"Girl, lift your bangs! You have four letters "D-U-R-A" on your forehead!" - the favorite phrase of the best ballet teacher. The dancer who has passed all the steps career ladder in the Latvian ballet, spoke about bloodied fingers, fainting spells of hunger, roles and luminaries, intricacies in the ballet family and a pension without a "drug".
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How to become a dancer: boys are brought by their mothers
Children enter the choreographic school at the age of 10. As a rule, girls come by themselves. Since childhood, they have been dancing somewhere and dreaming about the career of a ballerina - a white tutu and satin pointe shoes, swans and princesses. Boys are brought in by mothers who once dreamed of becoming ballerinas ... It seems that this happened to me too. From childhood, my mother took me to ballroom dancing, and as compensation for the time spent, I played tennis.
Mom decided not to stop there. To say that her message that we are going to enter the choreographic ballet school did not make me happy - to say nothing. Of course, I was sure that ballet is for girls. And I thought with horror what I would say to the boys in the yard: hello, I do ballet! And in response I will hear: well, hello, ballerina! But everything turned out not so scary.
At the selection at the school, they examine you like a breeding stallion - every muscle and ligament - how it bends, where it breaks ... They kick out the wooden Pinocchio immediately, the rest are given a chance. Especially boys - they are in short supply. There are hardworking people who turn from ugly ducklings into real swans in a year - they just live around the clock at the machine and under the machine. And vice versa, there are students whose natural data go off scale, but laziness ruined everything.
Of the 12 boys who entered the school with me, only two graduated. At some point, my initial resistance grew into a sporting interest. I wanted to become the best, since I was here. More than 20 girls were accepted at the start, eight reached the finish line, and only three got into the theater ... To make it clear how insulting it can be: 8 years, 6 hours a day, 6 times a week. And in the end - no swans, no princesses ...
The screening was extremely tough: every six months they looked at us through a magnifying glass - who achieved what. And rightly so, because the profession is associated with enormous physical and emotional stress. If a person cannot stand them, it is better to understand this in time. Experienced teachers immediately see everything in advance. I think Baryshnikov and Godunov were "calculated" in their first year of study.
In a comprehensive school, we studied together with the guys from music school Emil Darzin, and after school they went to different buildings. I didn’t really want to study the lessons - somehow I thought that I would have to dance anyway, so why do I need all these sines-cosines. But the teachers did not think so, so love did not work out. While our peers played football in the evenings and took girls to the movies, we only thought about how to lift low calves, develop turnout, “break” the instep or sit on the splits. For two or three years in a row, every day I jumped on one leg on the stairs to the fourth floor - up and down, did massages and bandages. Only to change the shape of your calves, because from the stage it looks more beautiful! The other boys almost slept in the frog position.
The teachers did not stand on ceremony with us - they yelled and beat with sticks. Everyone sobbed. It wasn't so much painful as embarrassing. For ordinary person it might seem sadistic, but the further we went on, the more we realized that otherwise the result would not be achieved from some. People tend to feel sorry for themselves. Yes, and we must be prepared for the fact that physical pain and injury - normal condition to the dancer: everyone’s finger is worn to the blood, then the muscle is stretched, then something is dislocated.
We had a legendary teacher Valentin Tikhonovich Blinov - he was the best, taught to give all the best for 200%, but at the same time he was extremely harsh. Right at the lesson, he could throw something heavy at a slow-witted boy or tell a girl who mixed up the combination: “Girl, raise your bangs - four letters“ D-U-R-A ”are written on your forehead.
He had favorites, and there were those whom he rotted endlessly. Then it seemed a monstrous injustice, but when we grew up, we realized how right he was in the assessments of the children. If you do everything to win - he encouraged, if he saw that a person was on the verge - he straightened the brain. If he couldn't stand mental stress It means this job is not for him. Ballet is a continuous hellish labor. The parents of some children tried to complain about the teacher, but it was useless, he was faithful to his method until the end of his life, for which many later said to him: many thanks!
Diet: no, I have not heard!
There are probably exceptions, but the ballet dancers I know eat like horses. Boys and men definitely don't have any diets. The load is such that any number of calories are burned. Of course, you need to make sure that the food is very energetic, so that you have enough strength.
Girls have a period of hormonal adjustment when they swell a little. At this moment, they are strictly forbidden all flour, cakes and sweets, and they are baling all the time: you are fat, you have grown thighs, ass. Some girls brought themselves to hungry swoons and anorexia. As a rule, adult ballerinas do not need diets during their load.
I remember there was a girl - one of the best - who at some point suddenly grew almost two meters tall. And she had to leave the ballet, because it’s hard to find a partner of such a height, and it’s much more difficult for a tall ballerina to assemble her arms and legs. Although there are exceptions here too - say, Ulyana Lopatkina is not at all vertically challenged. But she proved her right by inhuman labor.
Competition: there are also fights
It starts from school. In the hall at the machine, everyone lines up with the letter "P". If you were placed in the middle - you are the best, if on the side - something is wrong in your life, try to slowly move from the sides closer to the center. And it also happens vice versa that the teacher rearranges from the center to the side - this is a bad signal. Because the theater will continue to have the same disposition.
I can’t say that the boys somehow particularly fought among themselves and used some ugly methods. Well, they could unite and start teasing someone, there were also fights - everything is like with ordinary boys. In girls, competition and envy were much more pronounced. Most often it was a verbal sparring, but it also came to fights in the wardrobes. And all sorts of stories about crushed glass sprinkled in pointe shoes - I've never heard of such a thing.
