Reflection

So far I've learned quite a bit. I was very curious about eating disorders in dance, and i have definitely learned a lot about that. I thought that dancers just strove to be skinny, but the real problems are what the companies look for in a dancer. Still in this area, I'd like to know if the men have a weight limit, or height requirement. I've tried to research this, but women are mainly talked about in this area of ballet.

I've also learned about the history of ballet. I find it very interesting how ballet started in the royal courts. It started as a "competition." A show to exemplify the wealth of quarreling families. Now, dance has been enhanced and is done for pleasure and entertainment.

Although I've learned much much more on my topic, i still wish to learn more. I want to learn about famous dancers, and how they became. Famous choreographers and their famous ballets. And famous composers who wrote what ballet couldn't do without. I still enjoy this topic and am excited to dig in deeper.

Body Image of a Ballerina

Ballet is an art in which dancers spin and twist their bodies, to express their inner rhythm. But with the beauty of dance also comes dangers, and uncertainties. Many companies have weight limits and weigh their dancers once a week to make sure their weight isn't fluctuating. Some companies even fine their dancers if they reach above or below certain weight requirements. So, dancers are constantly pressured into maintaining weight and finding ways to lose weight...which becomes the dangerous part.

In ballet, dancers are expected to look a certain way. The ideal dancer has a small head, long neck, shortened torso, and thin, lean attractive legs. A dancer must have loose joints, but enough strength to control large movements. Dancers should also have good turnout of the legs and hips, and slight knee hyper extension and be bow legged. The hyper extension of the knee creates a beautiful "S" curve to the leg, while bow leggedness helps the dancer to exaggerate turn out. A dancers body should be strong, and skinny with no "blubbery fat" visible on the stomach, arms or thighs. And lastly, the ideal foot of a ballerina is broad and square, so, when on pointe, weight is more equally distributed through the metatarsals. Not every dancer is perfect in every aspect, but every dancer strives for the perfection, so dancers often turn to eating disorders as an easy way to check one thing off the list. (The Cleveland Clinic Foundation)

An eating disorder is when a person experiences disturbances in eating behaviors, or begin to eat too much or too little. In the beginning, a person may begin to eat more or less than usual, but there may come a point (where an eating disorder begins), that a person feels the strong urge to eat more or less. The most commonly recognized eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is when a person may practically starve themselves, wanting so much to be very, very skinny. They begin, in their minds, to have a distorted body image and have an intense fear of gaining weight. Bulimia, is characterized by binge-eating, and feeling they have no control over the amount of food that is ingested. The large consumption is followed by purging, such as vomiting, or excessive use of laxatives. They may then, fast, or excessively exercise. Although they are treatable, these diseases may become very dangerous. Especially in a dancer who exerts tons of energy for dance. (National Institute of Mental Health)

Eating disorders have long been associated with ballet. This is because dancers are constantly wanting to lose weight in order to become a "beautiful" dancer. What is so beautiful about a skeletal figure flailing their long limbs around on a stage? Nothing. But that's not the problem they see. Sometimes they don't necessarily believe they're too "fatty", they usually just look at the number on the scale. The right number may sometimes mean staying in the company or keeping their job. And since the dance world is so competitive, this means watch the scale! And on that scale, dancers usually start to panic when they anything below 95 ponds and above 110 pounds. For some this is isn't a problem but to others--the tall girls--this can become a big big problem. But still, they manage to keep their weight way down.

To conclude, although ballet seems dainty and beautiful, some dancers live in a world of worry and physical abuse. They starve themselves, take medications, and throw up their meals just to stay small enough for ballet. They get horrible diseases just to persevere dance. And although they may not be living a healthy lifestyle, the company likes what they see, so dancers continue to live this way.

Works Cited
"Ballet: Ideal Body Type, Injury Treatment and Prevention." Cleveland Clinic. 2008. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. 4 Nov. 2008

"Eating Disorders." National Institute of Mental Health. June 2008. National Institute of Mental Health. 4 Nov. 2008.

Survey

For my survey I asked three questions to high school students: 1) Do you believe it is necessary for ballet companies to exploit against heavier dancers? 2) Do you think dance is important in society? and 3) Is dance important to you? The results did not shock me at all.

