Ok so this post is a little late, I’ve been meaning to write it for a couple of weeks now but I’ve been distracted by dance and art deadlines (I probably should be doing art right now but writing this seemed more appealing).
Anyway. Big Ballet was a three part documentary on Channel 4 a few weeks ago that was trying to showcase the fact that you don’t have to be small to be a dancer. Wayne Sleep bravely decided to explore the taboo subject and ventured into the world of overweight dancers. He auditioned men and women from all over and selected the best of them to be in his dance company, with his ultimate aim to produce a performance of Swan Lake, one of the most famous ballets of all time.
I liked the idea of the program, of attempting to break down that barrier of strict rules when it comes to the professional ballet world, however I do think there are reasons for the specific qualities of a prima ballerina. It simply doesn’t look as aesthetically pleasing if a 200lb dancer in a leotard and ribboned shoes comes across the stage, I think the heavier you are it must be harder to be graceful. Having said that, considering the range of weights of the people that were shown at the audition stage, and looking at those who then got into the company, I think the ones that got in were considerably smaller, and maybe this defeated the object of the program slightly?
Now I’m not trying to be offensive but if any of those girls really loved and cared about ballet as much as they were making out to, they’d surely do something about their weight. Ballerinas need to look tall and elegant on stage and to do this you must have long, slim limbs. I’m not saying all ballerinas should be tall, but they at least give the impression of being taller by really extending their lines and pulling up through the body. A second thing, a ballerina can’t possibly be that much overweight with all the physical demands of the art form. It’s a very strenuous activity and part of the reason why most professional dancers are so slim and toned is because of all the work they are doing and the time they spend dancing in the studio rehearsing or performing on stage. A lot of preparation is gone into putting together shows and what you see on stage is the final result of that. Professional dancers (and so aspiring ones probably should too) have a specific diet to satisfy the needs of their bodies. They would need sugary foods from time to time to keep their energy up as well as carbs for long term energy. The girls on Big Ballet always seemed to be eating rubbish around the camera or off for a McDonalds, and I think if you want to be a dancer then you have some kind of respect for your body and don’t want to be filling it with fatty horrible foods.
My next point is how these women wanted to be referred to as ‘real women’ and not fat. Wayne initially called them fat in one of the VTs and that sparked off a lot of reactions from the bigger girls. He didn’t mean it to be harsh or mean, but at the end of the day that is what they are. In that kind of industry fat is just a word to describe people who are overweight, and that’s not healthy. I think the women did overreact and take a bit too much offense to that simple comment. It basically implies that women who are fit, healthy, slim or even just naturally skinny are not ‘real’. It’s the same as beauty campaigns claiming that they have ‘real women’ instead of models. Are models and dancers not real then? What are they? One lady on the show referred to dancers as being ‘robots’ which I found quite offensive and don’t see how that’s any more positive than calling them fat. Yes, dancers may work their bodies and do things with them that ‘normal’ people (excuse the term, as I feel that calling certain people normal is no better than what I’m trying to make a point about anyway but you know what I mean) probably wouldn’t, but that’s what dance has become and it does not mean that dancers should not be considered as real people.
Dance, and ballet in particular has evolved a lot over the last hundred years and like anything it has changed and adapted over time. It is now highly competitive and the standard is so high it’s almost ridiculous, but each generation wants to push themselves and be even more amazing than the last. At some point in the past someone decided (probably a man) that female ballet dancers should dance on their toes… however did they come up with that? As a dancer there is no slacking if you want to get anywhere because there is always people younger than you that are probably better than you and they are becoming the next generation of dancers behind you. Only the best of the best will get to be principal ballerinas at the top.
I’ve kind of gone off on a bit of a tangent haven’t I… Back to Big Ballet. I thought a lot of the dancers did have a lot of talent, the majority of them had done ballet as a child and been told they were too fat to do it professionally or just quit in their own time or whatever, but many of them still had basic technique and there were a few pairs of definite ballet legs and feet in there. i did think it was quite sad how some of them had had years of dance training and never got anywhere but this was their chance to go somewhere with it. Throughout the dance classes they had you could see they were being pushed hard by Wayne and Monica Loughman and many of them rose to that and coped really well.
They all developed quite rapidly and by the end they did have a full ballet and at times I’m sure they were doubting whether they would or not. it seemed to be quite successful and it was a brilliant opportunity for dancers who are slightly larger, and I think the company are possibly trying to take things a bit further and see what else they can do considering further projects. If you’re interested, go to @Big_Ballet_UK on twitter and follow what they’re up to.
In conclusion, I think that the ballet stereotypes are very unlikely to change, especially when it comes to weight. Unfortunate though it is that dancers on the larger side may never get the opportunity to perform in a renowned company and tour the country, some of the most important features of ballet are being able to dance everything with a perfect elegance, on your toes, have perfect technique and for the women to be lifted effortlessly by the man. This will always remain.
I didn’t know this was going to turn into such a lengthy almost rant like post, but if you watched the show I’d love to know what you thought of it, or if you didn’t – what are your views on bigger ballet dancers? And lastly, I’m sorry if some of my comments came across slightly bitchy…
You can find out more about the show and watch clips and exclusives including the full performance of Swan Lake here on the Channel 4 website: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/big-ballet
Dreams That Glitter xo 