danceintheblood

Surely, being a 'genius' or a 'real artist' does not give a person an exemption from showing decency in their dealings with other human beings? I can't say that I have met anyone that I would regard as a genius, however, I have met many people with extraordinary talent and the best among them were those who showed respect for others. As someone said earlier, it's really not that difficult.

For those interested, a similar topic is under discussion in the Cross Talk section of BT for Dancers

I am not a random clapper I don't like to be in a theatre with random clappers To everything, there is a season and a time to clap

Once upon a time, when I was still a little girl, my mother would take me to the theatre. I loved everything about it - getting dressed up in my best dress (the one with tulle petticoats), the long drive into town, the plush foyer, sitting in the theatre as the orchestra tuned up, the hush that fell as the lights dimmed and the orchestra began, to be then utterly transported by the magic of beauty and pure fantasy - all things that I love about it to this day!

My 12 year old dancer has waited at the stage door and has also approached dancers in public to very politely ask for autographs. Most recently the Aust Ballet was in town and we saw six young men eating dinner - all slim and all with perfect posture - they could only be dancers. Dd asked for autographs, which they gave willingly and chatted to her for a while. The dancers have always been very sweet and accommodating to her and thus far she has not come across any divas, male or female.

I barely made it out of my student years as a dancer - but occasionally I have wonderful dreams where I am dancing and I have the incredible ability to stay air borne when I leap, for quite extended periods. Almost like flying, but not quite. I always wake feeling wonderfully exhilerated!

I was told very positively 10 years ago by my IT mad husband that we would all be reading e-books by 2005 and book shops would become a thing of the past. Well ... I'm not one to say "I told you so" ... but ... Take it with a grain of salt.

My five year old niece, a very enthusiastic and musical child, has begun pre-ballet classes. She is the child of a white mother (my sister) and a black father and is herself a black child. Upon hearing that she was beginning ballet classes, my aunt, who was a professional dancer and is not by nature prejudiced, said "well - you won't see any chocolate drops in the corps of the Australian Ballet Company". She was not making a racist comment, but was simply making a statement of fact. There has never, to my knowledge, been a black dancer with the company and I don't expect to see one in the near future. Do you place one black dancer in an all white corps, or as an AD, would you consider that this would be 'jarring' from a purely aesthetic viewpoint - just as you would not put one member of the corps in a red tutu when the rest are wearing blue? Is it more acceptable to place an Asian dancer in the corps as the lighter skin tone 'blends in more'? I don't have any answers here, but these were the types of questions that this personal situation raised in my own mind. I believe it is naive to claim that the colour of the skin doesn't matter when it comes to traditional classical companies. Companies have numerous rules when employing dancers regarding appearance - body shape, height etc - so why would the issue of colour be any different? Personally, I love to watch talented dancers of any colour, height, sex, race - but perhaps not everyone feels this way. While the argument of economics and accessability may have some basis in fact, the same could be said for the cost of educating a lawyer or doctor.

I shall do ... and thankyou for the welcome! I'm actually an active member of Ballet Talk for Dancers and post a fair bit in the Moms and Dads site. I had forgotten about this other side of Ballet Talk. There is sooooo much information here. I'm attempting to educate myself about this wonderful world which I dreamt of belonging to, but couldn't, as I watch my daughter's passion for ballet increase with every year! We are going to see White by the Australian Ballet in late May, where my dd is lucky enough to be attending a masterclass. In July we are going to see the West Australian ballet - but I can't remember off the top of my head what they are performing

I have just one question - CAN WE COME TOO!!!!!!!

I danced when I was young and my mother and I would go to the ballet when funds permitted. Some of the most magical moments of my childhood involved sitting in the darkened theatre watching the magic on stage. Now I am the parent of a promising young dancer and I consider the cost of going to the ballet (which is often over-priced) as being almost an essential part of her learning. Seeing the professionals dance gives her inspiration and something to aim for. I set aside a few dollars a week (literally) that pays for us to attend two professional performances a year.

My humble opinion on third, is that it mainly used for young dancers as a transitional stage before they have the stability to work in fifth