For question 1, i pretty much got a half yes and half no answer. I think this question is hard to answer. Saying no, you are saying that everyone needs a chance even if you're overweight, but then again, a dancer should be light on their feet and easy for a man to lift. So i think that most people were split on their answer and didn't initially know what to say, but thought about it and eventually went with the most arbitrary answer.

For question 2, the majority said no. most people, give little acclaim to dance. Dancing is just a past time that happens for them on occasion. As opposed to the more dedicated dancer who dances to express their feelings and enjoys it enough to make it an everyday part of life. This question lead up to the next question, where the answers directly corresponded with their answer to the previous question. For those who said no, dance is not important in society, they also said that dance was no t important to them, and vice versa. This does not surprise me because i don't know many people who are actually dedicated to dancing.

To conclude, i think the first question will help me out a lot in the next couple weeks. I can post on both sides of the exploitation. I can also see where both sides are coming from. Society has its limits, but so do certain things in dancing.

San Fransisco Ballet Website

http://www.sfballet.org/

San Fransisco Ballet's website is very organized and easy to use. When the website is opened, there are many things to see. A large picture of a man and a woman in a performance takes up the majority of the page. Above the picture, are various tabs to choose from. Performances and tickets, news and features, about, ballet school, support, and education and community. Under performances and tickets are facts about the 2009 upcoming performances; how to purchase tickets; Nutcracker ticket sales; information on visiting, casting, subscribing, and touring; and a calendar of upcoming events. When navigating under this tab, you can find out various things. Under the 2009 performances the styles of each performance are told as well as composers, choreographers, and performance dates. Under visiting one can find out what to expect form the visit, and how to set up an appointment to visit. Under News and Features, are podcasts, feature stories, your story, dancer blog, artist spotlight, and news and press. This tab is more just to be "in the know." The feature stories are stories anywhere from choreographers to musicians of the ballet. In artist spotlight, details about various dancers are present as well as background and dance history.

Under the about tab, info about the company, the orchestra, the executive director, the board of trustees, staff, history of the company, a repertory database, and employment can be explored. Under the company and history, the background of the company and some of the staff is told. Also, one can learn about the executive director and if one seeks employment, they can get more info on that.

When looking under the ballet school, one can learn about the school's history, the staff, the program, trainee programs, summer sessions, and contact info. The program talks of the school's curriculum, and how students are placed in the classes. Under the school's history, one can find out how the program was started, and who started it, and the changes that occurred to bring the school where it is today.

And lastly, support, and education and economy. Here, community members can learn how to be involved with the ballet and how to subscribe. Also, the classes and camps that are open to the public throughout the year.

At the bottom of the page there are links that lead to planning visits, donating money, a ballet shop, getting involved, and sign up for emails. One may also purchase tickets, make a subscription, read about the company tours, and see the company blog. At the bottom is also a scrolling marque of highlights of the San Fransisco ballet.

Overall, this website is not banal in any way and easy to navigate and figure out. It is interesting with its many colors( it appeases the eye well), tabs, and options. If in doubt though, one may use the handy dandy search bar located at the top of the page. I think this site is lovely!

Ballet Today

Although ballet still uses the same positions and most of the same technique, the old ways of ballet are becoming obsolete. Ballet has changed a lot through ages from shoes, and dancewear to who dances and who doesn’t.

A long, long time ago, when dancing still took place in the royal courts, the shoes dancers wore were not designed for dance. Today, soft shoes, and pointe shoes are worn, and are designed specifically for every type of dancer. Pointe shoes are a ballet slipper hardened with glue, for support, as the dancer rolls up from the heel through the ball of their foot in order to stand on their toes. There are hundreds of different types of pointe shoes that a dancer can choose form. There are different vamps for different lengths of toes, different shanks for different strengths of arches, different wing heights for different “thickness” of a dancer’s foot, and different shapes of the overall shoe for the wide variety of shapes of the feet. In classical ballet pointe shoes are preferred for performing. They elongate the leg and make for a more elegant, beautiful recital. Pointe shoes are used during class also, in order to strengthen and prepare the feet, but soft shoes are also used. Soft shoes are little, “floppy” slippers that also come in a wide variety for the wide variety of dancer feet. For the most part, soft shoes and pointe shoes have been made the same way for hundreds of years, but recently, pointe shoe companies are coming up with new technology. For example, Bloch (pronounced “block”) has come out with something new called TMT or thermoMorphtechnology. When a dancer receives their shoes, they can heat the shank and vamp of the shoe with a hair dryer, and bend the shoe where desired break in is wanted. The shoe is then put in the refrigerator to “set” the shoe, so it stays in the shape the dancer wants. This new “technology” helps a dancer to easily customize and break in their shoes.

