Ballet British Columbia

A typical morning for those who choose to live in the world of dance begins at 9:30 am with a 90-minute ballet class, a structured and extremely formal series of exercises designed to warm up the muscles and joints of the body in preparation for the grueling hours of work ahead.

Anthropology tells us that movement of the body to music is basic in society. Primitively, it is connected to seasonal rituals in which its function was the promise of success in the hunt or harvest. In today’s classic ballet elements of ritual survive with dancers virtually ordained into the rigorous regimen that prepares them for performance upon the great stages of the world.

Essentially a dancer has to master an almost impossible technical craft and overcome a resistant, sometimes difficult body. Good dance training is absolutely necessary for anyone with hopes of a professional career since it often helps to compensate for physical shortcomings, at the same time developing any innate gifts a dancer may have. Theatrical presence, that star power we instantly recognize when we see it, happens by releasing the highly skilled machine disguised as a dancer.

The daily lesson, largely the same for beginners and professionals, begins with slow adagio work supported by the wooden barre. Developed over centuries, the technique of classic dance serves as the basis for the physical training of the dancer, and as a medium of expression for the choreographer. Working in the classic style moulds the individual anatomy of a dancer, preparing it for its ultimate function of stage performance.

Each exercise in the barre strengthens specific parts of the torso and legs: for example, plié (deep knee bends) stretches the Achilles tendon; battement tendu (stretching the leg to the front, side and back while keeping the stretched foot on the floor), turns out the legs and feet and develops the instep; and grand battement (swinging the stretched leg to the front, side and back lifting it to ninety degrees or more) gives freedom of movement to the entire leg from the hips. Using the barre for support the dancer can, without unnecessary strain, maintain control while warming up the muscles. Barre remains an essential part of a dancer’s life and is always used to prepare for rehearsal or performance.

Dancers then move on to the centre of the rehearsal space where they repeat the identical exercises but without the benefit of the barre, practicing both to right and left to gain an easy ambidextrousness and to develop line and balance. Exercises in the centre emphasize control of the arms, the head and torso, as well as balance and line (that ephemeral quality that creates a beautiful, continuous line of sustained elegance in a dancer’s body).

The morning class ends with rapid allegro combinations that finally launch bodies into the air. The dancers attempt to make the effect almost effortless by the smooth falling and rising of the feet as they move from step to step. Jumping steps are often made even more difficult by adding a beat made with the calves opening slightly sideways in the air before and after each beat, adding an element of virtuosity and brilliance.

The work is intense and focused, almost hypnotic, as these young men and women push themselves through the daily crucifixion of dance training. Once class is finally over, the dancers take a short break before beginning the six hours of rehearsal yet to come.

Next they must face the challenges given to them by the choreographer who creates in physical movement as a musician does in sound or a painter in line and colour. I’ll talk more about choreography and the tyranny of the choreographer at another time.

Next I’ll look at the dancers’ introduction to the play and how John Murrell captures in visual fragments the existential drama that drives Blanche, Stanley and Stella.