Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers is saving Ballet form Itself

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.” – Martha Graham

Ballet dancing is an art form. Who took ballet as a child? Not me, I wanted to. I begged to have ballet lessons, but my mother put me in hula dancing instead. But thousands of little girls have taken ballet. It takes discipline, time, dedication, perseverance, money, commitment, and strength. More women than me dance ballet but it is a male dominated by men. Who has not heard of Mikhail Baryshnikov?

But in such a beautiful art form there are issues that come up – race, class, power imbalance, high standards of beauty, and gender/gender rules. Ballet consists of rigid rules. How have these rules hold up over time? If Ballet is going to continue to be relevant, it needs to change, adapt and evolve. A new generation of dancer is out there. A generation that wants ballet to coincide with the modern world.

“…you can’t dance forever, so you’d better dance while you can.” – Fadeley Veyette

This book is about the love of dance. Various dancers share their stories of dancing through pain, of being told to butch up, to allow their bodies to be touched, that their body does not look right, they tell of lack of diversity in ballet, they share how males do not have to follow the strict rules that women do, men share their thoughts and concerns about wearing tights. But they also talk about their passion for dance. How they feel free when they move. How important dance is to them. How dance has shaped their lives.

“If you are going to have the guts to dream, you have to have the guts to pay the price.” – Suzanne Farrell

There is also a risk of dancing – injury. Dancing through pain is common. Training is gruesome. There are physical demands. It is costly to admit to being injured – many do not have health insurance, some fear losing a job, plus as they say, “The show must go on.”.

This is an informative book, and I enjoyed the firsthand accounts from various dancers. They love what they do but they also point out a need for change. This new wave of dancers are the future of ballet and hopefully they can save this artform and change the way dancers are trained and treated.

Thank you to Bold Type Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.