I’ve heard that ballet dancers have serious problems with arthritic joints later in life. Is there any truth to this and how does it compare (%-wise) to other atheltic endeavors?
Related to the previous question about smoking to reduce appetite, do you feel general pressure to hold your weight below what would be normal for someone of your age and body type? One of the most chilling passages in Gelsey Kirkland’s autobiography is where she says that for a while she was so desperate to keep “Mr. B” happy that each morning she cut one apple into four pieces, and they were her entire breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night snack. Could you ever see that happening to you, or to girls you know? Would you get out of ballet if it started to hurt your health?
Come to think of it, have you read her book? If you have, what do you think?
Always wanted to know this…what are male ballet dancers called?
What are your favorite ballet movies?
I can only answer for my sister, who started dancing as a small child and was on crutches in her twenties–fortunately, through good medical care and physical therapy, her knees and ankles are just a bit stiff now (she’s 51). But yes, by her late teens she had to give up dancing because of leg problems.
I think she told me her dancing school had concrete floors, which is akin to hiring Tonya Harding to kneecap you.
Sorry! I thought I answered this all earlier this morning, but it turns out it didn’t load before AOL booted me off line for a couple of hours.
Did you go to a very professional and serious school? Most studios now a days won’t try and make girls leave who aren’t star material.
Weight wise it’s normal for girls to be pushed to be thin, but pushing them to smoke is unusual. Did this happen recently? I can’t imagine teachers pushing their students to smoke just so they would stay thin when everyone now knows how terrible smoking is for you.
As soon as my computer lets me do a search I’ll find an article that compares arthritic joints in ballet as to other sports. But yes, dancers are known to get arthritic feet because of all the pressure and useage their feet handle.
No, I haven’t read her book but it sounds intresting so I’ll look for it next time I’m at a book store. Different ballet schools and studios all have a different technique and standards then the next, and while some schools are very strict about their dancer’s weight, other schools are more laid back about it. My studio is more of a laid back school so girls that dance there would never be pushed so hard to loose weight that they only eat a single apple a day. I doubt any girls at my studio would go to this extreme, but people do drastic things when under pressure.
No worries! I didn’t even know Cecil wrote on that subject! He really does cover all!
W
Firebird and, of course, The Nutcracker.
Concret floors? That must have been so hard to dance on. We have this flexible wood floor which is much easier to dance on then concrete. I’m sorry for what happened to your sister, dance can sometimes seriously mess up your body. At least she had a good physical trainer.
OK, so which Nutcracker? And is it available on DVD? I have a video we taped from TV that is OK, but the only DVDs I’ve been able to find star either Barbie or Macaulay Culkin, and there is no way I’m getting that dreck. If you know of one available that is good, please tell me!
Sorry that I’m kind of harping on the Nutcracker here. I don’t mean to. I’d like to see Swan Lake, too. And I spent most of highschool with a crush on a dancer boy–he’s a professional in New York now. And yes, he’s gay, but I didn’t figure that out till we were 18 or so. Sigh.
Have you seen The Turning Poiny ?
Macaulay Culkin or not, that version is pretty good. We have that at the studio. I’ve watched quite a few versions and though nothing is better then seeing it live, I think that’s the best one.
I must say, I’ve never seen The Turning Poiny.
:wally
what about The Company?
Brian
If one were to go from first position to fourth, do you just snap to the new position, or is there an intermediate step?
Kiss my fat (non-ballerina) ass!
Hey, hey, hey now this isn’t the Pit. The only asses we should be discussing are one’s sveltly slipped into black leotards, m’kay?
Ever seen the “Dance Of The Hours” sequence from “Fantasia”? Funniest ballet parody ever.
How much does an average adult female ballerina weigh?
110? 120? 130? 140?
On the one hand, they’re pretty muscular. On the other hand, they want to be light and svelte.
Also, is height good or bad?
A few years ago I took a Contemporary Dance course at univeristy (hey - you gotta have options!), and as a requirement we had to write a paper - I chose to interview a prominant dancer here in town who does CD.
She’s 5’11" and started out in ballet. She danced for the Royal Ballet in winnipeg, and was a prima ballarina for a while, but she was forced to leave because:
- she was taller than her male leads
- she could only do solos because she stood out in groups
- keeping her weight below 130 at 5’11" was really difficult for her.
I guess 130 was the Winnipeg Ballet’s max, because if you’re going to leap into someone’s arms, it doesn’t look good if you crush them.
Anyhoo - that’s what she said in regard to weight.