What Is a Ballet Physique?

The summer quarantine and protests against Black Lives Matter gave her the opportunity to “think and feel what I hadn’t allowed myself to feel in the ballet world for a long time,” she said. “I stopped myself from strengthening my quads, hamstrings, and even my rotator muscles because I feared I would bulge too much.”

She focused on building strength and realigning her body with gyrotonic training. “You need these muscles,” she said.

In the past, gyms were taboo in ballet for fear of bloating. Dancers were not to be seen as sporty, but as beautiful, waif-like and ethereal. Ballet flats, however, especially until the 1950s, had more curves. That fashion has changed – and the person many like to blame is George Balanchine, the founding choreographer of the New York City Ballet, who had an oversized influence on post-war ballet in America.

Some believed – and still do – that Balanchine preferred dancers with long legs and tiny heads. The idea of ​​a Balanchinian body persisted, creating a template for what people think a ballet dancer should look like. But Balanchine choreographed for dancers with a range of body types and selected them for his company. “I think his greatest level of acceptance was disrespect,” said dance historian Elizabeth Kendall.

In a joint interview, City Ballet’s current directors, Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan said the dance world was moving in a better direction. “Look at the white European beginnings of ballet,” said Stafford. “It has taken a long time for ballet to overcome this ‘ideal’ image – whatever the ideal meant for that person – whether it is someone tall and thin or someone who is is very pale. Obviously, ballet companies came very late to overcome this aesthetic. “

Stafford and Whelan represent a generation change in leadership that explores a new perspective on what ballet culture might look like. Both were main dancers and have long ties with the company; Whelan was a star whose career lasted 30 years. They were appointed to their new roles in 2019 after the city ballet was rocked by the loss of its veteran leader Peter Martins, who fell after an investigation into reports of physical and emotional abuse (he denied the allegations) and a scandal involving men withdrawn dancers shared photos of dancers.