Questioning Ballet Part II

This could otherwise be entitled, "An Attempt to to Pull My Thoughts Together and Write a Thorough Response" as I have just waded out of a swamp of statistical concepts in which I have been soaking in since this morning in preparation for an exam on Monday. Whew!

For background on the topic at hand, click here.

I'm not in total disagreement with some of the points raised by Mr Segal. I am, however, extremely turned off by the writing style. Maybe he was trying to be hip and funny but he comes across as insulting instead of exuding wisdom as an art critic and knowledge of the art form he so easily dismisses as "decaying" and "danced by the disenfranchised".

Ballet companies, from the New York City Ballet to our own Ballet Manila and PBT, are suffering from a slump in ticket sales. But so is almost any art form save for anything considered part of the pop culture. I don't see indie films making record ticket sales. So the ballet isn't exactly beating MTV. But Mr Segal writes that this is simply proof of the "intimidation factor" of ballet, of the "tutu as icon --- and armor".

Ballet and an intimidation factor? I'll admit that it does have that effect sometimes and that sometimes it's our (choreographers, dancers, balletomanes) fault. We have a tendency to let the rigorous and difficult training to get into our heads and we look down on other dance forms. (Or it could be possessiveness too. I bet any Jazz dancer would want to show off her art as we like to show off ours.) Sorry for that. Still, some of us simply can't react on other dance forms because ballet training takes up all our time and energy. Little is left in us to be exposed to other dance forms.

Most of us have a healthy respect for other dances. At the ballet school I attend, our teacher mixes in some jazz and hip hop dancing from time to time. She encourages us to try out ballroom and folk dances. Ballet academies the world over have classes in tap and ballroom for their students to participate in. The etoiles themselves immerse themselves in different dance forms as part of their training. I admire hip hop and jazz dancers and I even wish I were loose enough to do ballroom.

Ballet is also very expensive, both for those who dance and those who watch. A simple comparison of the expenses of a Jazz Dance class to a Ballet class could possibly discourage a student. Audiences in the US can pay around $300 for front seats NYCB tickets to the Nutcracker this season. Back row tickets cost $22. [Personally, that's not too high considering the amazing standard that NYCB has.] But Mr Segal fails to see how companies and dancers try to cultivate a closer relationship with audiences and students. Major companies have outreaches and dance classes for those who want to immerse themselves more in the art.

Here in the Philippines, one can watch Giselle and Swan Lake performed by the Philippine Ballet Theater for P300. You can see La Bayedere, The Nutcracker, and Romeo and Juliet danced by Ballet Manila [directed by Principal Dancer Lisa Macuja-Elizalde] for as low as P150. How's that compared to what you'll pay for a Backstreet Boys concert? I heard that tickets cost more than a thousand when they held a concert here.

Many artists and directors work towards the dream of bringing ballet into every person's life. Lisa Macuja-Elizalde came back to the Philippines from the Kirov Ballet (one of the world's premier ballet companies) with the dream of bringing the art into every region of the Philippines. Our ballet companies back home create masterpieces that incorporate Filipino culture and art with ballet technique.

As for its place in contemporary times, ballet is trying to move along with the times without sacrificing its form. It does not uphold its history as an excuse to replay what Mr Segal calls a "decaying repertory". Every year, artistic directors, choreographers and managers spend much time and money on finding the next new thing as the NY Times writer mentioned. My teacher said every ballet you watch offers the chance to see that ballet in a new interpretation because the dancers are seldom the same and each choreographer and ballerina will have her own interpretation of the dance. Ballet dances are like folk tales handed down from generation to generation. That over the years, choreographers and dancers alike will change how a dance is performed cannot be basis for calling today's repertories "forgeries". The structure and form remain the same even if the interpretation varies thus the credit to the original choreographer.

Segal's comment as to how ballet turns out "obedient classical atheletes" who are "forever young" is a rant one can make of gymnastics, figure skating, beauty pageants and Hollywood careers (in general) as well. Botox is in demand in Hollywood and for good cause. But no one bothers to rant over the age restriction in these fields. This is a social(?) cultural(?) thing that cannot be dumped solely on ballet. Besides, dancing six hours a day takes it's toll on the body. As I understand it,it is not for aesthetics but practical reasons that dancers and atheletes alike retire at earlier ages than most of us. It is a sad truth of ballet like it is the sad fact that many sports experts expect Michelle Kwan to give up on her Olympic dream because she will be 29 years old.

I am no professional ballerina but my teacher is, and she admits that there are problems of drug abuse and anorexia in the professional world. Dancers are under constant pressure to maintain the weight and body required for lifts and the clean lines ballet is known for. However, this problem is again a problem that runs in other sports and art forms. And modelling.

I disagree entirely with Mr Segal's point that while "Classical music still shakes us to the core" and "...classical theater speaks of the eternal issues that define our lives", ballet fails to move audiences. I watch DVDs and I am already moved to tears by particular performances. Even those who are not fanatics and those with no previous exposure to ballet appreciate the art. My mother watched the DVDs I brought home and she loved them! Even my guy cousins were astounded by the clip I showed them of Paloma Herrera and Angel Corella dancing the grand pas de deux in Don Quixote. Little kids still love The Nutcracker and a new generation of balletomanes comes alive whenever parents bring their children to the ballet. A lot of dances are stories from our childhood or stories from books that we read in high school. There is something about watching these stories come alive in a different form that will continue to draw audiences and win hearts.

The art form has persisted through difficulties and the changing times while maintaining the technique and form that makes it unique. I bet it will last longer than the chatter generated by Mr Lewis Segal's tabloid style article.

The tutu --- icon but not shield --- and pointe shoes will live on.