Olivia Anastasi- Ethnographic Study of Ballet

Ballet. Upon hearing this word all sorts of images flood our minds. Images such as tutus, point shoes, the color pink, leotards, and classical music. Something that most people don’t think of, though, is literacy. What literacy practices are used in ballet, if any at all? What is the purpose? Ballet is a very mentally and physically demanding art. It is also a very complex art this is often misunderstood. It requires the dancer to not only create emotion through their movement, but also understand how the body moves. Throughout my research I have found that literacy practices are indeed used in the ballet. They are used quite frequently, actually, and for a number of reasons. Throughout the course of this ethnographic research paper I will explain what literacy practices are used in ballet and what mnemonic devices they use to remember dances.

Literacy practices are used in ballet quite frequently. For this project, I have studied the ballet here at the University of Cincinnati and a ballet company in Columbus, Ohio titled Dance Extension. Both require literacy as a part of their curriculum. Here at UC, dancers are required to take other classes such as anatomy, biology and kinesiology to better understand how the body functions. Within those classes, they read, take notes and use the same literacy practices found in most other classes. As a dancer, they must relate these classes to what they do in the dance studio. It is important for dancers to take these classes and understand their bodies because, as Linda Taylor states in her article MMPI-2 and Ballet Majors, “Dancers livelihoods are entirely dependent upon their bodies” (Taylor, 521). At Dance Extension, dancers are required to keep journals as part of their choreography classes. Within these journals they critique each other, reflect on their performance, write down quotes, and keep track of their observations during class. Not only do they use their journal for observation and critiques, they also use it as a diary where they write their personal struggles, feelings and opinions on what was done in class that day. Jacqueline, a dancer at Dance Extension whom I interviewed, stated that, “it helps to have all my feelings and ideas just written out right in front of me. It teaches me things about myself and other people. It’s therapy, being able to write as well as dance with passion. Ballet is very demanding with a lot of pressure and writing relieves some of that pressure, definitely.” More literacy practices within ballet are also stated in the scholarly articles I used for this project. In the article Varieties of Habitus and the Embodiment of Ballet the author Steven Wainwright states, “You can tell whether it’s Russian training, or French, Danish, American. They all have a different way of standing. They support their arms differently. They use their heads differently” (Wainwright, 541). Where a dancer is trained is portrayed in the way they dance. Ballet majors and professional ballerinas read, study and watch different forms of ballet. They can identify them immediately when the dancer beings their choreography. Ballerinas also study ways of dancing. For instance, they must know the different between poetic and powerful dancing, classical and dramatic, precision and pace and many more. According to Wainwright, it takes many years of studying and practicing to fully grasp this concept. By taking other classes related to ballet, keeping a journal, and studying ballet itself, literacy definitely plays a role.

Dancers use mnemonic devices to help them remember choreography. One might be wondering what choreography has to do with literacy. For the duration of my research, I have noticed that dancers use literacy practices to help them remember steps in a dance. In a distinct journal, the dancer devoted one page entirely to writing choreographic devices. This particular dancer listed things they do in class to help them remember choreography, things like: repetition, focus, retrograde and speed changes. During a choreography class at Dance Extension, dancers were instructed to write out the names of certain positions (mostly in French) and have their classmates do the positions they wrote. This exercise, using literacy, shows how dancers doing the same steps move differently and interpret things differently. Another exercise I noticed while observing at UC was forcing the dancers to talk while dancing. Although slightly comical, it pushed the dancers to come out of their comfort zone by focusing on what they were saying instead of their body motion. After watching these exercises at UC and Dance Extension I became intrigued by how dancers remember choreography especially in very lengthy performances. In Varieties of Habitus and the Embodiment of Ballet Taylor asserts that, “All dancers find some steps and movements easier to perform than others. Darcey Bussell, one of the leading ballerinas in England, writes that: ‘I find Bourrées hard… I have very bendy feet which makes it hard for me to stay on the tips of my toes” (Taylor, 538). What intrigues me most is that, all of the dancers I interviewed, when asked how they memorized the choreography couldn’t give me an answer. Sarah, a dancer here at UC, told me, “We do rehearse a lot and write down certain steps but ballet is an art. Painters don’t memorize every brush stroke in other artist’s paintings, nor to pianists play all the same notes in another’s song. It’s the same here pretty much.” I learned that dancers, of course have to remember choreography, but they also must make it their own. They take what their instructor says and they work with it. Stated in Taylor’s article is that, “Steps are made by a person. It’s the person dancing the steps- that’s what choreography is, not the steps themselves” (Taylor, 544). That is the true beauty of ballet. Also stated in Taylor’s article is that, “There is a reciprocal relationship between the choreographer’s ideas of what movements he wants, on how they look on the bodies of the dancers he in inscribing his choreography on, and with how these steps feel for the dancer” (Taylor, 544).

Ballet is a very demanding, challenging and complex art. It takes a lot of physically and mental preparation. Despite popular belief, dancers definitely use literacy practices. They write in journals, they critique each other, they speak while dancing, and they use their memory and even take other classes that require literacy practices as well. It is important to recognize that literacy practices can be found in all discourse communities, even in ones where you wouldn’t think to look.

Photos of journals:

Photos of choreography class:

Videos:

Wiki Link- Ballet terms:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_ballet

Works Cited:

Wainwright, Steven P., Clare Williams, and Bryan S. Turner. "Varieties of Habitus and the Embodiment of Ballet." (2006): 535-49. Web. .

Taylor, Linda D. "MMPI-2 and Ballet Majors." Web. .