Orientation: we have almost no minorities
People often ask me, are you all gay there or is there someone normal? It is a myth. The vast majority of ballet dancers (at least in Latvia) are quite heterosexual men who, by the nature of their activity, must dress up and make up.
Abroad, in Europe or the USA, the gay presence in ballet is much more developed. I do not know why. I even heard about the so-called gay mafia! In our theater, I only know two or three people. Out of forty. And I did not notice any special attitude or hazing in their attitude. And they didn't really show themselves.
All the talk that boys in tights are such half-girls is not true. Normal boys, and then - normal men. Even, I would say, not every man can withstand such a load. I remember how Lesha Avechkin (the prime minister who died two years ago National Ballet- approx. ed.) - thin as a string - like fluffs, lifted ballerinas of 60 kg of net weight. And this is not even a barbell for you, which is convenient to take by the handle, but live girl that is moving all the time! All in all, it's huge. physical work and technology worked out to the millimeter. One wrong move can result in disability for life.
Career: today you are prima, and tomorrow you are corda
Already from the age of 13-14, they begin to invite you to practice - from the school to the theater. They danced some Arabs in Raymond, or Anna's brothers in Anyuta. If your name is very cool. You are already dancing with the stars, you are beginning to be saturated with the poison of applause, the audience's energy - everything that is the main thing for an artist, taking into account not at all great salaries and very short term life on stage. At the age of 16, they are already taken to the Nutcracker. Veterans always treat children kindly and patronizingly - they give advice, provide moral support.
At the final exam, chief Aivar Leimanis announces who goes to the theater and who does not. Those who have flown by decide their fate in their own way: some continue to study at the pedagogical department, others go abroad, others go to some variety shows, and still others change their profession completely. The tragedy is more for the parents. After all, if there is no talent and character, why suffer all your life?
Alas, many good dancers with data do not stay here - they leave. The same Timofey Adriaschenko, who is now dancing at La Scala, was immediately with data and character - at the age of 13 he tried to be friends with leading soloists. He is great. Yuri Safonov has already started his troupe in America. Dace Radinja in Budapest - lead soloist, Anna Laudere - lead soloist with the great choreographer John Neumeier in Hamburg.
Usually everything happens like this. First you get into the corps de ballet, you get some experience. Then they give you solo dance- you are a coryphaeus. You can become a luminary when you grow out of the corps de ballet or, conversely, when you have worked for 15 years as a soloist and it’s hard for you to endure such a load - you come out as some kind of king. The next step behind the luminaries is the demi-soloist. These are non-main solo parts. Then - soloists (all sorts of pas de trois) and leading soloists (roughly speaking, princes).
As for the distribution of roles - there you need to be able to be friends with everyone, then you are on the wave and in the top. But in general, until recently, we had a rather strange system when the dancers had to perform both as soloists and in the cord (when the soloist was not busy). Like, you and the professor, and you wash the floors in the classroom. Of course, any work is respected, but from the point of view of ballet, this slows down. Or you have achieved something, or not.
Money: you can live, but far from the world level
For a long time, the payment system was extremely unfair - only two rates were paid - corps de ballet or solo. And no coryphaean, demi-soloists and leading soloists. Although the loads are different. We have lost many good soloists because of this. I remember once one of the brightest soloists came and told the boss that he did not have enough money - he advised me to sell the car. The lead singer has retired. Other unhappy people followed him. Fortunately, the system has now changed.
Today the starting salary in the corps de ballet is over 600 euros. Further more. Leading soloists receive about one and a half thousand. Plus, soloists and premieres receive separate fees for each role in the production. And this is not so much, given the load and endless health problems. Good that Lately health insurance came into existence.
Tours are separate money. This is per diem plus allowances for each solo role. True, no one knows how much someone will get. Most of them try to save on food in every possible way - they take boilers and homeless bags with them to bring daily allowances to Latvia. But of course, foreign trips- it is very interesting.
Partners: pregnancy is not a reason to leave
Yes, there are girls whose bones are heavy - it is not easy to lift them. Especially when there are 10 girls for three boys at the rehearsal. How many circles of hell is that? But the harder it is at rehearsal, the easier it is on stage later.
It's no secret that the ballet troupe is practically one family. After all, dancers at work are in close physical contact all the time, and they are ... people too. And here dates and trips to the cinema are no longer needed - everything happens much faster. A typical story when they go on tour with one "wife" and return with another. At work, this is not reflected - except perhaps in conversations in smoking rooms and dressing rooms.
The motherhood of a ballerina in our time is rarely sacrificed in the name of a career. Often they dance already pregnant. Some have happened serious problems, Very. Of course, ballerinas have to go on maternity leave earlier - but they somehow agree with the doctors.
Encounters with the Great: Pride for Life
A huge plus of the profession is that you can meet and work with great people and see them in life, without embellishment. Rostropovich, Eifman, Vasilievs (and ballet Vladimir, and fashion historian Alexander), Ratmansky, Krzysztof Pastor... Working with them is something you can be proud of for the rest of your life.
Let's say our orchestra is playing - I can't say anything, it's very good. But when Rostropovich is at the remote control - this is magic and flight, as if a powerful stream of energy covers you. Everything sounds different. with the same musicians. At the same time, he is a very cheerful and completely human person.
