"We are not a pair of worn pointe shoes" - about dignity in ballet

Dignity - this is such a strong word that so few people understand or/and have personal experience with. It carries so much positive energy, yet to release it in human being it requires huge mental strength and also special conditions. Most of the times the dignity is born when human being is pushed to limits, to so called boarders of mental endurance, because of some happenings, yet more often because of other human beings behaviors. 

The strength which is required to release the dignity is not easy to find especially in a very competitive world of ballet, which gives so much as takes away at the same time. Often what it takes away are simple human behaviors: simple kindness, understanding, companionship, patience. Very often the fragile once when become a victim or observe such a lack of humanity towards others dancers in the end they rebel against such a phenomena and build dignity. Yet does it have to be this way?

Once dignity is created in a human being's mind - it will build a great individual character that actually no-one seeks for in a ballet world. Why? Because strong character is not something that can be turned off when not being on stage. Strong character based on self dignity will question, will show preferences any although many directors during auditions speak loudly of searching for strong stage individuality - they have no idea what it means and what it takes and mostly how to work with it.

Behind a very strong stage individuality usually a very strong character stands, a character that has dignity in it and will not let anyone treat her/him in a bad way - way that feels devoid of paying attention to human feelings, because .”in name of what?”. That „not looking at anybody’s feelings” happens a lot in a ballet world. Some could say that it is a part of a game, a part of the ballet world - because dancers are not human beings - dancers are ‘just’ dancers. 

I believe that this regarding of dancers is something that has been created over the years by dancers, who looked for easy promotions and director/choreographers being so much into their ego seeking for easy cajolery. Both are same guilty of what is happening nowadays. There are few ways: either you are totally submissive and always saying yes to everything and care only for yourself or you are a black sheep doing things with which so many people feel uncomfortable with (f.e.: speaking loudly about bad behaviors of director, balletmaster) or you are just out, because You simply can’t/don’t want to be a witness of making people feel worse about themselves. 

Very few people, who have found a simple human dignity in themselves - not agreeing on being objectified and treated with disrespect as a disposable object, have not left the ballet world. Being in a ballet world very, very often equals to being deprived of dignity and what often happens in a ballet world is dancers being equaled to a level of some kind of tools to be used and many times abused. One season you are most wanted and few months later you are being told you are useless. 

Those people, who are able to stand for themselves and for others can maybe not easily, but still can say what they like and don't like and are simply free to leave ballet world at any time, because no matter how much they love to dance they actually not to care about being in a position of being a member of any company in which anyone shows lack of respect to dancers. Yet how many people are not afraid to stand for themselves, to simply loudly in front of everyone or face to face with director say what they think and what they want and what they dislike? How many are not afraid to loose job, not because of bad dancing, but because they expressed what they really think, made some critical remarks?

Ballet world no matter how beautiful to eyes of people from outside, people who admire hard work, spirit, fragility, elegance, grace, inhuman physical strength, has very often nothing to do with any kind of true beauty. Part from times being on stage dancers in a big companies are mostly treated like transplant plants devoted of any kind of feelings. The behaviors of people running ballet companies and some dancers that will do anything to get the dream position/role are inhuman and create a very unhealthy structures and environment in which dance no longer matters.

What matters is not cause any troubles and be always available, in shape all year, not being sick, not getting injured, not having any emotional bad times. Yes - ballet world is very often cruel and a very dishonest, masked and full of hidden emotions that come out in most unexpected and mostly uneasy situations. I never understood why even instead of saying to a dancer: you should work on this and that - directors/teachers are saying "you were brilliant" and behind back saying many bad things? Don't they know they work together with other to keep THE BEAUTY OF BALLET going on and more reasonable would be saying corrections (no matter how painful) in a polite way to improve the work of dancer for a bigger good?

If we dancers only had strength - all of us - to say directly what we like/don't like and speak openly about our emotions outside of stage - we would create a better world for future generations. We could actually teach all the directors and balletmaster to simply be human beings. We can create a better ballet world - yet not by remaining silence when there is a need of words and actions.

Stand for Yourself - Be there for others when they need - Care for more than your own business - Just be a dancer with a human face and create Ballet World with dignity in it. And alway remember that no-one is a pair of worn pointe shoes and can't be treated like one!