Richard LH Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jul/15/raising-the-barre-how-science-is-saving-ballet-dancers Very interesting article, found in Dance Links, with thanks to Ian. It is good to learn what sort of high quality research and practical assistance is potentially available to dancers these days in terms of training, rehabilitation, nutrition and mental health, given their punishing rehearsal and performance schedules. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 This is indeed interesting, and I'm sure much of it is very helpful to dancers in coping with the requirements placed on them and (I hope) avoiding injury. What it doesn't mention, and what I have become increasingly aware of in recent years, is that the emphasis on sheer physical strength is I think changing how dancers look. The effort required is now often visibly evident in dancers' bodies (bigger muscles, broader shoulders, etc - both men and women) in a way it rarely used to be. I personally don't like that because the effect of ballet is based on the illusion of ease and grace, and if dancers look like athletes the illusion is no longer sustainable. Perhaps the requirements placed on many dancers - in terms of the very different styles they are now required to master and sustain all the time, and often the extreme physicality involved - are not in fact desirable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Anyone else read "And skilled ballet rehab coaches are getting dancers back on stage quicker than ever. “One dancer is jumping in the gym four weeks post-op, whereas 10 years ago he would still be on the sofa,” says Calvert." and think "I can't imagine who that can be"?! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colman Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 That's an aesthetic issue, and something that changes over time. I suspect there's a general drift towards a more athletic physique and this is reflected in the ballet world. Given the choice between stronger dancers who aren't going to be shattered by the demands put upon them and their fitting some weird ideal from the 1970s, I'll go with the athleticism. The ideal has changed before, will change again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 possibly an ignorant question on my part, but I wonder what came first - increased demands from choreographers, better techniques from dancers, better health and nutrition or better knowledge of the physical requirements of dance and better medical knowledge generally? I would imagine that some of the choreography we see today would have been totally beyond the scope of dancers in the1920s and 30s. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 12 hours ago, ninamargaret said: possibly an ignorant question on my part, but I wonder what came first - increased demands from choreographers, better techniques from dancers, better health and nutrition or better knowledge of the physical requirements of dance and better medical knowledge generally? I would imagine that some of the choreography we see today would have been totally beyond the scope of dancers in the1920s and 30s. I imagine that it's been the gradual advance and interaction of all the things you mention. And they are all in themselves good; but they sometimes have an unintended aesthetic consequence. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 On 17/07/2018 at 01:21, alison said: Anyone else read "And skilled ballet rehab coaches are getting dancers back on stage quicker than ever. “One dancer is jumping in the gym four weeks post-op, whereas 10 years ago he would still be on the sofa,” says Calvert." and think "I can't imagine who that can be"?! And I trust that, for his own sake, he is also being careful. Another factor in the 'quicker recovery' mix seems to be the perceived pressure to be upbeat on social media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colman Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 4 minutes ago, capybara said: Another factor in the 'quicker recovery' mix seems to be the perceived pressure to be upbeat on social media. I get the impression that there are guidelines that prevent the dancers from talking too much about injuries except when it's positive news. I can't think of any of the pros I follow being downbeat except in retrospect, even when their normal social media personality would suggest they would. Not so much pressure to be upbeat as pressure to be quiet when they're not upbeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 It is not just in dance medicine that recovery is quicker these days. From direct experience with family members, heart surgery, hip replacement, childbirth, for all of these you are encouraged to be up, out of bed and moving around on the same day. It is the lying in bed/on the sofa that can make recovery longer and more difficult. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 9 minutes ago, Colman said: I can't think of any of the pros I follow being downbeat except in retrospect, even when their normal social media personality would suggest they would. Not so much pressure to be upbeat as pressure to be quiet when they're not upbeat. But isn't that normal? I'd probably be at death's door before I admitted to feeling under the weather, and that's coming from someone with next to no presence on social media and the self-imposed pressure to be positive which that brings! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colman Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 4 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said: But isn't that normal? I'd probably be at death's door before I admitted to feeling under the weather, and that's coming from someone with next to no presence on social media and the self-imposed pressure to be positive which that brings! I have no idea: I generally view normal as some distant land from which I get the occasional report. Seems weird to me though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 55 minutes ago, Colman said: I get the impression that there are guidelines that prevent the dancers from talking too much about injuries except when it's positive news. I can't think of any of the pros I follow being downbeat except in retrospect, even when their normal social media personality would suggest they would. Not so much pressure to be upbeat as pressure to be quiet when they're not upbeat. I get the impression that being upbeat applies to most people in the public eye. Social media is definitely monitored by employers. 37 minutes ago, Colman said: I have no idea: I generally view normal as some distant land from which I get the occasional report. Seems weird to me though. Normal is a very distant land for me too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 2 hours ago, Pas de Quatre said: It is not just in dance medicine that recovery is quicker these days. From direct experience with family members, heart surgery, hip replacement, childbirth, for all of these you are encouraged to be up, out of bed and moving around on the same day. It is the lying in bed/on the sofa that can make recovery longer and more difficult. Nao Sakuma back dancing Odette/Odile five months after birth of daughter. Sort of puts Serena Williams in the shade! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 13 minutes ago, Tony Newcombe said: Nao Sakuma back dancing Odette/Odile five months after birth of daughter. Sort of puts Serena Williams in the shade! Actually it was 3 1/2 months as she danced in a gala with Yasuo Atsuji in Japan in the August! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Yes, but Serena did have an awful lot of serious health problems to recover from afterwards. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 Alexander Campbell has made a short video about some of the feedback from the Observer/Guardian article, addressing one or two misconceptions. https://scontent-lht6-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/9d8da4e917a44a9408ed593d9da0de72/5B59B92A/t50.2886-16/36954581_455963201537972_8416541092903649280_n.mp4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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