I was asking myself this question last night, after watching the (poorly recorded) DVD recording of my ballet school’s recital, and it’s on my mind again after today’s ballet class.
It occurred to me that people can spend tens of years on ballet but still struggle with the moves, as evident from friends and the rest of us in my ballet class. One minimum criterion is to lift and sustain one’s leg at 90 degrees in any direction – ballerinas must attain at least 160 – 170 degrees – and that requires tremendous amount of core, back and leg strength, as well as balance.
Yet, for some other types of dance, one could enter competitions or perform on stage with just a couple of years of practise.
In contrast, I don’t think any ballet dancer will look passably nice without at least reaching Grade 8 in ballet – and let’s not even talk about dancing en pointe. Competitions are out of the question for adult ballet dancers too, as these are judged by age group.
A bunch of us are practising for our RAD Grade 8 exam at the moment, we are putting lots of work into just executing the steps, and much greater effort will be required to perform the dances with the grace, style and impression of effortless-ness required. All the balance, control, lifting up from the waist, timing, musicality…
How did ballet evolve into such a difficult style of dance?
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