First of all, does anyone watch "Fringe"? Okay, spoiler alert if you haven't seen Thursday's episode...
My mini-rant: did they have to make the dead ballerina a depressive suicide victim whose only joy in life came from ballet? They could have made her a beautiful dancer who died an untimely death or who was an accident victim or anything else! This made me sad as both a writer and a viewer. Another stereotype used just to give a character "depth."
Sigh.
Now, onto a happier addendum. I opened my Yahoo page and saw this wonderful article:
4 Ballet Moves for a Beautiful Body from Natalie Portman's trainer for "The Black Swan."
Yay! Bring ballet out into the open! Showcase it, encourage it, support it!
Happy dancing~
Showing posts with label the black swan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the black swan. Show all posts
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Ballet in the movies
The most recent dance film is Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller/horror movie, "The Black Swan." Without having seen it, I can only say wow...it looks amazing. Friends who are non-dancers have told me they loved it; friends who are dancers pick on Natalie Portman's technique.
In past movies, ballet has been represented as a dance form that causes people so much heartache! I'm thinking of some of my favorites like "The Turning Point" and "White Knights" and to a lesser extent, "Flashdance" which shows the character wanting to become a ballet dancer by performing mostly jazz (what???). The dancers are often portrayed as tortured artists who give up everything for their extremely short-lived careers (which are then cut even shorter by the filmmaker's evil hand). "Center Stage" had some wonderful dancing but the characters are, sadly, wooden stereotypes and extremely two-dimensional.
Dance forms like hip-hop and jazz, on the other hand, are represented by people who are more easygoing, well-balanced, funny, and likable, especially when those dancers are former ballerinas who are "turned" into jazz dancers, a la "Save the Last Dance."
I always welcome movies or tv shows that feature ballet (or any type of dance). I am thrilled shows like "Glee" put dancers to work. There are so few opportunities for them in the real world beyond companies. I just hope "The Black Swan" encourages people to pursue ballet and doesn't frighten them away from it.
In past movies, ballet has been represented as a dance form that causes people so much heartache! I'm thinking of some of my favorites like "The Turning Point" and "White Knights" and to a lesser extent, "Flashdance" which shows the character wanting to become a ballet dancer by performing mostly jazz (what???). The dancers are often portrayed as tortured artists who give up everything for their extremely short-lived careers (which are then cut even shorter by the filmmaker's evil hand). "Center Stage" had some wonderful dancing but the characters are, sadly, wooden stereotypes and extremely two-dimensional.
Dance forms like hip-hop and jazz, on the other hand, are represented by people who are more easygoing, well-balanced, funny, and likable, especially when those dancers are former ballerinas who are "turned" into jazz dancers, a la "Save the Last Dance."
I always welcome movies or tv shows that feature ballet (or any type of dance). I am thrilled shows like "Glee" put dancers to work. There are so few opportunities for them in the real world beyond companies. I just hope "The Black Swan" encourages people to pursue ballet and doesn't frighten them away from it.
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