Eifman, on the contrary, is a stern uncle - but undoubtedly also a genius. The ballet "Tchaikovsky" is one of the best. Andrey Rumyantsev, who recently left, was the soloist in it.
Retirement: a second life on disability
Usually they retire at the age of 38-40, after 18 years of work in the theater. But some work much longer, for example, Gennady Gorbanev, who was considered Soviet time the most technical artist, takes the stage so far. I have seen few happy pensioners. Well, if you have the talent of a teacher - you can unlearn at the Academy of Culture and work at a choreographic school or with gymnasts or with folk groups. And if not, everything is sad.
The state could support former stars, and ordinary ballet dancers, who, as a rule, become disabled by retirement. But nobody cares about them. And even if their pension is not the smallest, but after fame and applause on stage, to be useless to anyone, one on one with oneself - it is morally very difficult. It's like losing a drug. Some sleep. Men and women. Fortunately, we have a good hardening - many ballet dancers have managed to start a second life, to find themselves in a new business. After all, they are not afraid of work, although their health is not the same.
Continuing to explore the Internet for a match to the search word "ballet", I stumbled upon my favorite resource Gey.ru, the inhabitants of which, as it turned out, are very fond of ballet. And they give him a lot of attention.
Here is what I discovered on the most interesting (and discussed more than once) topic of ballet costume.
Men's ballet costume: from camisole and pantaloons to full nudity
For men in a ballet costume, it all started with such a bells and whistles that today it is impossible to even imagine how in such outfits one could not only dance, but simply move around the stage. But the dancers showed themselves to be real fighters for the complete liberation of the body from the rag shackles. True, the path that they had to travel to appear in front of the audience almost naked, only covering the "shame" with a fig leaf called a bandage, or even naked, turned out to be long, thorny and scandalous.
Skirt on the frame
What was a dancer in the early days of ballet? The artist's face was hidden by a mask, his head was decorated with a high wig with fluffy fluffy hair, the ends of which fell on his back. Over the wig was put on another incredible headdress. Suit fabrics were heavy, dense, generously whipped. The dancer appeared on stage in a skirt on a frame, reaching almost to the knee, and in shoes on high heels. Mantles of gold and silver brocade were also used in men's attire, reaching back to the heels. Well, just a Christmas tree, just not glowing with multi-colored electric bulbs.
By the end of the 18th century, the ballet costume gradually began to change, becoming lighter and more elegant. The reason is the more complicated dance technique that needs to be released. male body from heavy clothes. Costume innovations, as always, are dictated by the trendsetter - Paris. The lead performer now wears a Greek tunic and sandals, the straps of which wrap around the ankle and base of the calf of the bare legs. The dancer of the demi-character genre performs in a short camisole, pantaloons and long stockings, a dancer of a characteristic role - in a theatrical shirt with an open collar, jacket and pants. In the second half of the 18th century, such important attribute men's attire, which, by the way, has survived to this day, like a flesh-colored tights. This amazing invention is attributed to the costume designer of the Paris Opera Mallo. But it is unlikely that this talented monsieur imagined that his tight-knit product would turn into something elastic in the 20th century.
Albert without pants
Everything went according to tradition and decency, until the great reformer ballet theater and a passionate admirer of the hot male body, Sergei Diaghilev did not show the world his entreprise - Diaghilev's Russian Seasons. This is where it all started - scandals, noise, hysteria and all sorts of stories associated with both Diaghilev himself and his lovers. After all, if earlier a ballerina reigned on the stage, and the dancer played the role of an obedient gentleman with her - he helped with rotation so that he would not fall, lifted him higher to show the balletomanes what was under her skirts, then Diaghilev makes the dancer the main character of his performances.
A loud scandal associated not with Diaghilev's special sexual orientation, but only with stage costume, broke out in 1911 at the play "Giselle", in which Vaslav Nijinsky - Diaghilev's official lover - danced Count Albert. The dancer was wearing everything that was required for the role - a leotard, a shirt, a short tunic, but there were no panties, which were mandatory for a dancer at that time. And therefore, Nijinsky's expressive thighs appeared to the audience in their frank appetizing, which outraged Empress Maria Feodorovna, who was present at the performance. The scandalous story ended with the dismissal of Nijinsky "for disobedience and disrespect" to the imperial stage. But the dance search for the artist did not stop, he continued his struggle for the freedom of the body in dance. In the same year, Nijinsky appeared in the ballet "The Phantom of the Rose" in a costume designed by Lev Bakst, fitting the figure like a glove. A little later, in The Afternoon of a Faun, the dancer Nijinsky appears on stage in such a bold leotard that still looks modern and sexy today. True, all these revelations are already taking place outside the native, but stubborn Russia.
