Think Pink

Ballet has come to be an important part of girl culture, in part because so many girls in the United States take ballet at some point in their lives. Consumer products like dolls and music boxes have brought ballet into girls’ homes and reinforce a problematic link between ballet and femininity, though real girls who take ballet class are often quite thoughtful about the way ballet empowers them. Books for children, both non-fiction and fiction, have been important examples of the intersection between ballet and girl culture since the early twentieth century. Children’s ballet books deal with artistic expression, physical challenges, competition, gender, sexuality, racial and ethnic diversity, class barriers, and many other elements of real girls’ experiences with ballet class.

A (Very Selective) Early History of Ballet in America

Ballet developed slowly in the United States and depended on European dancers and teachers at first, but by mid-nineteenth century a few American-trained ballet dancers were beginning to make their mark. The opening of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School in 1909 and the tours of Anna Pavlova contributed greatly to popularizing ballet and inspiring young people to begin taking ballet class before World War I. Expansion continued from the 1920s through the 1940s with the founding of the School of American Ballet and the performances of the various Ballet Russe companies in every corner of the country. The Littlefield sisters and Christensen brothers helped make ballet American by establishing important homegrown ballet companies with primarily American dancers. The regional ballet movement fostered further growth. All these developments in professional ballet encouraged ever-increasing numbers of Americans not only to enjoy performances but also to take ballet class themselves.

Ballet Class 101

Ballet class is the foundation of ballet. For centuries ballet class has focused on an ordered progression of positions, movements, and exercises that would be familiar to students in all times and places, regardless of minor differences in technique or the wide array of motivations for taking ballet class. Ballet class in the United States could function as both a status symbol and a gender signifier. It has also expanded its reach to include very young children and adults of all ages who seek artistic expression and fitness. Leotards, tights, tutus, and pointe shoes have their own histories. There is both tradition and innovation within ballet class.

Yes, Boys Take Ballet Class Too

While it is true that girls have always outnumbered them, boys have always been present in ballet class, and their numbers have grown steadily over the twentieth century. Due to gendered associations of ballet with girls and women in the United States, boys in ballet class have faced questions about their masculinity and sexuality. The impact of second-wave feminism on ideas about gender roles made ballet a more socially acceptable activity for boys. There have also been a number of strategies from within the ballet world to appeal to more boys, including offering free tuition, emphasizing the athleticism of ballet, and stressing the greater professional opportunities for male dancers.

A Troubled/Troubling History

Ballet has been and continues to be among the least diverse of the performing arts. Until well into the twentieth century, most African American children who wanted to take ballet class were forced to go to segregated studios, which played significant roles in local communities. African Americans also faced very limited opportunities for ballet careers. There were important exceptions who served as role models, and the creation of the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1969 helped challenge the racist assumptions that dancers of color could not master the ballet aesthetic. A number of prominent Native American ballerinas faced less discrimination. Recent diversity initiatives are slowly improving the situation in both recreational and professional ballet.

The Russians Are Coming

European teachers had a tremendous influence on the development of ballet in the United States through at least the mid-twentieth century. They had to adapt to the commercial American environment in which ballet class was a commodity, available to anyone to buy, regardless of talent. Still, they handed down the Italian or British or Russian technique in a traditional master-apprentice relationship. These classical modes of ballet pedagogy did alter to some degree in response to conditions in the United States. The cachet of taking ballet class with European teachers who could claim a direct link to the lineage of ballet pedagogy persisted well into the twentieth century.

Ballet Bodies

Dance is a fundamentally embodied art, and the ballet body has always been a contested site. Modern dance pioneers distinguished their fledgling art form by denouncing ballet as unnatural and particularly unsuited for the modern American dancer. Concerns about the pernicious effects of the idealized ballet body, especially on girls and young women, led to sharp medical and psychological concerns that seeped into popular representations of ballet class. Feminist critiques of ballet for supposedly oppressing women gained currency at the end of the twentieth century. Whatever the merits of such critiques, ballet can also be empowering for women in terms of bodily strength and artistic integrity, as seen in the controversial figure of the ballerina.

An Art or a Sport?

Most ballet students in the United States have taken class for recreational purposes rather than pre-professional training. Recitals developed as a means of giving them performance opportunities while also demonstrating their accomplishments to their families. Teachers also benefited from recitals, which allowed them to showcase their work. By the mid-twentieth century, ballet recitals were already a ritual of American life. As more girls turned to sports in the wake of Title IX, 1972 federal civil rights legislation that required equal opportunities for girls and boys in educational environments, the number of competitions for recreational ballet students increased sharply. The hope was that making ballet more sport-like and competitive would help retain girls and boys alike as students. While dance competitions remain controversial and have compounded previously existing issues of access, they are now so pervasive that they are part of the landscape of recreational as well as professional ballet.

Diplomates of Dance

Early dance programs and departments at colleges and universities tended to focus on modern dance rather than ballet, but ballet has been more central to dance in higher education since the 1960s. Many college dance programs started in physical education departments, signaling the early twentieth-century concern with women’s bodies and appropriate physical activity for women, but they eventually moved into performing arts divisions. This change reflected the shift from a more holistic approach to an emphasis on performance. Dance programs in higher education today are more likely to focus on producing professionals than on training dance teachers or educating those who see dance as a liberal art. As a result, a small but growing number of professional ballet dancers have graduated from college, which was rare until very recently. There is also a growing field of dance studies with roots in history, philosophy, art, and culture as well as performance.

Up a Steep and Very Narrow Stairway

There is wide variety among dance studios in the United States, but ballet has been fundamental to most of them over the twentieth century. Ballet teachers come from a variety of backgrounds, including both professional dance careers and many kinds of teacher training. Good ballet teachers offer a progressive sequence and think about how to interact with students in the studio, whether they are teaching purely recreational or pre-professional classes. Good training can take place in less than ideal physical facilities, though the type of flooring is particularly important. Teachers should be knowledgeable about both ballet pedagogy and the business skills necessary to run dance studios. There is no one group overseeing the quality of ballet classes or the qualifications of teachers, though dance teacher organizations have tried to provide teacher training since the early twentieth century. Dance teacher organizations have also represented their members’ legal and professional interests.