Dragons and Superheroes in Ballet: Visceral Imagery for 21st Century Dancers
Abstract:
Many students arrive to university dance programs with disorganized attachments and traumatic relationships with ballet. Their internalized negative experiences, often stemming from fear-based learning models, are made visible through movement hesitancy, overreliance on external gaze, and disassociation or refusal to engage with the form. For the wellbeing of dancers and sustainability of classical ballet training, it is imperative that educators find ways to restore and rehabilitate students through their daily technique practice. We propose a reset of historically used imagery as a care-based teaching approach to spark creativity, rewire thought patterns, and ignite artistic agency. Specifically, we suggest the replacement of sylphs, fairies, and swans with dragons and superheroes to contradict implied lightness and vulnerability. Our workshop invites attendees to move through an abridged ballet barre with intermittent discussion. We will explore non-traditional imagery and its impact on embodied mechanics, dynamics, physicality, and artistry. Some observations from our students (shared with permission) include changes in carriage of arms, back, and pelvis while envisioning powerful wings and tails of varied colors and textures; deeper and more consistent core engagement resourcing an imagined fire within the lower abdominals; elongated lines embodying Elastigirl, and Kryptonian laser focus through the eyes. When students visualize themselves as unique creatures and characters of their own design, they reclaim ballet and their bodies as sites of protest, agency, activism, and strength. Openly sharing their creations and discoveries through daily check-ins, they can assert how they wish to be seen by others and celebrate differences while building community.