I got a question the other day from the dad of a
young girl. He asked, "Ballet and dance-are they the same
thing?" It may seem like the most basic concept, but when I stop and
think about it, today's conceptions of ballet and dance don't always line
up. I'll unpack this question-and hopefully answer it-in this post.
When people (generally non-dancers) think about ballet in this day and age, a few things tend to come to mind. Images gathered from sources like the movie Black Swan and old-time theatrical productions of The Nutcracker prevail. Ballerinas are tiny young girls that wear pink. Ballet is stuffy, boring, immature, and the pastime of the wealthy.
On the contrary, when non-dancers think about dance, a different variety of images come up. Aerobic club dancing, social ballroom and wedding dances, competition routines from Dance Moms, and Beyoncé's concert performances all come up. Dancers are cool, athletic, and impressive.
By definition, ballet is a form of dance. Those who practice ballet move their bodies in specific and carefully choreographed movements in time to music. Ballet steps are called by specific names (most of them in French), and most classical ballet attire has a French or Russian influence.
What I find particularly interesting is how ballet is largely absent from popular culture portrayals of dance. Shows like Dance Moms and So You Think You Can Dance have cast members and contestants participating in a variety of styles, but most of them are relatively newer varieties like contemporary, jazz, lyrical, tap, and hip-hop. Ballet is shown only occasionally in comparison. That's not to say it's never shown, but when it is, I think ballet is not highlighted as especially entertaining or impressive (even though it is!). Because casual viewers of such programs may not see any ballet, I think it's reasonable for them to consider ballet separate from the umbrella of dance that they understand.
The separation from ballet and other dance styles may also come from the way classes are described. Something advertised as dance fitness is likely to be a combination of aerobics and something like hip-hop or salsa, not ballet. (There are ballet fitness classes out there, but they are usually called barre.) Children's fundamental classes are sometimes called things like creative dance, and these classes are usually more about moving around and following directions than learning a particular syllabus (although they commonly use steps and terms from several styles including ballet, jazz, modern, tap, and hip-hop).
This probably goes without saying, but most stereotypes about ballet are false. Kathryn Morgan did a fantastic video de-bunking several common ballet myths (check it out here). In addition to everything Katie says, know that it's much more common to see a highly disciplined, mature, hard-working, workout-gear-wearing ballet student than an immature, weak-willed girl all in pink. Ballet is a bit more expensive to fund than education in other dance styles (mostly due to the cost of pointe shoes), but in virtually all other aspects, the process of professional ballet training is quite similar to training in all other dance styles (and most sports, for that matter).
So, to answer the original question, yes, ballet is dance. However, when something is described as dance on a TV show or fitness class advertisement, it is probably not ballet based. This does not make ballet above or below any other type of dance; it's merely one of many panels that make up the huge, multi-colored dance umbrella.
When people (generally non-dancers) think about ballet in this day and age, a few things tend to come to mind. Images gathered from sources like the movie Black Swan and old-time theatrical productions of The Nutcracker prevail. Ballerinas are tiny young girls that wear pink. Ballet is stuffy, boring, immature, and the pastime of the wealthy.
On the contrary, when non-dancers think about dance, a different variety of images come up. Aerobic club dancing, social ballroom and wedding dances, competition routines from Dance Moms, and Beyoncé's concert performances all come up. Dancers are cool, athletic, and impressive.
By definition, ballet is a form of dance. Those who practice ballet move their bodies in specific and carefully choreographed movements in time to music. Ballet steps are called by specific names (most of them in French), and most classical ballet attire has a French or Russian influence.
What I find particularly interesting is how ballet is largely absent from popular culture portrayals of dance. Shows like Dance Moms and So You Think You Can Dance have cast members and contestants participating in a variety of styles, but most of them are relatively newer varieties like contemporary, jazz, lyrical, tap, and hip-hop. Ballet is shown only occasionally in comparison. That's not to say it's never shown, but when it is, I think ballet is not highlighted as especially entertaining or impressive (even though it is!). Because casual viewers of such programs may not see any ballet, I think it's reasonable for them to consider ballet separate from the umbrella of dance that they understand.
The separation from ballet and other dance styles may also come from the way classes are described. Something advertised as dance fitness is likely to be a combination of aerobics and something like hip-hop or salsa, not ballet. (There are ballet fitness classes out there, but they are usually called barre.) Children's fundamental classes are sometimes called things like creative dance, and these classes are usually more about moving around and following directions than learning a particular syllabus (although they commonly use steps and terms from several styles including ballet, jazz, modern, tap, and hip-hop).
This probably goes without saying, but most stereotypes about ballet are false. Kathryn Morgan did a fantastic video de-bunking several common ballet myths (check it out here). In addition to everything Katie says, know that it's much more common to see a highly disciplined, mature, hard-working, workout-gear-wearing ballet student than an immature, weak-willed girl all in pink. Ballet is a bit more expensive to fund than education in other dance styles (mostly due to the cost of pointe shoes), but in virtually all other aspects, the process of professional ballet training is quite similar to training in all other dance styles (and most sports, for that matter).
So, to answer the original question, yes, ballet is dance. However, when something is described as dance on a TV show or fitness class advertisement, it is probably not ballet based. This does not make ballet above or below any other type of dance; it's merely one of many panels that make up the huge, multi-colored dance umbrella.
Interesting question. Some additional thoughts that don't really contribute to the answer: I believe some football players of a few decades ago took ballet training to assist in their finesse and keeping their toes inbounds when catching passes. I also think many perceive ballet, specifically pointe, as an elite type of dance because of its difficulty. Ballet requires formal training and other forms of current dance have come from the "street".
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