Grace Under Pressure: The Hidden Strength of a Ballet Dancer

The Behind the Scenes

Ballet is more than just a beautiful performance, it’s about dedication and making sacrifices. As a ballerina, I have experienced physical exhaustion, pain and discomfort, constant criticism, and fear of failing. Because of these reasons, I believe ballet is the most challenging activity of all times.

The Balance Between Athletic and Artistic

There is a debate taking place on whether ballet is considered a sport or an art. Although ballet is more often categorized as an art form, ballet is considered to be a combination of the two, achieved through physical training, artistic expression, and passion. Similar to traditional sports, such as football, soccer, and basketball, ballet requires high-level physical strength, endurance, sustained coordination, and precise control over one's body. Ballet is also considered an art form because of the necessary flexibility, perfected technique, musical understanding, and stage presence essential to the dancer. In my personal opinion, as ballet dancers take the form of both athletes and artists, this makes it harder than other physical activities since there are several characteristics to consider.

Technical Aspects

Technique is the foundation of body movement in ballet. Dancers must follow certain steps and actions in order to achieve proper performance. Ballet comes in different styles such as contemporary, based on modern techniques and athleticism; romantic, dependent on emotion and storytelling; classical, emphasizing precise movements and graceful expressions; and neoclassical, revolving around extreme speed and larger movements.

Ballet developers have created their own classification of ballet called methods, which are different training systems. For example, Agrippina Vaganova created the Vaganova method, a style of classical ballet. The principles of the Vaganova method include focusing on involving the whole body in every movement, with equal attention to the upper body, lower body, and head. This approach aimed to create a harmony of movement throughout dancing. Another method is the Balanchine method, initiated from the neoclassical style. The Balanchine method focuses on sharper movements, fast footwork, and high energy. Despite the fact that all ballet styles and methods require difficult technique, I believe that classical ballet includes the most challenging technique of all because dancers have to focus on their whole body, compared to other methods, like the Balanchine method, that focus mostly on their legs.

Strength and Flexibility

Without strength training and a minimum range of motion, it would be impossible to perform as a ballet dancer. Achieving a strong and solid core through strength training supports the spine and allows ballet dancers to perform difficult movements with ease. On the other hand, flexibility allows ballet dancers to achieve high extensions, elegant lines, and fluid movements, which are fundamental to ballet. This can be accomplished through stretching, working out the muscles, and relaxing the muscles when performing. Strength training and maintaining flexibility work hand in hand to allow dancers the ability to perform movements at their full potential while ensuring stability and minimizing injury risk.

Physical and Mental Endurance

Ballet requires a focused mindset, resilience, and the ability to maintain form and technique even when fatigued. Dancers need a high level of both muscular endurance, the ability to sustain powerful movements for extended periods of time, and cardiovascular endurance, the ability to maintain energy throughout a performance. They can not rely solely on physical strength because, even if a dancer has the best technique and the strongest movements, the dancer requires a high level of mental endurance to handle the pressure and stress involved. Ballet requires concentration—staying fully present in the moment and focusing the attention on the moves assists dancers with remembering the complex choreography and executing them accurately. This extremely demanding activity calls for resilience in the face of challenges, perseverance through injuries and criticism, and constant determination.

Musicality, Coordination, and Performance

A key part of ballet is possessing an understanding of how and when to move to the music. The way a dancer acknowledges the music sets the tone for the entire performance. If the dancer is performing a move at the wrong time, even if it was one second late, the music won’t align with the remaining movements, leading to an off beat sequence. The most useful way to ensure that the music and the dancing corresponds is through counting, using sets of 8. This is a universal way for any dancer to recognize the flow of the music, have the same timing as the other dancers, and work as a group.

Ballet Focus Points

The Vaganova method is the method of ballet that I participate in, meaning I have to focus on all aspects of my body simultaneously. The most important body parts I must pay attention to are my feet, legs, core, arms, and hands. For example, I must focus on my feet being pointed at all times, keeping them in a straight line, and turning the heel outwards. My legs must either be completely straight or extremely bent—there is no in between. My spine cannot be rounded, I must push my hips backwards, and keep them parallel to whichever way I am facing. Regarding my arms, I must keep them elegant at all times, keeping them active at all times, and I have to switch between arms casually ensuring they are in the right place at the right time. My hands must be relaxed and my thumbs and middle fingers must be slightly closed together. Thinking of my upper body, my shoulders must be back, and my back must be straight. My eyes must be switching back and forth between the mirror and the wall, depending on what move I am doing. Finally, I have to smile while dancing on stage, at all times, even when I am in pain, and exhausted.

Personal Experience

During this past summer, I participated in a month-long intensive ballet program based on the teachings of the Vaganova method—a style of classical ballet. This was a program specifically for the professional dancers in my studio, although I am currently not in that division.

I previously danced ballet starting when I was four years old, continuing for a few years. However, I ended up leaving the studio to pursue a passion in gymnastics from the ages of seven to nine. I then realized how much I missed dancing so I decided to get back into it. I wanted to compete in dance but there was no option to compete in ballet, so I also took all other types of dance, which included hiphop, tap dancing, acrobatics, and jazz. Unfortunately, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, I was no longer able to compete, and then decided to do gymnastics again because it was the most convenient at the time. Still, my passion for dance didn’t shy away, and this time I was determined to get back into ballet, the dance that I had always loved since I was young.

Once I stepped back into the ballet studio, I realized how much I love dancing and specifically how much I loved dancing ballet. However, because I had so much time on and off ballet lessons, I was significantly behind the other girls in my class.

When I was offered the opportunity to dance with the professional dancers, I was nervous because I knew how much more advanced they were than me. At the time, I had only eight months of experience in dancing ballet compared to the girls who had over seven years of experience. I realized that it would be a difficult, but also rewarding experience since I would get to learn from notably experienced teachers and dancers from all over the world. I struggled a lot during the first week but I ended up being able to keep up for the most part. It taught me that ballet is a lot of work, both mentally and physically, but the end results and experiences are completely worth it.

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ABOUT SHANNA

Shanna is a 9th-grader taking her first journalism class at Centner Academy. She is responsible for writing captions and brief introductions for articles, as well as designing the physical copy of the Pollinator Post. Shanna is passionate about writing reviews and conducting interviews. Outside of journalism, Shanna also enjoys ballet.