scriptballerina - Tumblr blog

[scriptballerina]

Meanwhile, at Vaganova Ballet Academy…

[scriptballerina]

Olivia Boisson of the New York City Ballet (x)

[scriptballerina]

Carla Körbes in “Elégie” - 2012 Vail International Dance Festival

[scriptballerina]

Is there a difference in the type of moves that male and female ballet dancers use? I'm thinking of having my MC who is a male do ballet but I want to make sure that I know the correct techniques and words first. Thank you so much for your help!

Hi there!

Most moves and steps are the same and ballet terminology is universal. Men’s dance only has many more big jumps. Even if ballerinas perform them too from time to time, they are usually boys’ territory. Some examples are Cabriolé, Barrel Turns (and their 540 variation), Tours en l’air and double or triple Tours en l’air.  

(Ivan Vasiliev’s double cabriole in Flames of Paris)

(Vladimir Shklyarov’s barrels in Le Corsaire)

You can see a lot of these spectacular jumps in Le Corsaire or in Spartacus. 

Hope this helps!

Script Ballerina

[scriptballerina]

Svetlana Lunkina and her coach, Ekaterina Maximova, in rehearsal at the Bolshoi.

[scriptballerina]

Ugh, your extensions are so beautiful! Do you have any tips on getting stronger/ better at dance in general? I'm going to YAGP in a month, so any advice would be great! P.S. I'm in love with you and the way you dance!!!

As far as getting stronger, being a better technician, try harder, it’s always a matter of trying harder when it doesn’t feel like you can….I think what happens a lot is that technique is difficult already and we get wrapped up in the idea that we are “already” working, because we are already sweating, struggling, etc. but we can always push harder, it’s all about the mind.

To become a better dancer though, I would separate that. Being a good dancer is not about technique, as with my belief about all art, it’s about whether what you’re doing truly comes from the heart or not. At the end of the day, art is about expression and bringing what’s on the inside that you can’t otherwise show people into the real world where it can indeed be observed by others. It truly does not matter what anybody thinks about it, just the simple fact of what it is makes it art. If you want to be a great dancer, make sure you’re living life, getting experience outside the studio…because how can you show what Giselle’s broken heart looks like if you haven’t ever been anywhere close in real life?

I notice that so much of dance today is about technique and sometimes going through the motions of what artistry looks like. It’s good to explore yourself, how you as an individual move within the parameters of the choreography. That’s my advice!!!

[scriptballerina]

The Sleeping Beauty // Bolshoi Ballet // 2016-2017 Season

[scriptballerina]

Eléonore Guérineau, Karl Paquette

Duo concertant

photo: I. Aubert

[scriptballerina]

how pas de deux perspectives come together (x).

[scriptballerina]

What's the difference between French, Italian, and Russian ballet? I'm writing a musical lol

Hi there!

To put it very simply:

Russian Ballet: developed by Agrippina Vaganova as we know it today but originally characteristic of Imperial Russia, its school of reference is the Vaganova Academy. The Vaganova method of Russian ballet is characterized by clean lines, incredibly soft and expressive arms and port de bras, extreme flexibility in the arms, legs and back, and endurance. It is focused on a gradual technical procession: you move to the more advanced steps only after a meticulous learning of the basic ones. The goal is to create clean lines and movements without being stiff but gentle and harmonious

Italian Ballet: developed by Enrico Cecchetti, its school of reference is Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Cecchetti’s dancers are virtuose and athletic. The goal is for them to learn by internalizing rather than imitating the movements, so barre and exercises are different every day of the week and rigidly scheduled. Cecchetti’s method focuses on balance, elevation, elasticity, musicality, fast footwork, and clean lines

French Ballet: Defined by Rudolf Nureyev in the 1980s, French ballet is not really standardized but the Paris Opera Ballet is usually considered the school of reference. French ballet is romantic and lyric, fluid, clean, elegant and characterized by Nureyev’s attention to musicality and precision by dancers. Due to this technique’s focus on speed and quantity of steps, the music is usually played more slowly

Try a quick google search for more details and maybe watch Balanchine’s Jewels for a comparison between French (Emeralds, Act I) and Russian (Diamonds, Act III) ballet.

