We talked recently in class about what Atonism and Jes Grew look like in 2018. As many of you know, I’m involved with ballet, and this conversation got me thinking about what Atonism and Jes Grew look like today in the ballet world.
As much as I love it, ballet is probably one of the most Atonist things out there. Ballet as an art form was developed by and for Europe’s elites. It originated in the courts of Renaissance Italy and was spread to France by Catherine de Medici in the 17th Century, where the first ballet company was established by Louis XIV. He also established and codified several basic steps and positions, and is the reason ballet takes most of its terminology from French to this day. Despite having spread more or less around the world, ballet is still incredibly Eurocentric. The four most widely taught techniques (styles of dancing ballet) were developed in Russia, England, France, and Italy, and the world’s top ballet companies are mostly found in Europe, or countries that developed out of European settlements and colonies (the USA, Canada, and Australia).
Ballet also tends to be practiced and viewed by people who are both privileged and white. The stereotypical patron, especially for major companies, is probably your typical Atonist (old, white, wealthy, focused on tradition and the past). Trying to increase racial and economic diversity among the dancers themselves has also been a huge issue in the dance world in recent years. With a few notable exceptions (Misty Copeland for example), companies tend to be dominated by white dancers who had the money and resources to pursue dance to a high level. Ballet gets expensive, and since directors traditionally wanted their dancers to look as similar as possible, it unfortunately used to happen (and probably still does) that talented dancers are overlooked solely because of their race.
Ballet is also incredibly unnatural if you think about it. In what other context is it normal or good to be able to turn out your legs so that your feet make a 180 degree angle, lift your leg up so that your foot is above your head, or stand on your toes? Jes Grew is about dance, but also freedom and spontaneity. In ballet, every step is codified, and expected to be done in a very specific way. Some executions and combinations are acceptable, others are not.
An example of a recent “Jes Grew flare up” in the dance world is Hiplet, a combination of ballet with hip hop created by the artistic director at the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center. The style is described as a way to keep classical ballet relevant, and takes the strength gained from training in classical ballet to combine pointe work and hip hop. Although classical ballet training is necessary to the style, Hiplet at the same time less an adaption of ballet than a co-opting of the tools used in ballet (strength in certain muscles and joints, pointe shoes, etc.) for its own purpose. The style is much freer than classical ballet, takes most of its steps from hip hop, and uses pointework in a way that would never have been considered “acceptable”. The style has also been fairly controversial, with people debating its legitimacy as an art form, the safety of it, and whether or not something like this will catch on or should even be taught. Sound familiar?
This is really cool to think about! If ballet is the attonist version of dance, then would hip hop be a manifestation of Jes Grew today? And if it is, I would assume that it would also ave the same criticism of not just being some dance, but having deeper cultural roots like jazz.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting post and, while I hadn't thought about it before, ballet does embody Atonism. I liked the point you had about while Jes Grew is about dance it is about the freedom of dance (and freedom isn't something that is generally associated with ballet).
ReplyDeleteBallet is also generally seen as more "acceptable" or "cultured" than hip hop. Googling "ballerina doll" comes up with hundreds of results where you can buy stuffed ballerinas, but searching "hip hop artist doll" produces an article about hip hop artists who use the name "doll" and not much else.
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I love this and I actually also wrote my blog post on Atonism in ballet, as well as Jes Grew in hip hop. I like your point about contrasting the specificity in positions and articulating movement in ballet that seems so controlled and strict, with the Flapper's dancing, although not exactly the opposite because the Charleston does have steps to it, nevertheless being rambunctious and nothing close to as proper as ballet is.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you on this - ballet is probably as Atonist as we can get in the dance world. (Hello, Swan Lake? Everyone standing in a dead straight line with our heads all angled with same way? We're like living robots. Robot swans.)
ReplyDeleteThis Hiplet thing is interesting, and definitely would pass as a modern manifestation of Jes Grew. Though, since you say classical training is necessary, perhaps we could refer to it as an Atonist-turned-Jes-Grew form of art. If that can exist?