That sweet word is bandage
In the fifties, the wizard of dance, idolizing the body, especially the male, Maurice Bejart came up with a universal outfit for the dancer and dancer: a girl in black tights, a young man in tights and bare-chested. Then the young man's outfit is improved, and the young man remains in only one bandage. But in the Soviet Union, as you know, there was no sex. He was not on the ballet stage either. Yes, of course, love existed, but pure - "The Fountain of Bakhchisaray", "Romeo and Juliet", but no frankness. This also applies to men's clothing. The dancer put on tight underpants, over them tights, and on top of the tights also cotton-wool pants. Even though you look through the most powerful telescope, you will not see any charms. Nevertheless, there were shameless daredevils in the Soviet fatherland who did not want to put up with such a uniform. They say that at one of the performances at the Kirov (Mariinsky) Theater, in 1957, the outstanding dancer Vakhtang Chabukiani appeared on stage in a very frank form: in white leggings worn directly on his naked body. Success has surpassed all conceivable limits. Sharp-tongued, the outstanding ballet teacher Agrippina Vaganova, at the sight of the dancer, turned to those sitting with her in the box and quipped: "I see such a bouquet even without eyepieces!"
In the footsteps of Chabukiani, another Kirovsky dancer followed, at that time not yet a ballet dissident and a world-famous gay, but just a theater soloist, Rudolf Nureyev. The first two acts of Don Quixote he danced in traditional costume allowed by the Soviet authorities - in tights, over which short pants with puffs were worn. Before the third act, a real scandal erupted behind the scenes: the artist wanted to wear only a white tight-fitting leotard over a special ballet bandage and no pants: “I don’t need these lampshades,” he said. The theatrical authorities dragged out the intermission for an hour, trying to persuade Nureyev. When the curtain finally opened, the audience was shocked: it seemed to everyone that he forgot to put on his pants.
Rudolf generally strove for maximum nudity. In "Corsair" he went out with bare chested, and in "Don Quixote" incredibly thin tights created the illusion of bare skin. But at full power, the artist turned around already outside the Soviet homeland. So, in the "Sleeping Beauty", staged by him for the National Ballet of Canada, Nureyev appears wrapped in a floor-length cloak. Then he turns his back to the audience and slowly, slowly lowers the cloak until it freezes just below the buttocks.
Between the legs - coat shoulder
Tells theater artist Alla Kozhenkova:
- We did one ballet performance. During the fitting of the costume, the soloist tells me that he does not like the costume. I can’t understand what’s the matter: everything fits well, he looks great in this suit ... And suddenly it dawns on me - he doesn’t like the codpiece, it seems that it is too small. The next day I say to the dressmaker: "Please take the shoulder from the coat and insert it into the bandage." She told me: "Why? Why?" I told her: "Listen, I know what I'm saying, he will like it." At the next fitting, the dancer puts on the same costume and happily tells me: "You see, it has become much better." And after a second he adds: "Only it seems to me that you inserted a female shoulder, but it is small ... you need to insert a male one." I couldn't help laughing, but I did as he asked. The dressmaker sewed a shoulder from the raglan sleeve of a man's coat into the bandage. The artist was in seventh heaven with happiness.
Once a hare's foot was inserted, but now it is no longer in fashion - not the format, but the coat shoulder is what you need.
Nureyev was a pioneer in nudity in Leningrad, and in Moscow he was rivaled by Maris Liepa. Like Nureyev, he adored his body and just as resolutely exposed it. It was Liepa who was the first in the capital to take the stage in a bandage worn under a tights.
Man or woman?
But the most interesting thing is that men in the twentieth century tried not only to expose their bodies as much as possible, but also to cover them up. Some especially liked the women's ballet costumes. A real shock was caused in Russia by the creation of Valery Mikhailovsky's Men's Ballet, whose artists, in all seriousness, performed the women's repertoire in the most real ladies' outfits.
- Valery, who came up with the idea to create such an unusual troupe? I ask Mikhailovsky.
- The idea belongs to me.
- Now it is difficult to impress the public with something, but how your, so to speak, female-male dances were perceived ten years ago, when the team appeared. Have you been accused of homosexual shocking?
- Yes, it was not easy. There were all kinds of gossip. Nevertheless, the audience welcomes us with pleasure. And there were no accusations of homosexuality. Although everyone is free to think and see what he wants. We are not going to convince anyone.
- Did something similar exist in the world of dance before your male ballet?
- There is a Trocadero de Monte Carlo company in New York, but what they do is completely different. They have a crude parody of classical dance. We also parody ballet, but we do it, owning a profession.
- You want to say that the technique of the female classical dance mastered to perfection?
- In general, we did not initially try to replace a woman in ballet. A woman is so beautiful that it is not worth encroaching on her. And no matter how elegant, refined, plastic a man is, he will never dance the way a woman dances. Therefore, women's parts should be danced with humor. What we are demonstrating.
But first, of course, it was necessary to master the female technique.
- And what is the size of your young men's shoes? Male or female?
- From forty-one to forty-three. And this was also a problem - there are no women's ballet shoes of this size in nature, so they are made to order for us. By the way, each of the dancers has their own name block.
How do you hide your male dignity- muscles, chest hair and all sorts of other juicy details?
- We do not hide anything and do not try to mislead the public; on the contrary, we emphasize that not women, but men speak before them.
- And yet, someone can be deceived. There must have been a lot of funny episodes?
- Yes, that was enough. It was, it seems, was in Perm. The guys, already made up, in wigs, are warming up on stage before the start of the performance, and I stand backstage and hear the conversation of two cleaners. One says to the other: "Listen, have you ever seen such hefty ballerinas?" To which she replies: "No, never, but do you hear what bass they are talking about?" - "Yes, what is there to be surprised, all smoky."
- Did any of the male viewers offer your artists a hand and a heart?
- No. True, once one spectator who paid a lot of money for a ticket came backstage and demanded that they prove to him that not women but men were speaking in front of him, they say, looking from the auditorium, he did not make out.
