Ballet Dance
Ballet is possibly one of the most elegant and attractive styles of dance. It is common among many people all over the globe. The art of ballet began as a form of dance for the richest families in history. The technique was developed during the Roman and Greek Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries began which revitalized in the arts and humanities as well. The phrase ballet originates from the Italian phrase “Bella” which simply implies dance. Ballet is a profoundly conventional form where fixed procedures are in an official way associated with each other which can be brought together to form an unbound type of dance (Au 18-24). Just like soccer which is somehow a strenuous physical game, ballet is equally a physically demanding exercise though unlike soccer, the body is used as a form of expression.
The ballet is designed to be stylish and beautiful, not physically involving like soccer. The art and the beauty of a ballet performance contradict all the physical draining that is connected with it. In ballet, there is a standard that is applied to overload that comprises of three variables in training; frequency, duration and intensity. To experience advancements in the enhancement of skill, performance and practice, these variables must be improved or worked. People in classical ballet usually perform on a proscenium stage which most of the time has a remarkable atmosphere on the part of the stage. The art of ballet started as a fun dance for the affluent people in society, and it has for many years, evolved into an international and stylish form of organized expressions. In the face it, ballet is essentially a blend of music and dance to develop a tacit language in which people exploit their bodies and energy to recount a story in an attractive and captivating manner. Irrespective of the lovely outcome, ballerinas continuously fight with the pressure and stress, which significantly affects them psychologically, physically and emotionally.
The life of a ballerina
Many teenage girls’ envy and wish to become a ballerina, majority of whom at one moment in their lives have had vivid pictures of themselves in Pointe shoes, attractive pink tutu and standing on the podium looking spectacular. The private part in a ballerina lifestyle is determined, full of obligation, devotion and demanding. Ballerinas experience a lot of challenges, including injuries, to enhance their skill. The lifestyle of a ballet dancer is hugely complex; to begin with, one needs to appreciate that their life is much distinct from the rest, it is classified into four phases; the first is skilled, the second is the reputable veteran professional and the last step is the retired dancer. All these phrases have specialized training which improves with levels. Majority ballet dancers begin training at teenage years where they exercise for two to four hours and six days a week; they adhere to this practice until they improve their skills to start practising for three to five hours in six days a week as they develop their skills (Hamilton 299-303).
Becoming an accomplished ballet dancer takes years of training and exercise. Dancing is perhaps one of the utmost desires full of commitment and dedication. It is a complicated life being a ballerina. These dancers ought to keep fit, quick and have thin blade limbs. Classical ballet is designed for a certain kind of body, an element that majority of the people including viewers do not see. Ballet trainers always maintain that ballerinas should keep fit and reduce more weight to have a good posture that supports the moves and dance. They still have to exercise in the gym, do many sit-ups and have special nutrition as well as special tea. Most ballerinas, particularly those who are highly committed to practice extremely hard. They starve themselves, enroll in swim lessons and join their peers at the gym to keep fit. Remaining committed is not an option for a ballerina; it is a duty, an element that viewers do not understand. Most people believe that these dancers live in paradise with no challenge.
There are more disagreement and conflict in the globe as it is, the whole idea of the ballet is enabling individuals from diverse backgrounds and the actual followers to flee their routines practices and work for some few minutes to get entertained. When ballerinas take up the stage, their objective is to bring the viewers with them a whole new world. Although not an ideal world, but a free realm were even in unhappiness beauty found, in faith emerges faith, and in love, you get freedom. To accomplish all this, ballerinas committed to feeling an actual change in life through learning one talent after the other, remaining grounded and staying engaged. Discipline is the main factor here. Some of the various hurdles experienced by ballerinas comprise dancing on a hard or racked floor, being injured, having a negative self-representation, having a jet-lag special diet, frustrations with casting, shifting trends, costume issue, and criticism among others.
Eating Syndromes
Eating ailments affect many ballet dancers in contemporary society. Ballet dancers are at high danger of developing eating complications primarily as a result of the keenness to follow the stereotype of the actual dancer. Ballet schools are dominated by a weight-obsessed culture which has been embraced by ballet learners as a way to be regarded as beautiful. Binge, EDNOS, Anorexia Nervosa, and Bulimia Nervosa are the primary eating disorders affecting dancers and pose life-threatening effects (Ravaldi 247-254). Therefore, thinness-associated learning experience, for instance, differences between colleagues, promotion of nutrition, weighing and carrying out tests, particularly in skin-fold, could result in particular manifestations of different signs of eating complications. Apparently, ballerinas who exhibit a high level of perfectionism have different view of the level at which the anticipation of thinness is less achieved. Signs of depression can profoundly affect the whole picture, for example, dancers who score better on the register of depression are much more probable to view tension concerning risking the emergence of eating complications, their selection of diet and look (Herbrich 1115-1123).
Nearly all ballet dancers are progressively working to enhance their weight. They are always pressured by their trainers and educators who maintains that they should remain thin. Ostensibly, this problem is worrying it pressures these ballerinas with weight loss plans leading them to a path that they will not able to come back. In no small level, the danger of developing eating complications depends to some degree academic and mental features of ballet schools. Ballet institutions have a part to play in stopping eating disorders by establishing clear policies that prevent this problem. Among these regulations could be, monitoring learners’ phases of obsession with their shape, weight of diet and depressive signs that can quickly evaluate perfection levels through questionnaires to establish the learners’ problems and ways in which they can be exposed.
