The Washington Ballet
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Anonymous
If by success in ballet you mean going pro, then yes it is necessary to have the perfect ballet body. Why is this surprising? |
Anonymous
Did you attend the parent orientation for the upper levels?? If you did you would know what I’m talking about. |
Anonymous
No, I did not attend this meeting. However, it has always been clear in our minds as parents and in our DD’s mind as a dancer that in the upper levels there is a “weeding” out the dancers who have what it takes to pursue professional careers vs. those dancers who are there as a passionate recreational dancers(my DD falls into this latter camp). As a PP mentioned, it should come as no surprise that professional ballet dancers need to possess particular physical attributes. However, as I said in a prior post, my DD has never, EVER, heard one of her teachers make a comment about needing to be thin. STRONG, yes, and healthy. On a side note, I remember watching the Washington Ballet’s summer intensive recital this past July, and I clearly remember the 2 outstanding female soloists as being strong, healthy young women dancers. |
Anonymous
I'm not the PP to whom you're responding and don't have a student at TWB (DC is at another studio). But let's all be realistic here: You know that "healthy" in ballet is often a coded way to say "thin." |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Actually, it means the opposite - they want the girls to eat enough to develop muscular strength. If they weren't saying this, you'd see a lot more anorexics in ballet. This is for the higher levels, obviously, where the selection based on DANCING ABILITY can make girls think the teachers want thin, instead of skills. |
Anonymous
The school also suddenly "canceled" their much-advertised Advanced Track with no explanation. My DD specifically re-enrolled this year because of the opportunity to audition for this Advanced Track. |
Anonymous
Where would she have gone to dance otherwise? CityDance? |
Anonymous
She is considering switching to CityDance or maybe even MYB. I have also heard good things about Seber. My DD has good friends at WSB but many girls left this year (for a variety of reasons, not necessarily because of the school). Based on the "chatter", I think others will be departing. Tuition is paid, so we will finish out the year, but we will NOT be participating in the spring show (another gripe of mine)! |
Anonymous
| As many have stated in the comment section of the Post's article, the overarching problem is that the Board brought on an Artistic Director who had no experience in running a school, and paid her more money for less (no) experience. The Artistic Director (Julie Kent) then turned around and nominated her best friend as HOS, another individual with absolutely no experience in running a school. So here we have two people leading the organization who don't have the foggiest idea what they are doing. You don't leave the stage, hang up your tutu, and land in these roles. It is no wonder the organization is in debt, ticket sales are down, and talented students and teachers have left the school. |
Anonymous
This is not unusual. As a long time parent involved in ballet with a young adult ballet dancing daughter, I really don't know of any ballet companies or top schools that do not have former dancers as managers/directors. These problems can be found at pretty much all places with first-time former ballet dancers as heads. There is a learning curve and unfortunately that is the situation at WSB. DD trained there and other places and recently left dance. While in the upper level at WSB there were a wide variety of body types but favoritism given to those who appeared would retain their slim physique after age 18 when most girls reach their adult body shape whether or not they had the best abilities at that point in their training. Many of the same teachers are still there so that attitude is still there as well. She has heard/seen from the dance grapevine that Kent prefers super thin dancers like herself and is super disappointed they didn't keep Brooklyn Mack. While all schools with companies attached profess "healthy" dancers, the fact remains that men are often in charge (and remember from their own professional experience that in general it was easier to lift lighter females) and women teachers who danced in the 70s/80s when anorexia was all the rage due to Balanchine's comments to female dancers. DD has trained/danced in many major company schools and as she got into the highest levels noticed the blatant favoritism toward thinner girls who often weren't the best dancers by a pretty long stretch yet got picked in the long run for those first contracts. Despite all the talk about how the dance world has changed in regard to weight, it really hasn't changed a bit. What has changed is that dancers have found ways to lengthen their careers (through cross training eg) and so now there are even less positions opening up along with cuts to arts funding and a diminishing lack of interest in ballet at least here in the US. |
Anonymous
I only bumped this post because as someone who took ballet in a random storefront studio that only lasted for a few years, but still like the art form, I find it both informative and appreciate honest to goodness non-presidential or congress DC gossip.  Discuss away.
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Anonymous
| The HOS clearly favors ideal ballet bodies. She says she cares about everyone but it’s obvious her only true concern is in nurturing students she feels will have a professional career in dance. |
Anonymous
There are lots of sports where the right physique is necessary, don't fool yourself that this is unfair discrimination. More like realism, especially at the upper levels where great sacrifice is required of all students. Why waste their time? |
Anonymous
I’m not fooling myself. I’m well aware of what physical attributes are needed to be successful in ballet. The problem is WSB is not an elite training institution (as it once was.) So given the school now serves almost anyone, and the training is not good enough to get people into top companies, why even bring up the weight factor at all. Most students at WSB are not going there to become professional dancers and therefore it shouldn’t be an issue. The only people really trying to dance are the PTP As, and they are all recruited from elsewhere. The kids who’ve come up through the school are no longer good enough to get in. They just get dumped into level 7 and PTP B and largely ignored. |