- And how did you prove it?
- The guys were already undressed, without packs, and he understood everything.
Everything is filmed
In fact, today you can’t surprise the audience with anything: not a man in ballet tutu, not the tightest tights, not even a bandage. If only with a naked body ... Today, more and more often, a naked body appears in groups that profess modern dance. This is a kind of bait and seductive toy. A naked body can be sad, pathetic or playful. A few years ago, an American troupe played such a joke in Moscow " Dancing men Ted Shawn". Young people came on stage, modestly dressed in short women's dresses, reminiscent of combinations. No sooner had the dance started than auditorium went into ecstasy. The fact is that under the skirts the men were wearing nothing. The audience, in a mad desire to get a better look at the rich men's economy, which suddenly opened up to them, almost flew off their seats. The heads of the enthusiastic spectators twisted after the dance pirouettes, and the eyes seemed to be going out of the eyepieces of the binoculars, which in an instant stuck to the stage where the dancers frolicked heartily in their mischievous dance. It was both funny and exciting, stronger than any of the coolest striptease.
Completely naked performs in one of our ballets former compatriot, and now international star Vladimir Malakhov. By the way, when Vladimir still lived in Moscow, he was severely beaten in the entrance own house(so I had to put stitches on my head) precisely because of non-traditional sexual orientation. Now Malakhov dances all over the world, including completely naked. He himself believes that nudity is not outrageous, but artistic imagery ballet in which he dances.
At the end of the 20th century, the body won over the costume in the struggle for its freedom. And it's natural. After all, what is a ballet performance? It is a dance of bodies awakening the bodies of the spectators. And it is best to watch such a performance with the body, not with the eyes. It is for this bodily awakening of the audience that complete freedom is needed. dance body. So long live freedom!
Article taken from information resource www.gay.ru
Correspondent at the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus Naviny . by I learned firsthand what ballet dancers wear under tights and why it is believed that there are many gays among them.Read about the pregnancy of ballerinas and one day off a week in our 10 facts.
To figure out which rumors about the Belarusian ballet are true, and which ones are pure fiction, to the correspondent Naviny. by assisted theater artist Gennady Kulinkovich with assistant ballerinas.
1. Are ballet dancers fragile and fluffy?
Hearing: In one performance, the ballet dancer lifts and carries about 2 tons of weight.
Is it true: Physical activity is really big. On stage - it depends on the production, of course - a ballet dancer, a man lifts a ballerina many times. In modern productions, all you do is raise and set, raise and set, raise, circle, set. If you count the number of lifts, then yes, two tons is a real number.
In addition, ballet dancers rehearse and practice a lot. This is also a load. We have rehearsals every day, except for the weekend, which is once a week. Plus performances.
2. Ballet dancers get sick more often
Hearing: Due to heavy loads and constant diets, ballet dancers get sick more often than others.
Is it true: Ballet rehearsal rooms Bolshoi Theater Belarusians are equipped with bactericidal lamps, as in a hospital. In winter, when the flu starts and other viruses appear, then individual worker turns on these lamps for half an hour to disinfect the room. It is very important that diseases do not spread: we all work in close contact, we train and rehearse for many hours. If someone brought the disease, then it is neutralized.
3. Occupational diseases in ballet
Hearing: Legs are the most painful place on a dancer's body.
Is it true: This is partly true. Occupational diseases of dancers are diseases of the joints. In ballet dancers, the bones at the big toes protrude, the joints become inflamed, naturally, they hurt. Women also have this disease, but it is caused by uncomfortable, tight shoes that deform the foot. For ballet masters - constant loads on the fingers and forefoot: many movements in ballet are performed on toes.
The second common class of health problems is organ prolapse from constant jumping. Everything is individual, but often the kidneys, heart, and other internal organs fall, which subsequently put pressure on the bladder.
4. Young pensioners
Hearing: Some people think that ballerinas retire too early.
Is it true. Ballet dancers legally retire after 23 years of work experience. Maternity leave does not count towards seniority. As a result, ballet dancers become young pensioners. However, many of them do not actually go on a well-deserved rest: depending on the state of health, retired dancers work as tutors, teachers, directors, stage workers, costume designers, etc.
Interlocutor Naviny. by Gennady Kulinkovich is two years away from retirement. In the future, the dancer also plans to teach.
5. Abnormal operation
Hearing: Ballet theater artists have two days off a week, like ordinary citizens
Is it true. Ballet dancers work 6 days a week. The only day off is on Monday. During the summer, due to the fact that the audience migrates to summer cottages and to the sea, the day off at the Bolshoi Theater is postponed to Saturday. The female part of the troupe is happy about this: finally, there is an opportunity to spend time with the family. Men grumble: when the day off is on Monday, you can at least relax and not do household chores.
The working day for ballet masters is also abnormal in the understanding of an ordinary person: from 10:00 to 15:00, then a three-hour break, after a break, work resumes at 18:00 in connection with evening performances. The official working day of the ballet workers ends at 21:00.
A long break is necessary so that after morning training and rehearsals the body has time to rest and recover before evening work.
For young dancers, this is convenient: you can study during the break. Gennady Kullinkovich, for example, received a higher choreographic education in this way. But now he sees little pluses in this schedule.
