Blond Ballerinas

[Hans]

Not sure what the proportions are of blond to other hair colors, but the number of blonds is shrinking because the blond gene is recessive. Makes me feel a bit special .

Alexandra, it's interesting that you mention Danish hair darkening as one ages--it happened to my father and is starting to happen to me, and I never knew quite what to make of that! Good to know it's normal.

Re: Terekhova, I have a video of her dancing the Don Q pas de deux in which she appears blond and then one of her in the full ballet in what I suppose must be a black wig.

I also thought of another dancer who, while not as famous as some of the above examples, I felt I should mention as a member of the "home company" around here: Brianne Bland of the Washington Ballet .

[Treefrog]

Not sure what the proportions are of blond to other hair colors, but the number of blonds is shrinking because the blond gene is recessive.  Makes me feel a bit special .

Sorry, Hans, my training is in evolutionary biology, and I can't let this one pass. Recessive genes do not decrease in frequency with each generation; they are maintained at a stable proportion of the population. Mind you, the frequency could be quite small, but it does not change over time. So, go ahead and feel special! Just don't assume there will be fewer of your type in the future.

[Hans]

Yes, I've already received a pm regarding that; sorry for the mistake--I think I'll stick with ballet and music instead of biology! (Also should have phrased that in a way that didn't state it as a fact, which it clearly is not!)

[carbro]

Judith Fugate.

[diane]

When I was auditioning for my first job many years ago, the company I ended up in had a reputation for taking many blond girls.

In fact, several from the academy where I was dyed their hair blond so as to have a better chance.

In the next company I worked with, there was a plethora of dark-haired and a dearth of blond dancers; male and female.

For at least one ballet those of us who were blond had to either wear wigs or in some other way make our hair quite a bit darker, as the designer did not like blond hair.

As Victoria mentioned, this was never a problem for the "classical" styles ("Giselle", "La Sylphide", etc.)

Hans, are you Danish?

My father is of Danish parents, and as a child he was the only one of the six kids who did not have blond hair.

But, when he reached the age when others turn gray, he turned blond.

-d-

[pugbee]

I'm a little late piping in on this topic, but the beautiful Leslie Carrothers comes to mind as a blonde ballerina... the only one that PA Ballet had when I was around!

[Hans]

diane, my great-grandfather was Danish, and my father and I have a lot of his traits. I've been trying for a while now to figure out which ones are commonly Danish and which ones are just us

[Alymer]

"My original query stemmed from seeing Jane Burn, who had the palest (and fluffiest!) true blond hair, in the role of Princess Stephanie in the Royal Ballet's Mayerling (with Viviana Durante and Irek Mukhamedov). "

It's a wig! I seem to think Jane Burn has dark, curly hair.

But what about Irina Kolpakova - the architypal Kirov ballerina. I always remember her as a blonde, although her hair darkened as she got older.

[glebb]

Joffrey Ballet/Dance Magazine cover girl Patricia Miller had very light blonde hair as did Annette Av Paul and Soili Arvola. Would Violette Verdy have been considered a blonde?

[Treefrog]

Speaking of the Joffrey -- what about Maia Wilkins?

[Funny Face]

The specific explanation of the hairline helps. I couldn't put it into words at the time, but when dancing years ago, I felt compelled to go quite dark for dramatic effect against very fair skin. It works well with youth, but I wouldn't do it now, as I think it might still look fine on stage but quite harsh in real life.

[Guest Tia5678]

well, i know a couple blondes that are very good dancers. i think it's stupid that some blondes don't get the parts, not in my case, but in other peoples cases. especially if their more stronger in ballet and deserve the part more.