Dance Magazine: After years of rigorous training, ballet dancers become accustomed to constructive and oftentimes harsh criticism. Being scrutinized is something that comes with the territory.
I myself spent the better half of my high school years in Russia, where political correctness does not get in the way of progress. We were trained to use criticism as fuel to propel us forward. Everything said in class or rehearsal was meant to help better ourselves and not to be taken personally.
But where is the line between helpful advice and offensive language?
3 comments:
There is such a lack of diversity in so many classical art forms, it is so sad. I used to do ballet, and looking back, there were two people of color in the whole company. Like theatre, this sends a message to young people of color and of minorities about their ability to become a successful dancer. When being a minority in a profession of mostly white/or other majority, it becomes very clear that you need to find ways to deal with such reamrks, as this ballerina is talking about. These microaggressions, weird comments that are said so casually, can hit you in such an unexpected, hurtful way and it can be very difficult to know how to respond. Like, I do not want to be rude and give attitude, but at the same time its not minorities JOB to educate ignorant people, but at the same time, like its not okay and I want to tell them what they said was inappropriate and hurtful. Its a struggle.
This article reminds me of an article that I read last week about the opera profession and industry. Ballet is another classical art form that is seriously lacking in diversity. I’m not shocked at all at the racism and prejudice that exists in ballet. Even before looking at race, the environment of ballet is already so problematic. As Shayer writes in his article, young dancers learn and grow in this toxic environment. “There's body shame, struggles with inadequacy, jealousy, competition, mental and physical stress.” Now adding on race and identity, ballet really does eliminate so many people. I really appreciate the positive outlook that Shayer has on this problem though. The only way to push the ballet profession forward is to channel all these feelings productively. I agree with him that people in power, like teachers and those in charge of a dance company, should strive to nurture dancers instead of crushing them down.
I really gets on my nerves when people automatically assume that a person of color, in my personal experience a black person, who speaks out and is passionate about a subject is being "aggressive" or "too much." That a black person who is sitting relaxed must have a bad attitude. The dance industry, and especially ballet, is such a difficult and stressful environment. Just as Shayer states, dancers are always being criticized for the smallest imperfections. However, they are taught to take that criticism and use it in order to be better. For most people, that is an immense amount of stress that is put on them to be perfect. Adding race and skin color to that and making people of color work twice as hard to be seen as equal is unfair and unnecessary. Shayer's comment on how a woman asked him if he would consider dancing Ali really stuck with me. No one should be placed in a smaller or less valued role simply because their skin color would suit the character better. If a dancer has the skills to play a prince, then they should play the prince. I do appreciate Shayer's positive ending to the article and how level-headed he is when receiving them. The advice given is actually quite helpful. I just hope people of color didn't feel like they had to be conscious of every movement they make in rehearsal or out just to seem good enough.
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