Is Ballet friendly Or competitive ?
Most people outside the ballet world have an opinion about ballet after watching movies like Black Swan with Natalie Portman. I would say it's a pretty dark vision of ballet, potentially realistic but undoubtedly limited.
As a professional ballet dancer, I thought it would be interesting to show you from the inside, a true portrait of this art life, closer to reality, than the illusions or filmmaker's fantasy.
How dark is a ballerina's life ?
Is there a toxic atmosphere in ballet or positive competition ?
Why is ballet friendly ?
We all struggle and can support each other.
We spend most of our days together, which can lead to natural friendship and trust.
We share the same love for this art, which is ballet. People of common interest can easily share pleasure in conversation.
The show depends on all of us; it must go on; everyone is working for the same goal, bringing the performance to a higher level, which means it's all about teamwork.
When you grow, you understand that each dancer is different; no one is perfect; everyone has qualities and defects. There is no point in comparing each other; you should rather put your full attention on yourself in order to make the best of what you can.
We are like a big family; you share so many memories on stage and off-stage with other dancers, even more when you travel on tour. All these people became part of your usual working zone, to the point of not paying attention to it.
Not everyone wants and can dance the main roles. Some dancers are happy to stay their whole lives in corps de ballet because they don't want to have more responsibility or push themselves. They can't then envy others for dancing solos because they are good where they are.
“I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to to dance better than myself.”
Why can ballet world feel toxic ?
The best students in school are not always the ones dancing the most in the company afterward. This can lead to a big feeling of disappointment and envy.
At the top of the hierarchical pyramid, there are only a few spots for soloists. In comparison with the number of dancers in the "corps de ballet", only a few of them will be chosen to be the face of the company. Of course, everyone wants this honor and prestige.
Every year, young and fresh dancers join the company, which means nothing is fully stable. Everything can change at any time. The director can replace you as he/she wishes. It's not because you dance something that you will continue dancing it.
To be successful in a company, you need to be more noticeable than others. Competition is a natural consequence. To be noticeable, you need to be better. Simple.
You constantly watch yourself in the mirror; you constantly judge yourself. Self-criticism in ballet is so high.
As we see it, it's a subjective thematic with a lot of factors depending on which company you work for. There are more or less friendly collectives, but this is the case everywhere, not only in ballet.
It's important to notice that ballet is not a sport that is based on competition but rather a form of art. By extension, we can't compare or judge dancers only based on their technique.
Character and personality make a dancer unique, and these are qualities that are rarely found outside oneself, but rather inside.