As far as dancewear goes, the wearing of long heavy dresses has long since terminated, and it is no longer shocking to see a dancer’s ankles. The leotard was introduced, and is now a dancing necessity. A leotard is like a one piece bathing suit, but more trendy, and easier to dance in. Bare legs have never seemed smart for a dancer, because the muscles are always wanted to keep warm, so ballerinas wear tights. Tights are like transparent nylon/supplex/spandex leggings that cover the feet. They no longer itch, become stretched out, and they move with a dancer better than they did thirty years ago. Dancewear is always fitted so a dance teacher can see exactly what the dancers joints, limbs, and muscles are doing.

Long ago, the “dance industry” exploited against women and only allowed men to twirl and skip as they liked. But now, it’s the women who shine in the ballet world. When romantic themes emerged, the women was needed more to play the lead women roles. As ballet escalated in popularity, women ballerinas became more well known then ever before. Now, the term prima ballerina, or principal dancer is used for the lady (or man) that assumes the lead role of a company ballet production. The women prima ballerina roles usually consist of difficult, delicate, and dynamic choreography. And a man’s role usually consists of very large jumps and continuing turns, while he also has the job of making the ballerina look beautiful.

There is also a constant pressure in the dance world to stay thin. A lot of dance companies won’t accept a woman who is over 110 pounds. Companies also look for the long, tall women with long graceful limbs. So, although a dancer can be very talented at what she does, she may not be accepted as “beautiful” to dance companies if she weighs over 110 pounds and is below average height. Men have similar problems with dance companies, but women have the hardest time with this.

To conclude, ballet sticks closely to its origins, and has needed a push to modernize. Many things that have not been accepted initially, are now a traditional, everyday part of a dancers life.

Works Cited
"The History of Ballet." Tip Toe Dancewear. 10 Sept. 2008 .

Ellis-Chirstensen, Tricia. "What is Ballet?" Wise Geek. 2003. 15 Sept. 2008 .

Background and History

Ballet originated during the 14 and 1500’s in Italy. During the Renaissance era, Italy was made up of city-states. The wealthy, who ruled the city states tried hard to promote the arts by competing with animosity to show who was the wealthiest, with fancy royal court performances where the dancer was merely dancing to please their ruler. In 1547, a member of a wealthy family in Italy became queen of France. Her name was Catherine de Medicis and she brought the Italian traditions into the French courts. Because dance technique was so limited back then, the dancers relied on their elegant, but heavy, costumes to show off their wealth and to impress all who watched. Dancing still only took place in the royal court where the women were limited to long awkward dresses where their dance steps were impossible to see. The men, on the other hand, had more freedom in their clothes and could jump and do many more steps than the women could. Most of the time masks were worn to better portray the character a dancer was playing.

Time went on and ballet developed more and more. The “industry” became more competitive, where more skill was required. King Louis, who ruled France in the mid-1600’s recognized this, greatly admired dancing. He loved to watch as well as participate, and was so adamant about ballet to growing into something big, that he developed the Paris Opera Ballet, a dancing school where all could be taught the gift of dance. Through the training at the school, new skills were developed and dancers became more advanced than ever before. During the early 1700’s, a man named Pierre Beauchamps, King Louis’ dance master, defined and named many new dance steps as well as the five positions of the feet that are still used in all types of dance today.

Professional ballet dancers made their way from the royal courts to public stages. Dancers and choreographers traveled around performing for the public and the art of ballet was spread worldwide.

Works Cited
"History of Ballet." World Book.

Why ballet???

I chose ballet, because it has always been a huge part of my life. I don't know much about it other than sewing pointe shoes, terms, and of course, dancing!! A few things i would like to address and learn more about are....
*eating disorders in the dance industry (+expectations of a dancer)
*where it originated (+the history behind it)
*anatomy of a dancers feet
*the art of choreography