Ballet Geeks

This summer while at our

home away from home

during a Ballet Summer Intensive,

my son and I found ourselves

watching many ballets

and ballet related shows.

We borrowed videos

from the studio that

my son was visiting

and watched

traditional ballets

by world famous ballet companies

almost every night.

On television,

we watched reality shows

 about ballet dancers.

My son watched and showed me

YouTube videos

of individual danseurs

dancing in traditional ballet parts-

which he paused,

rewound, and replayed

in order to take notes,
much like football players'
analysis and study of game clips.

As we sat
watching and discussing
Coppelia
on a Friday night,
realization dawned
that we had become
"ballet geeks!"

Hours at the Ballet Studio

When asking my teenagers
the other day
what my next topic should be,
they said,
"The hours we spend
at the ballet studio."

My last blog started out
with this topic in mind
and ended up being about
free pizza!

The original intent of the post
was to talk about the number
of hours our family spends
at the ballet studio each week
and
what we do during that time.

So, here goes.

Mondays:

Usually it is just my daughter and I
that travel to the studio.

She has two and a half hours
of classes and
I help out in the office;
this means we are there
for about four hours.

Occasionally, my son skips his
weekly Boy Scout meeting
in order to attend special
partnering classes
and/or
rehearsals.

Tuesdays:

Three of us have dance classes
and we are there for about
four to five hours,
more if there are rehearsals.

Sometimes, my son
has a morning rehearsal
(which he is able to attend
because he homeschools);
on those days,
we either spend the hours
between returning to the studio
on school errands
or
stay at the studio
and work on school work.

Wednesday:

Usually it is just my son and I
that travel to the studio.

Between the two of us,
we are there for about five hours.

Occasionally, my daughter comes
for make-up classes or rehearsals.

Thursdays:

A very busy day of the week.

Three of us have classes
and I also help in the office.

At least two nights per month,
I have to skip my classes
in order to attend meetings-
one for Girl Scout planning
(which my daughter
usually attends too)
and
one for my GFWC local club.

Total hours at the studio
are around four or so.

Fridays:

We like to say that
we have Fridays off.

However, more often than not,
this is not true.

If the Friday afternoon class
is not canceled, then
my son and often my daughter
attend the class.

Often, there is a rehearsal afterwards.

Recently, about every other Friday,
our family has traveled
about two hours away for ballet classes
from a former Soviet ballet dancer.

So, Fridays, too,
are often up to four hours
at the studio.

Saturdays:

Our whole family, my husband included,
spends about eight hours at the studio.

My son and daughter have company class
and rehearsals that last all day;
though they do have breaks,
they are rarely long enough to leave.

My husband and I run errands
for food and props and costumes
and/or
stay at the studio and work
on props and costumes.

Sundays:

Rehearsals last up to six hours,
especially the closer it gets
to performances.

Of course, the whole family
is usually there
(see Saturdays).

Week in Review:

If I counted correctly,
our family spends just under
40 hours per week
at the ballet studio.

Is that a full time job-
minus the pay and benefits?

Ballet Moms vs Dance Moms

After explaining to my daughter,

when she wanted to purchase
a sparkly key chain with
"Dance Mom"
on it for me,

that I am in no way, shape, nor form
a "Dance Mom,"

I still had to have the manager of the
ballet/dance clothing store
back me up on this point.

And, this all occurred months before
the Lifetime show, "Dance Moms."

Now that the show is so popular,
even among the "Ballet Moms,"
there apparently needs to be a
"vs" list in order to distinguish
between the two types of personalities.

Normally, I am not one to generalize,
but these are just some observations-
and I do realize
that there are always exceptions.


Dance Mom vs Ballet Mom


1) Obnoxiously Loud vs Quiet and Observant

While "Quiet and Observant,"
we are willing to stand up for what is right-
we are still "Moms," after all.


2) Fighting vs Discussions

with the Dance and/or Artistic Director

Face it,
at the end of the day,
in ballet,
the Artistic Director,
being artistic
and having many years
of experience
in the ballet world,
is always right,
whether one agrees or disagrees.

One must always remember
that the ballet world
is a very small world;
burning one's bridges
is not a good thing,
especially for the dancers.


3) Fighting vs Discussions
with other "Moms"

Most of my "Mom" friends
encourage each others
dancers with both
words of advice and praise.

If things start to get too personal,
usually at least one will walk away,
if not both parties,
until heads have cooled
and until that happens,
avoidance is a useful tool.


4) Skimpy costumes vs ballet costumes

Realizing that ballet wear for class
is just a leotard and tights,
in order for teachers to see that
proper alignment is occurring,
most ballet studios require
that clothing be worn over the ballet wear
whenever outside the studio.

Another rule about ballet costumes
is that costumes remain backstage
or covered when not on stage.

Costumes are meant to enhance
the character of the dancer and the dance;
they are not to be a character itself.


5) Competitions vs Shows

Although there are a few ballet competitions,
meant to find talent,
most are closed to observers.

Most ballet companies perform
two or three
shows or stories
per year
and
most of the year
is dedicated to rehearsals.


6) Recitals vs School Shows

Although many ballet studios
have other types of dance as well,

the end of the school year
performance is considered
a "school show" and the word
"recital" is very reluctantly used.


7) New vs Traditional

Ballet has a long history and tradition.

Many in ballet are proud of this fact.