“With such a schedule, it is very difficult to arrange a personal life. Look at me: 38 years old, and no family, no children. All life in the theater- says Gennady.
6. Are ballet and children incompatible?
Hearing: Due to the requirements for appearance, ballerinas have to give up motherhood.
Is it true: It is really more difficult for ballet dancers to start a family and children at the height of their career than for representatives of other professions: the work schedule also affects, and the fact that postpartum recovery of form takes time and effort. So girls use two strategies: either start a family and children right after school / university, or postpone it until they retire.
Despite the unfavorable circumstances, there are ballerinas in the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus who have two, and some even three children.
“We, just like doctors and teachers, combine work and pregnancy. We are planning to leave maternity leave, recover and work on. This is the business of each individual artist, but during pregnancy - the sooner you leave the dance activity, the better for you and the unborn child. This is associated with risks: here you need to bend, jump, you can fall and get hurt, ”- told website Bolshoi ballerinas.
"We are the most best moms, wives, and we also know how to dance and tiptoe around the kitchen, ”- ballerinas joke in response to a question about the specifics of family life.
7. If he dances in ballet, then he is gay
Hearing: There are many gays among ballet dancers.
Is it true: This is a common stereotype, says ballet dancer Gennady Kullinkovich. We no longer respond to it. So they say about all the men who dance. It is born from a misunderstanding on the part of the viewer: how can men remain indifferent and calm surrounded by so much beauty and nudity. After all, the audience often gets backstage, and the men are shocked: everyone changes clothes here, the intimate parts of the bodies are at arm's length ... And we are already used to this and react as something normal. So the viewer thinks that men in ballet are gay.
8. What does the dancer have under the tights
Hearing: Dancers don't wear underpants.
Photo pixabay.com
Is it true: They talk more about the underwear of male artists than about the underwear of ballerinas: the viewer under the snow-white tights, to his surprise, does not see the expected outlines of underpants.
Gennady Kulinkovich said that the dancers have their own secrets. Manufacturers of dancewear meet the expectations of artists and produce seamless models of special underwear that is invisible under the costume - bandages. Special clothing for dancers is sold by a store located near the Bolshoi.
9. Meat in pointe shoes
Hearing: Ballerinas put meat in pointe shoes to reduce foot injury.
Is it true: Do not put meat. There are more modern ways to protect the legs. Ballet firms produce special half shoes that cover only the fingers. They are silicone. Someone does not enclose anything - it is already convenient for him. Silicone liners for pointe shoes are not produced in Belarus, they are made in the USA, China, and Russia.
Photo pixabay.com
For a year, a ballerina wears 5-10 pairs of pointe shoes, depending on the load. Some artists have their own pads - volumetric copies of feet made by masters, according to which pointe shoes are made to order.
10. Dancing pays well
Hearing: Artists earn a lot.
Is it true: Everything is relative. Salaries of ballet dancers depend on the position in the troupe: leading stage master, soloist or corps de ballet dancer. Also affects the number of scenes worked out in productions. For each exit, points are awarded, which are kept by a special theater worker. The value of points for each dance is its own, standard for all artists, it depends on the complexity and duration of the performance. The amount of points received affects the award. So, the salary of a corps de ballet dancer is around 120 rubles, and the premium accrued for performances can exceed it several times.
Photo by Sergey Balai
The boy who chose ballet has a thorny path ahead of him. If you're straight, you have to defend your choice; if you're gay, you'll be stigmatized, perhaps before you're even ready. People often make assumptions about you based on what you do. We have acquaintances who were very surprised that my son loves cars, and as soon as he mentioned his girlfriend, a sigh of relief was clearly heard. My father, and father-in-law too, never watched his son dance. There was a case, she brought home a video with his Nutcracker (daughter, by the way, was also there). They didn't watch, they just apologized. It hurts. I don't think they realized how rude it was, and that they were sending me and my son a very unpleasant message, but the fact is the fact. Some more "enlightened and cultured" acquaintances could say "refinedly": "It's good that he knows who he is." They also own the classic, “What are your male dancers called?” The ballet moms were probably supposed to politely swallow this and pretend they didn't get the context. Most of us get this context.
My son was bullied by heterosexual and molested by homosexual teenagers. He often had to apologize for his preference for women and having to get over himself when he hugged homosexual acquaintances. That's it.
All this is just the tip of the iceberg for the male dancer and not the hardest part. What might surprise you is the pressure male dancers are under. Since the choice of this path is associated with considerable difficulties, few boys begin it without one or another ambition. Parents who allow their children to dance often encourage them to do so, because in this case the chances of success increase. There is some truth in this, but reality proves that this is not quite what most people assume.
And women in ballet have competition. The higher the status, the more. The number of vacancies is limited, besides, they apply for a large number of talented performers. Studying in super-duper institutions is not a pass to heaven, employment in a good ballet troupe is illusory, both for men and women. But, if a woman is unlucky, people will just shake their heads in understanding, because they understand that this is a competitive world. As soon as the same thing happens to a man, they begin to think about him that he is a loser.
When the boys are still young, it is not easy for mothers to brag about the success of their son. Mom should say:
“Fred has just been accepted into the Royal Ballet School on a budget basis!”
people politely say “Congratulations!” but almost always add: “You are lucky, you have a boy!” It is as if everyone who wants to study at Royal Ballet, and talent and hard work mean nothing. For reference, Royal Ballet is an extremely strong institution and not everyone can study there. I know very talented guys who couldn't get into Royal or School of American Ballet or ABTII or HBII.
