Something that’s been sitting on my drafts for months has to be posted because I’m kind of sick of ballet on social media.
I’ve been noticing something in competitions like YAGP lately, and maybe you have too: they’ve become less about artistry and more about exhibition. It’s dazzling with dancers pulling their legs up to 180 degrees, balancing forever, spinning like a top. It’s impressive, but I keep asking myself: is this what ballet is supposed to be?
Don’t get me wrong, we need dancers who push boundaries. That’s how the art form evolves. Sylvie Guillem did this, and she changed ballet forever. She took risks, stretched what was possible, and inspired generations. We need that spirit of daring. But here’s the thing, Guillem was more than her extensions. She was musical, nuanced, unpredictable. She actually made us feel something.
What I worry about is that in chasing these “wow” tricks, we’re losing something essential. Musicality. Soul. The way a dancer breathes with the music, bends a phrase, or takes a risk that isn’t about height or turns, but about meaning. When everyone is trained to deliver the same hyper-extensions, the same oversplits, the same pirouette sequences, it all becomes standardized. Dancers start to look like carbon copies, polished but interchangeable. Where is the personality and fun in that?
And here’s the bigger question: how do dancers even learn personality if we don’t make space for it? If the training, coaching, and judging all reward uniformity, then individuality becomes a liability instead of a gift. It’s heartbreaking
So maybe the real challenge is not just pushing the physical boundaries of ballet, but pushing the artistic ones too. How do we empower dancers to be themselves? To make choices, to interpret, to surprise? Maybe we need to stop asking them only for tricks and start asking them for voice. Because ballet without personality isn’t art, it’s acrobatics in pointe shoes.
I want to see a stage where a dancer’s individuality shines through, where their artistry is as memorable as their technique. That’s what makes ballet timeless.
jbbartram-illu
dededos
2087
blakekathryn
origamiaround
snowghoul
turnnoffyourmind
discoholicmusic