Way to go, Wall Street Journal! UPDATED
Wall Street Journal is addressing the dangers of trying to dance on pointe without training, specifically when you put it on YouTube. I understand the childhood dream of dancing on pointe. People say "Well, I've never taken ballet or dance at all before, but I think I'll dance on pointe now. I'm good enough. Three years is way too long to take class and wait.". News flash: I danced for TEN YEARS before I even touched my first pair of pointe shoes. Three years isn't that long.
The article specifically features this girl, Baylee Errante:
UPDATE: Since this was originally posted, the video that homemade pointe shoes girl posted has been deleted. Never mind. It's back.
She Googled "how to make pointe shoes" and then took flat ballet shoes, stuffed them with cotton balls and socks, and put plywood in the soles. Then she "danced" in them and put it on YouTube. Smart. Safe. Shows obvious signs of substantial ballet training. The video is still up. It makes me want to cry. WHAT was she thinking? I would never wish a debilitating injury upon her, but I hope she gets it in her head somehow that doing something like that is NOT correct or safe. My favorite part is the "echappe" at 0:27 in the video. *shudders*
The thing that gets me is when they write things like "I'm going to take ballet lessons". Well, that doesn't mean that they can go on pointe. That would be like if I jumped out of a plane with no parachute having no idea what I was doing with the idea that I would be ok because I was going to take skydiving lessons in a few months.
I keep thinking of more things I want to say about this. The article is attributing the popularity of these videos to Anaheim Ballet's podcast slogan, "Ballet is for everyone and not it's for anyone who has a computer". I don't agree with this. What it seems AB is trying to say is that people that wouldn't normally have the opportunity to see and learn about ballet are now able to by looking at it online, while many people seem to take it as "Go make your own pointe shoes".
The one problem I have with the article is the list of videos it provides. Some are hideous. Others are perfectly legitimate videos: a dancer warming up in new shoes, doing pressovers to break in the arch. There's nothing wrong with that and that's what a fair amount of the videos used as examples in the article are.
I'm glad WSJ is warning people about this, but am regretting looking for that video. It's hideous.
Selly
9 Comments:
The noises the shoes are making just creeps me out. I don't even want to think about what horrendous things are going on with her toes beneath the shoe. Wow. I'm shuddering with you.
Yeah, what is that noise her "shoes" are making?
Selly
Haha, now that I think about it, it's probably the crunch of her poor bones . So sad.
wow... that's just... *shudders* woah
That's very cool! She's very good.
Cool? Good? Hmm.
Selly
I've always found it interesting that pointe shoes (and dancing on them) is so coveted even by people who know nothing about ballet. A student (and her parents) will fall all over themselves to make sure that her seemingly God-given right to parade in pointe shoes is exercised. Way too many students on a once-per-week class schedule are put on pointe shoes, let alone this new practice of "self-training" via internet. Another God-given right (apparently) - fouette turns.
I completely understand little girls who take ballet wanting to be on pointe. It is a big step to look forward to.
I also understand when someone who has never taken ballet asks to try on my pointe shoes. I'm sure a lot of people wonder what its like to wear square, boxed, hard shoes. I've never actually let any of my non-dancing friends wear my pointe shoes (especially rise on to pointe! Eek!), though, and they haven't died or anything because they've never worn pointes.
I am simply baffled by the people that have the urge to do things like that. I mean, if you love ballet that much, it seems you would know a little tiny bit about it; you would at least know that sock + wood+ cotton balls = NOT pointe shoes and NOT safe. Why do parents put up with stuff like this?
Selly
I've danced for 6 years before I actually got to try pointe shoes. I think these people are a little brainless because (obviously) they wouldn't know how much it'll ruin the feet without proper training and not to mention proper shoes.
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