Anjuli_Bai Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I think it is a sign of the times- unfortunately, in my opinion. There was a time that the ballerina's aim was for a smooth look - tights to match shoes - ribbons to match shoes - all one smooth flowing line down the length of the leg to the tip of the pointe. The same was true with the dance/choreography - smooth - beautiful - graceful - soft edges. Now the aim seems to be angular - angular choreography and angular dancers - angular shapes - hard edged. I also think this angularity is seeping into the interpretation of iconic roles such as Odette - we always expected a bit of a harder edge from Odile. But now as the legs go higher - splits splitier (new word) - gently arched feet become bananas (we would never buy bananas shaped that way), even the tutus have gone from soft feathery slightly belled shape to looking more like a discus or a frisbee. Could this be the influence of modern dance? Ballet has been using modern dance choreographers for a couple of decades now and maybe this is the result. Just one old woman's personal opinion. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecarte Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Not sure how to share a link but in this clip on you tube her legs seem in proportion to her body In my very uneducated opinion the trouble with this picture is that she looks like she is trying too hard. I always thought that ballet should appear effortless and sort of " wafty!" another new word alert! She is obviously very talented and I am in no position to criticise but we all like different things and different styles of dance and dancer but what is being shown in both pictures does not float my boat. Sorry. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lula-belle Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Personally im not a fan of the photo but that picture is obviously made to make a point of her muscles with lighting and photo editing, like others have pointed out yes she is extremely muscley but in other pictures and on videos on YouTube you can see she is an incredibly talented beautiful dancer with an amazing physique wether its "the norm" or not. I'd much rather see a figure like that on a ballerina than a worryingly stick thin one! I personally think its great that ballet is constantly pushing the boundaries, if no one had ever gone outside the norm then we'd still be stuck doing 14th century court dancing... And if someone is beautiful to watch who cares what shape they are. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moneypenny Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Don't like the photo, but love the YouTube clip ... In my humble opinion, her physique is lovely, she looks strong and looks like a woman, not a scrawny waif! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I love the fact that she has a bust! I really loved her motivational words in that video, too. I just don't find those very muscly quads attractive, but that's the beauty of personal taste. :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moneypenny Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I agree spanner 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Ian has posted this link in the Dance Links forum but I thought I would repost here for the "doing dancers" who may not check the links thread. It's a nice piece about Misty Copeland: http://www.backstage.com/bso/advice/misty-copeland-breaks-ground-at-american-1007341752.story?imw=Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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