Smoking
Smoking with dancers, especially ballerinas has a ling account at times, ballerinas, as an option to eating. In a competitive field like dancing, ballerinas always go to an extra mile to enhance themselves. They put a higher weight on physical strength, fitness and health. Besides, smoking results to reducing fitness, unpleasant health and loss of concentration. Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of mortalities among ballerinas. It is an improper way of eating as it leads to anorexia and other ailments too. There are various disadvantages of smoking for dancers which encompass; minimal athletic performance, high risk of sickness, higher levels of injury and reduced healing period and facial scrunching. Also, this problem is purely triggered by the strenuous tasks undertaken by ballerinas. Ballerinas resolve into smoking to get stirred after being pressured in ballet training. It is observed that the whole idea particularly of time preference, and individual assessment of future and present intakes, would address this noticeable irrationality. If not preoccupied, dancer’s obsessive with their work though to a broader level, their careers are shuttered.
Dancers should not misuse their bodies but rather take good care of them. From an athletic viewpoint, smoking is like dancing with a heavy load on their back. Smoking interferes with the rhythmic patterns of the heart and triggers chest pain when working out and during physical exercise. To a certain level, it cripples ballerinas’ capacity to perform. Ballet dancers should, therefore, be physically fit. Smoking as well causes spine and bone disorders and many others, including lung damage.
Profession, Pressure
The journey to a successful profession for ballerinas is a complicated task. Majority of them have had a difficult time learning new skills and achieving them. Most ballerinas are pressured most of the time as they must devote to their practice and training. Wounds, perfectionism and pressure are the primary causes of a tireless life for ballerinas. For example, injuries can have a profound negative impact on the health and performance of ballerinas. Training and performance are as well involving and these dancers goes through abuse wounds. In contrast to other dancers, ballerinas are a high threat of getting injuries comprising pressure fractures as the exercise itself is dangerous, demanding and traumatic. In most cases, it has been established that perfectionism and pressure are likely mentals relates to injury in ballet.
Ballet is complex, and ballerinas are not guaranteed of always achieving what they desire as there is still a lot to learn, train and perfect. If being a ballerina is the only passion thing they have, then it is apparent that pressure is part of them since there is always a lot they can learn. Even with the support of the best trainers and choreographers, there is still a new skill or concept for their learners. The moment a ballerina exudes the confidence of understanding it all, they stop being a valued asset. A ballerina never realizes when their ballet profession will quickly disappear since they do not have a say on who hires them, who appreciates them and who does not, or the policies of being in school or corporation. One piece of advice for ballerinas is taken their energy and talent seriously and never waste much time concentrating on things they do not have control over.
Additionally, knowledge for a ballerina is not appropriate information. In the real sense, experience yields knowledge, and a ballerina has to practice performance firsthand to consider them expert dancer. Being a ballerina involves a lot more than what is perceived. They have much work confirming to their employers and trainers that they are professional and they no longer need them.
Moreover, although repetition is perfect, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is madness. In no small level, one could state that a profession in ballet is involving, stimulating and stressful compared to any other. Remaining relevant in the field and mastering new skills is a complicated exercise. Ballet is a profession that requires the highest-level maturity as early as teenage age so as to embrace the culture and master new skills. It is not a walk in the park; perfection and knowledge are of importance in this involving career.
Ballet is a profession of its kind. Compared to other professions where one can multitask or focus into something different, ballet is directly the opposite. Though in different ways just like other professions, it takes hard labour, persistence and determination for one to accomplish what they want. It is the type of profession where one cannot really balance their obligations to ballet and their social lives in school. Majority of ballerinas commit much of their time mastering a new skill, training in school or performing in occasions. To be a proficient ballerina it will take one his or her life. There is a lot of commitments attached to it, and sometimes parents and colleagues may not know a deep obligation, particularly the much devotion that prepares one for success (Druss 115-121). Also, ballerinas commit more days and nights training for occasions. This is evident particularly when they join high school when their ambitions are still high and they have nothing to chuck off. Notably, one can make a career as an expert ballerina because most of the time, you support yourself training on a routine basis. Being a specialized ballerina means that you need to go an extra mile practising, between lessons and when performing. Ballet as a profession is very involving; you have to continuously rehearse, research about professional dancers, search for dance blogs, look for YouTube videos to enhance your skills.
Ballet is a particular profession like no other that requires commitment, attention, and total devotion. Irrespective of the many challenges, the skills acquired and established through it can be clear, transferable skills which could be used to any career path.
Works Cited
Au, Susan. Ballet and modern dance. London: Thames & Hudson, 2012.
Ravaldi, Claudia, et al. “Eating disorders and body image disturbances among ballet dancers, gymnasium users and body builders.” Psychopathology 36.5 (2003): 247-254.
Herbrich, Laura, et al. “Anorexia athletica in pre-professional ballet dancers.” Journal of sports sciences 29.11 (2011): 1115-1123.
Druss, Richard G., and Joseph A. Silverman. “Body image and perfectionism of ballerinas: Comparison and contrast with anorexia nervosa.” General Hospital Psychiatry 1.2 (1979): 115-121.
Hamilton, D., et al. “Dance training intensity at 11–14 years is associated with femoral torsion in classical ballet dancers.” British journal of sports medicine 40.4 (2006): 299-303.