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perfectnonfreedom: Almost Mozart.

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:51:13 -0400

perfectnonfreedom:

Almost Mozart.

Darci KistlerOctober 3, 1980

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:44:06 -0400

Darci Kistler
October 3, 1980

Darci Kistler circa 1980

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:42:36 -0400

Darci Kistler circa 1980

Darci Kistler

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:41:17 -0400

Darci Kistler

Ballet is in the teeth of a dilemma

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:38:00 -0400

Ballet is in the teeth of a dilemma:

Dancers’ bodies are the instruments through which they perform and issues of their physical appearance must inevitably get mixed up with issues of their interpretation and technique. For reviewers this can be a tricky mix to navigate: as a piece in the New York Times showed last year when it intimated that a ballerina dancing The Nutcracker looked as though she’d eaten one too many sugar plums.

That review sparked a viral controversy, even though the critic argued that he’d been referring to the ballerina’s sluggish energy rather than to her weight. The devil is in the contextual detail, and unless I’m specifically critiquing some aspect of a dancer’s performance in a review I generally avoid mentioning their size, shape or attractiveness. And in that spirit I would normally never get as personal as discussing a dancer’s teeth.

Lately, though, I’ve become mildly obsessed by teeth, specifically the number of male dancers who’ve started appearing on stage with bleached, Hollywood smiles. Perhaps in normal daylight, or in front of a bathroom mirror, there’s nothing exceptional about the shade to which these men’s teeth have been whitened. But under stage lighting, an obviously bleached smile can take on a neon brightness. And I’m not alone in finding the effect to be disproportionately distracting.

When a dancer is barrelling around the stage in a bravura classical variation, he is meant to impress. But if he’s flashing a fluorescent grin as he dances, his virtuosity can acquire a veneer of self congratulatory swagger. That’s especially inappropriate if he’s dancing a sensitive Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake or a penitent Count Albrecht in Giselle. But in any role, a whiter-than-white smile is going to draw attention away from the dancer’s most important feature – his eyes.

However expressive a dancer’s body, it’s his eyes that are the most intimate point of contact between him and the audience. It’s his eyes that also register most directly his relationship with other performers on stage. In a pas de deux, the communication of touch, and musicality are crucial between two dancers, but the way they look at each other, the quality of their mutual gaze will speak most eloquently of what’s between them. A flash of bleached teeth can’t help but get in the way.

Perhaps it’s the Brit in me that sees something sinisterly self advertising about an over-white smile. Most owners of those smiles tend to be dancers from North America, where everyone’s teeth are whiter. And perhaps it’s the Brit that inhibits me from singling out any single individual. I believe I have yet to review a dancer’s teeth in print.

truballetfax: You can learn a lot about ballerinas just by...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:30:33 -0400

truballetfax:

You can learn a lot about ballerinas just by using google autocomplete <3

In case you don’t follow the best blog on tumblr already….

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Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:23:47 -0400

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Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:50:33 -0400

Brigitte Bardot

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:12:21 -0400

Brigitte Bardot

figililly: Edward Villella of New York City Ballet

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:59:39 -0400

figililly:

Edward Villella of New York City Ballet

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Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:58:01 -0400

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Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:56:47 -0400

Edward Villella at the barre

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:54:00 -0400

Edward Villella at the barre

thenextfamous: Why Can’t I have 180 Degree Turnout?: The Series

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:49:50 -0400

thenextfamous:

Why Can’t I have 180 Degree Turnout?: The Series

Marianela Nunez and Rupert Pennefather take a bow after Sylvia

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:37:22 -0400

Marianela Nunez and Rupert Pennefather take a bow after Sylvia

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Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:34:18 -0400

Our pointe shoes are our instruments. If something’s wrong with...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:32:29 -0400

Our pointe shoes are our instruments. If something’s wrong with my feet, all my mind goes there. I usually have six pairs ready. Soft shoes for one act, stiffer shoes for another, stronger shoes for a variation with a lot of turns.-Nina Ananiashvili

rik-bside: “Banksy’s girlfriend” - Riccardo Guasco 2013.

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:28:39 -0400

rik-bside:

“Banksy’s girlfriend” - Riccardo Guasco 2013.

yoiness: Lucia Lacarra by ello dahling on Flickr.

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:26:09 -0400

yoiness:

Lucia Lacarra by ello dahling on Flickr.

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Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:25:28 -0400