Another reason that having a son is not very easy is the crazy mothers of ballet boys!
You must have heard about these crazy divas, mothers of ballerinas. Wait, you haven't seen the ballet boy's mom yet. Note that not all mothers of boys are crazy, but those with whom this happened have elevated level madness. These crazy mothers are sure that the world revolves around their boys; due to the fact that they have, you see, a boy, they often play the role of Queen Bee. They are very important about how to do this and that and command everyone like movie stars of the first magnitude. A ballet-boy's nerdy mom rarely has a sense of proportion when talking about her son, and will constantly go over your ears telling you what he is all about. They become pseudo-managers for their sons and are sure that everyone, including the heads of the ballet studio, should serve them. They expect their child's requests to be fulfilled first. If it seems to them that they have not been properly rewarded, things can take a bad turn. They sulk, they plot, they threaten to leave before great staging, and they will fight anyone they see as a threat. This is an unfortunate phenomenon, but I have seen it in different studios and with different mothers. The saddest thing, perhaps, is that this is gradually passed on to the son, he becomes king in the studio and is often socially isolated. Moreover, when he begins an independent life in the ballet world, the boy is surprised that this world does not revolve around him.
I am sure that this state of affairs comes from the following things. First, the overzealous heads of ballet studios just jump for joy when they see that they have a boy. Investment in a boy will pay off very quickly, so you can not skimp on flattery, just to get the boy to yourself. will give him the most winning roles even at a young age, only to interest him, thereby provoking a sense of superiority.
Second, because most boys start dancing quite late (after 10 or 11 years old), the boy who has adopted an early start (4, 5, 6, 7 years old) often reaps laurels that are disproportionately large compared to girls. This leads parents to think that their child is extremely talented. A child can really be talented, but at this age, his talents especially cannot be compared with anyone.
And third, Mothers of Ballet Boys must constantly protect their son from various threats. In principle, mothers already protect their child, but boys who choose to dance need additional protection. People in relation to them are often cruel, so that mothers have to protect the child with a vengeance. This behavior is then difficult to change, and even when the child has already grown up, we continue to patronize him and are ready to break anyone who dares to offend him.
I am proud of my son and I am glad that he dances. When I see him move across the stage, my heart soars after him, but, nevertheless, I do not take anything for granted. I don't think that just because he's a man, he should be allowed more than his female counterparts. I expect his success to come solely from hard work, well, and maybe Lucky case will also play a role. I get angry when I hear from people that it will be easy for my son to break through because he is a man. Yes, they are not like women, but I can assure you, this is not an easy path. He hates when strangers learn that he dances, he speaks, they immediately become suspicious of him, so he has to make extra efforts to ensure that his personality is perceived without stereotypes. If suddenly he receives a scholarship or leading role, it is taken for granted. If there is another boy in the studio besides him, he has to be careful in his friendship, he once got hit hard by one shifted mom and her privileged son. It's a lonely road, and besides, I didn't choose it for him (like my father, I thought it wasn't something boys should do), but I'm happy that he took it. Now my life is richer, my friendships are stronger, and my relationship with my son is better than many; so... I'm lucky that I have a boy, but not in the way people think, but because it was from him that I learned a lot about life and about love.
author - ballet
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Conversation between two little girls:
- An aunt in ballet is called a ballerina. What is the uncle's name, do you know?
- No, but how?
- Ballerun!
The life of men in ballet is very closed. It was much easier to write about ballerinas, for example - you can find many articles about problems and successes, there are a lot of statements and memories on the forums. But the ballet men...
No, well, the problems of ballerinas also fully concern them: injuries and occupational diseases, hard labor and full immersion into the profession, and, as a result, unsettled destinies, poor health, etc. But at the same time, a huge number of rumors and fables around this profession, perhaps nowhere else. Ballet dancers have been brought to the point that at the first meeting they try not to talk about where and by whom they work ... And the wives of dancers do not like to expand on this topic.
Here, for example, is what the author writes on one of the forums under nickname ballet: "... As casually as possible, I say: -" My husband is a ballet dancer. "Alas, how many times I did not try to immediately translate the topic of the conversation, nothing worked. bombarding me with the most ridiculous questions: “Yes? ..”, “Wow, how interesting! ..”, “Where does he work?” (of course, in the theater, and where else can a ballet dancer work.) “And what does he eat?” (dry special food for ballet dancers - I answer), “Does he play sports?”, “Are you jealous of ballerinas?”, Or even cooler “Does he get an erection during a performance?”, “Do you have him bisexual?"
He is called the prince born on New Year's Eve.
At the age of 10, a little boy named Kolya Tsiskaridze entered the Tbilisi Choreographic School,
at 13 he continued his studies in Moscow,
at 19 he was accepted into the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater, and at 23 he received the title of Honored Artist of Russia. His dance is technically impeccable, distinguished by spirituality and joy, in his art there is that measure of internal tension and external restraint, which creates the majestic beauty of plasticity.
N. Tsiskaridze Curiosity led me to ballet - I really wanted to move behind the orchestra pit, because I was far from the mysterious behind-the-scenes world and I’m not sure that if I had been shown the wrong side, the inside of ballet art in childhood, I would have chosen this professional path. At the age of three, I first got into puppet show, then to the opera and, finally, to the ballet. It seemed to me that it was all easy and simple, but in fact, oh, how much hard work must be spent so that the dancer's movements are light and beautiful.
