Got an answer to this question? We want to hear it! Leave your response as a comment on this blog post, and you’ll be in the running to win a signed copy of our beautiful 50th anniversary book Luminous: Celebrating 50 Years of the Australian Ballet, signed by artistic director David McAllister and four of our principal artists. The competition will end at 5pm (AEST) on 21 December.
So why this question? Right now, Gideon Obarzanek is working with The Australian Ballet on his new piece for the Infinity program. It’s called There’s Definitely a Prince Involved, and it grew out of interviews with Gideon did with people from all walks of life in which he asked them to tell him the story of Swan Lake.
The results were eye-opening, thought-provoking and not uncommonly hilarious. The idea of asking a wide group of people to tell us their thoughts on ballet grew on us.
Our favourite response will win the Luminous book. We may also collect the best responses for publication on Behind Ballet and in the Infinity program.
So – what is ballet? Your answer could be one word or 100. It could be playful, pensive or passionate. Surprise us!
Ballet is the ultimate personification of sprezzatura; the studied gracefulness and effortlessness of every movement and expression. Considering that ballet has its origins in the Italian Renaissance courts and was further developed by Louis XIV in France, it is no surprise that ballet has retained the artfulness of the ideal courtier.
To give the audience no notion of the meticulous placement of an arabesque, the strength to appear weightless en pointe, the speed to accomplish the intricacy of beats, nor the years of pirouettes to perform those final fouettés rond de jambe en tournant, is what separates ballet and gives it mystique and elegance.
There are many ways to describe what ballet is and many previous comments have done so impeccably. But what is it that draws us to ballet? Is it the movements or the emotions portrayed, maybe the costumes or the stories told? Whatever it is, it inspires something beautiful in our hearts; something that remains long after the curtain has closed, ribbons undone and makeup removed; something that has us wishing for more and leaves our hearts full of joy and life.
Individually, everyone has a coup de foudre with ballet; either during the first ballet class, seeing our first performance or watching those we love performing. The love continues and flourishes through your first concert to your first pointe shoes. And finally the moment when we must hang our pointe shoes up for the last time we know that the love and passion we had will thrive inside of us forever.
As Hannah said in an above post, ballet is underappreciated. However, the aim of a dancer is to make the impossible possible without showing the effort required; to rehearse for months for only a few captivating hours on stage; to overcome the pain and shine like the brightest star; to have sprezzatura. Many in the audience can only appreciate the beauty and gracefulness of the performance; only a few can truly appreciate the determination and patience of those dancing.
From the ballerinas and danseurs nobles to the balletomane (a ballet fan or enthusiast), across all ages, and transcending language, culture and time itself, ballet is the perfect unification of music, movement and storytelling to create a beautiful canvas of emotion for all to see and enjoy.
That’s Ballet!
Ballet is
Beauty
Art
Language
Love
Emotion
Timeless
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Ballet is the artful display of the human form at its most poetic and athletic best. It denies many its full grace in execution, and has and may be veiwed as more museum than historically catalogued choreography . Its full intention is emotion and impression for those veiwing…sculpturally morphing the imagery we are left with, with a wish to emulate it in what ever it is we do best. It is dance and dance is none but the highest form of celebration we enact and use as humans to celebrate.
Ballet ranges from frivolous, artful escapist entertainment, to gut wrenchingly aching beauty, the memory of which is with you forever.
Ballet is the yearnings of the inner soul translated by movements of the outer body. No written words can express, no singing voice can demonstrate the things that a person feels in the same way that they can be expressed via the body – directly, unmistakenly, beautifully. Add to the purety of form of a centuries-old discipline, costumes, powerful music, acting and stage sets and the strongest, most satisfying experience is created that nothing can equal. Ethereal, funny, exciting, exquisite: ballet can be everything rolled into one performance.
Ballet to me is joy and life.
Every time I watch my son dance I see him come alive. This brings me great joy to see him so passionate and happy!
What is Ballet?
Imagine a darkened rehearsal space, industrial in its simplicity and warmed by the light from a lamp and the approving eye of the moon.
Bare as it is, private as it may seem, the wonder of that space is open to the one who steps into it with their ideals. A pair of pointes inscripts well known fairytales, ethereal love stories and beautiful prose onto the shadowed floor. Memories and moments are made from the feet of the one who dares, the one who escapes into the romanticism of their emotive motivation. The dancer dissappears and the movement speaks for her.
What a moment, this is what ballet encompasses for me.
Elegance, grace and discipline are required and practiced. Roles are rehearsed and the masters of Ballet pantomine and technique are brought back to life for seasons.
However this art form is also freedom of speech,
freedom of love,
freedom found in movement will always carry what words never could. How magical and delicious.
I just wanted to express my delight at seeing my comment in the Infinity Program and wanted to add that at 54 years of age , 50 years after my first ballet…..I still don’t want to go home until they all come out and do it again……..
Ballet is food for the soul.