Hope this helps and good luck with your musical!

Script Ballerina

[scriptballerina]

Hi Ryan! I'm in a dance academy and it's getting really hard to stay positive about myself. I know I work hard, am serious and concentrated in class, but it still feels like I'm not enough. Do you have any experiences with this or any tips? Or do you think it's just a matter of changing my attitude about this?

I think always the best solution is to have somewhat of a passion outside of dance. I really think that what ultimately kills your ability to really get a lot from ballet is fixating on it, I see lots of these people end up quitting completely and pursuing other things because it gets to be too consuming. I think it’s because when ballet disappoints you, which it always does at some point for everyone to some degree, it’s much more debilitating to recover from if it’s all you think about. Sometimes you just have to let the river take you, you really can’t try to manhandle your life too much because it will drive you crazy. Honestly, you will start to feel better and be able to improve more if you give yourself the room. Best of luck to you ❤

[scriptballerina]

NYC Ballet principal dancers: Jenifer Ringer, Sterling Hyltin and Sara Mearns plus the Corps de Ballet on George Balanchine’s “Jewels”

[scriptballerina]

Tiler Peck in Who Cares

[scriptballerina]

(First of all, I hope this doesn't sound like a loaded question. I do mean it sincerely.) Do you know why thinner ballerinas are preferred nowadays? I've been looking at photos of Vaganova when she was teaching, and her students didn't look as lean as the current students at the academy. It seems strange to me, because Agrippina Vaganova's standards seem to be otherwise worshipped.

I think it’s a great question! I have a theory on why the standards have changed so much but, as always, I welcome other input. Here’s what I think happened:

Beauty standards have changed

What we consider beautiful has changed a great deal in the past 100 years. At the turn of the 19th century, when consumption was laying waste to the European population, thinness was associated with sickness. It was an undesirable trait, and women were often criticised for it. For example, the great Sarah Bernhardt was the target of many terrible insults because she was slim.

If I’m not mistaken, Anna Pavlova almost wasn’t accepted into the Imperial Theatre School (now Vaganova Ballet Academy) because she was very skinny. You can see how different she looks compared to her classmates in this photo (taken in the 1890s):

The ballet of the olden days favoured a more sturdy (and therefore, healthy) physique. Whereas now we find long, thin limbs, high arches, flat torsos more aesthetically pleasing. Think of the way your eye glides over Svetlana Zakharova’s body.

Genetics have changed

Humans as a species are in an evolutionary fast-lane. This means that we’re changing at an incredible pace. Even now, whenever Tsiskaridze recalls what ballet kids looked like (physically) in his day compared to what they’re like now, the difference is staggering. And the generations he’s comparing are only 30-ish years apart! By the way, according to Nikolai, the health of Russian children is rapidly deteriorating from generation to generation. I’m going to do a separate post about it later.

Ballet itself has changed

As you said, the standards set by Agrippina Vaganova are still very highly regarded. However, some elements of her teaching have been (and continue to be) discarded because they have become obsolete. For instance, according to Vaganova, the ballerina mustn’t raise her leg above 45 degrees. Clearly, no one’s going to follow that rule anymore. Both the technique and the overall aesthetic have become more… streamlined, I guess.

Additionally, men have a much harder job now than they had one hundred years ago. Partnering has become a lot trickier. The lifts are more difficult and there are far more of them. This means that the ballerina needs to be smaller and slimmer, otherwise the feat becomes physically impossible.

d i s c l a i m e r

[scriptballerina]

English National Ballet rehearsing Swan Lake in-the-round (x)

[scriptballerina]

Queen of character dance, Vaganova Ballet Academy professor, Irina Gensler.

[scriptballerina]

Nikolai Tsiskaridze teaching a ballet masterclass in Tokyo, Japan. July 2017.

Thank you, @naomip86