I was brought to the choreographic school at my insistence; no one in the family had anything to do with ballet.
In the choreographic school, boys have a special position - it is understandable, very few of them go there. This is probably why the tuition fees at first are different for girls and boys:
For girls 100 thousand rubles. per year (10 thousand rubles per month);
For boys from 1-5 cells. - 50 thousand rubles. per year (5 thousand rubles per month).
Gene. Director of the Bolshoi Theater A. Iksanov: "The problem of men in ballet has existed for years. Not only in our theater. Very few boys go to ballet - today it is becoming unprestigious. It is believed that a man should earn money, should do business, should be courageous. There is a danger that we we will lose an entire ballet generation. To solve this problem, we will have to renew the troupe not only at the expense of the Moscow Academy of Choreography. This year, by the way, not a single guy was hired. There simply weren’t any worthy graduates of the academy. We will have to look for artists in other theaters and in neighboring countries.
I found on one of the forums the memories of a blogger under the nickname Shock Worker: "... When I was engaged ballroom dancing, I had a partner (an Azerbaijani boy) who moved amazingly, had a good ear and a sense of style, and who was also engaged in martial arts and chess.
Somehow, returning from regular classes in the evening, we came across his classmates (beardless contenders for the proud title of a man with an overwhelming amount of unrealized hormones), who began to ridicule his passion for ballroom dancing and loudly declared him a petka (pyatukh), for which he received a brazen face and ran to complain to the relatives.
was convened Parent meeting, on which fathers (adult men, some of whom had higher education and engaged teaching activities, so to speak, brought up future cultural citizens of the republic in their own and other people's boys and girls) declared my partner to be cultureless and an aggressor, and also expressed their authoritative opinion, miraculously coinciding with the opinions of their own offspring on the subject of a tendency to homosexuality among all those who in one way or another are related to dance culture. The stigma was so flashy that my partner quit dancing and moved to another school, and, quite likely, will raise his sons in the same spirit of obscurantism and base concepts that suppressed his versatile nature. That's how they become either gay or fools."
Sergei Filin, artistic director ballet troupe Theater named after K.S. Stanislavsky and Vl.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko:"... In general, there are fewer and fewer men in our country. Men are disappearing as a species, and in ballet - all the more so, in the ballet world a man degenerates. What can be said about male dance, if in most choreographic schools and schools in the world there are 10 girls There are 2-3 boys, and by the time you have to enter the world of art, the theater and take some positions, out of three there is one, or even not a single young man.
If talented men come across today, they are like diamonds; such artists, of course, are in many theaters of the world - I will not say that in all.
What was different about Soviet ballet? There was a huge amount of talent. A fierce competition was held, and the selected children were brilliant even before they began to work with them. And when they graduated from college, they really became stars and got into the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky.
The circle of strong dancers has narrowed down a lot, and the real great artists today can be listed on the fingers. If earlier at the Bolshoi, the Mariinsky, the Paris Opera, Covent Garden there were quite a few dancers who had texture, were excellent in technique, had a bright personality, intelligence, but today this circle is narrowing. And if stars appear, they are in great demand, they are invited to all theaters, they are literally torn to pieces.
As early as the beginning of the 19th century, Western society developed a negative view of male ballet. And the strongest stereotype that sits in the brains of people around the world and it is not possible to get it from there is that the men in ballet are all gay as one. In addition, they run around the stage all day, pawing both men and women, and this is a real pleasure! This is not for you to work hard in the mine for 12 hours!
Meanwhile, this is a profession in which physical exercise And creativity closely go hand in hand.
At the beginning of the 19th century, in fashion, romanticism and the focus of ballet shifted towards ballerinas, the dancer gradually disappeared into her shadow. The ballet turned to folklore, legends, myths and superstitions for inspiration. Nymphs and sylphs, innocent virgins, etc. appeared in it. The dancer was thus demoted to the role of the ballerina's carrier. It was only to highlight her beauty and talent. Women dominate ballet for the first time in history. The romantic content of the performance is centered on the ballerina, pushing the dancer into the background. The audience wanted to see the ethereal, airy grace of the ballerina.
And the training in technique was addressed more to the ballerinas. Fewer and fewer men were trained in ballet. By the middle of the 19th century, the number of men studying in vocational ballet schools V Western Europe decreased sharply. This shortage forced dancers to play male roles. This practice of taking on roles reserved for dancers of the opposite sex was called travestie dancing.
For several decades, the pas de deux ("dance for two") was danced by two ballerinas (one of them is a drag queen).
Romantic critic Jules Janin declared: ".. I know nothing more disgusting in the world than a dancer. Under no circumstances can I recognize the right of a man to dance in a public place."
With the opening of Sergei Diaghilev's Russian Seasons in Paris in 1909, Western society saw the grand return of the ballet dancer. A real discovery was the performances, the main character of which was a man, and the woman played a supporting role in them.
The audience again wanted to see male dancers, although prejudice in society still had not been eliminated. However, it is not outdated even now.
Rudolf Nureyev changed a lot in ballet, proving that a man can also be in the spotlight. And our great choreographer Yuri Grigorovich sometimes shared the accents equally in performances, and sometimes even brought men to the fore. But there were real male dances!
