picture of a world in which ballet degenerates into, *shudders* , interpretive grass dancing – is this the price we are to pay for a slightly less formal ambiance? And where does one find a good pair of pointe shoes, suitable for meadow-style choreography, you know, those shoes that are made to be scuffed up in the process of gracefully balancing on a muddy patch? Honestly, it does raise a good point, darling.
But hold onto your pointe shoes! Not everyone, even in the world of ballerinas, shares Olivia's perspective. Let's face it, a good old-fashioned tutu is a delightful statement for all seasons, even if it requires an extensive cleaning and laundry bill – the price of fashion! Now, one of the biggest defenders of "meadow ballet," if you will (let’s give her a more eloquent label: "The New Bohemian Ballet," that's certainly less shocking!), is a dancer who goes by the stage name “Luna” – quite the fitting title, darling, especially for a dancer, don’t you think?
Luna sees "meadow ballet" as a chance to reconnect with nature, to remind audiences that dance is meant to be enjoyed and appreciated, not to be confined within the walls of an opera house or, oh, the horror, in front of a judging panel of scowling men in suits. Now, who ever told these suits that *beauty* doesn't require some earthy grounding? Ballet on a lawn? It’s the perfect antidote to the stuffy atmosphere!
"The essence of dance," Luna declared, in a recent interview – with the air of a woman who’d recently discovered the sheer bliss of having grass between her toes – "is freedom of expression, and the most natural form of expression is nature itself! A dancer on a field of daisies, a ballerina who twirls under the sky - these are sights that inspire us! Don't you feel inspired?
It's hard to disagree. You could hear the roar of applause in all those ballet studios – with "grass dancing" as a term, I dare say, getting quite a few ballet heads rolling! In a nutshell, darling, it seems there is a space for all – both in the graceful, traditional confines of a theater and the more wild and bohemian meadows and fields – perhaps all we need is to appreciate and respect the "natural flow" (excuse the pun!), and to remember that dance itself, as always, will remain the true star.
Who’s In the Know on Ballet:
* Olivia (I mean, isn't *prima donna* an almost automatic title at this point, darling?) - Olivia may not like it, but we think she makes a fabulous point!
* Luna (as though her name couldn't be more appropriate!) – What is ballet without nature, dear Luna?! A most delightful revival for the art form!
* The Adorable Little Sheep (Who really cares what they think about all this ballet? I mean, they've probably just as easily fall asleep during it! Adorable!).