Why the Swan Isn’t “Black” for CSU Ballerinas
By Aliese Willard
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Shall We Dance?
Why the Swan Isn’t “Black” for CSU Ballerinas
By Aliese Willard
CSU students practice modern dance in a student rehearsal on Feb. 8
Ever since Natalie Portman ruffled feathers as a psycho ballerina in “Black Swan,” audiences have been fascinated with the film’s grueling portrayal of ballet.
The dancers in the film are bone thin (Portman and her co-star Mila Kunis reportedly lost 20 pounds for their roles), practice until exhaustion and endure painful injuries (how about that lovely cracked toenail scene?). Nominated to receive five Oscars at the Hollywood awards ceremony on Feb. 27, “Black Swan” received stellar reviews.
But the movie is a dark thriller—almost a horror flick—and according to dancers at CSU, it only shows the negative side of the art.
“I think in any occupation or business, there’s potential for going off the deep end,” said Jane Slusarski-Harris, director of dance at CSU. “I don’t think dance creates problems. I think people create problems. You could make that movie about anything. Even accounting.”
Fortunately, the CSU dance department promotes a healthier lifestyle than the one in the film.
“It’s not that intense,” said Cami McCullough, a sophomore journalism and dance major. “Girls here strive to get better, but no one’s making themselves sick.”
Another aspect of ballet that “Black Swan” may have amplified is the physical hardship that dancers deal with. For Jenna Spengler, a senior dance major, the bruises and blisters from rehearsal are just a part of everyday life.
Spengler sports a fading bruise the size of a golf ball below her left knee from a fall during class, and is also walking with crutches because she landed incorrectly on her right foot. These minor injuries are common; an annoying but regular occurrence in the movement-based life of a dancer.
CSU students practice modern dance in a student rehearsal Feb. 8
“It’s definitely exaggerated [in the film],” Spengler said. “My toes will bleed and stuff, but it’s not how it is in the movies. This [bruise] is just from a jump, where you turn and land on your knee. This is more the kind of stuff that happens.”
Lisa Engelken, a sophomore dance and women’ studies major, thought many of the gritty situations depicted in the movie were necessary to educate viewers about the difficulties in ballet and dance.
“I think it was dramatic, but that was critical to get it through to an audience who doesn’t understand the ballet world,” Engelken said. “It was a good way to portray that aspect. The point was to show the horrible side of the ballet world.”
And though Spengler agrees that the movie exaggerated many aspects of dancers’ lives, she thinks there’s some truth to the stereotypes.
“There were aspects [of “Black Swan”] that were very realistic,” Spengler said. “There’s a reason the stereotypes exist. If you look at the average person and how much they look in the mirror, compared to how much a dancer looks in the mirror, [a dancer] looks 10 times as much. I get here [the UCA] at 11 a.m. and leave at 9 p.m., and the entire time we’re looking in the mirror.”
Granted, two of the four walls in many of the dance studios are mirrors; they’re essential to dancers perfecting their technique. But the constant view of dancers’ bodies can easily prompt them to criticize their figures.
“I think the [CSU dance] department is really good about being nurturing, and I think they would be concerned if someone was getting really thin really fast,” Spengler said. “But, there’s always that temptation there, that weird thought process of ‘am I thin enough?’ And I think a lot of that is self pressure, rather than the pressures from other people.”
And though Slusarski-Harris says that she has seen very few problems with eating disorders, she admits she’s dealt with “a couple of situations over the years” while at CSU. According to the dancers, these “situations” occur more often with ballet than the other forms of dance. Mainly because, to borrow from Natalie Portman’s character in “Black Swan,” everything needs to be perfect.
“[Ballet] is the hardest and takes the most work and concentration,” Spengler said. “There’s way more pressure. I don’t get nervous for a show unless we’re doing [ballet]. It’s intense and you’re on pointe, so if you make a mistake, you’re going to fall on your face. You have to be much more precise.”
And to achieve that perfection, the effortless grace and passion that Portman’s character desired, a dancer must practice for hours. Even if it means all day, every day. McCullough says CSU’s rehearsals are mild compared to those of a professional company, but still demanding nonetheless.
“Even here [CSU], people will dance for 8 to 10 hours a day, and it’s not even a company. In a company, they’ll dance all day long,” she said.
And though the hours can sound severe for someone not involved in dance, for a dancer it’s the norm, and it’s what they love. Engelken rehearses for several hours each day, and hardly gives the time a second thought. For her, ballet is about understanding what other dancers feel when they pirouette onstage.
“I love the beauty of it, like when you watch a ballet, you think it looks so easy and beautiful, but you know that girl is working her a— off,” Engelken said. “And I like how my body feels [from ballet]: tight and toned.”
For Spengler, ballet is the most difficult, but rewarding accomplishment in a dancer’s career.
“I think ballet is definitely the highest thing you can achieve in dance,” she said. “It’s hard, but I love it.”
As for “Black Swan,” Slusarski-Harris hopes people will focus on the story, and not on the exaggerated portrayal of professional dancers.
“Hopefully people realize that it’s a fictional tale, about a group of artists telling a story, set in this particular world,” she said. “No matter where you go you will have unbalanced individuals.”
The dancers in the film are bone thin (Portman and her co-star Mila Kunis reportedly lost 20 pounds for their roles), practice until exhaustion and endure painful injuries (how about that lovely cracked toenail scene?). Nominated to receive five Oscars at the Hollywood awards ceremony on Feb. 27, “Black Swan” received stellar reviews.
But the movie is a dark thriller—almost a horror flick—and according to dancers at CSU, it only shows the negative side of the art.
“I think in any occupation or business, there’s potential for going off the deep end,” said Jane Slusarski-Harris, director of dance at CSU. “I don’t think dance creates problems. I think people create problems. You could make that movie about anything. Even accounting.”
Fortunately, the CSU dance department promotes a healthier lifestyle than the one in the film.
“It’s not that intense,” said Cami McCullough, a sophomore journalism and dance major. “Girls here strive to get better, but no one’s making themselves sick.”
Another aspect of ballet that “Black Swan” may have amplified is the physical hardship that dancers deal with. For Jenna Spengler, a senior dance major, the bruises and blisters from rehearsal are just a part of everyday life.
Spengler sports a fading bruise the size of a golf ball below her left knee from a fall during class, and is also walking with crutches because she landed incorrectly on her right foot. These minor injuries are common; an annoying but regular occurrence in the movement-based life of a dancer.
CSU students practice modern dance in a student rehearsal Feb. 8
“It’s definitely exaggerated [in the film],” Spengler said. “My toes will bleed and stuff, but it’s not how it is in the movies. This [bruise] is just from a jump, where you turn and land on your knee. This is more the kind of stuff that happens.”
Lisa Engelken, a sophomore dance and women’ studies major, thought many of the gritty situations depicted in the movie were necessary to educate viewers about the difficulties in ballet and dance.
“I think it was dramatic, but that was critical to get it through to an audience who doesn’t understand the ballet world,” Engelken said. “It was a good way to portray that aspect. The point was to show the horrible side of the ballet world.”
And though Spengler agrees that the movie exaggerated many aspects of dancers’ lives, she thinks there’s some truth to the stereotypes.
“There were aspects [of “Black Swan”] that were very realistic,” Spengler said. “There’s a reason the stereotypes exist. If you look at the average person and how much they look in the mirror, compared to how much a dancer looks in the mirror, [a dancer] looks 10 times as much. I get here [the UCA] at 11 a.m. and leave at 9 p.m., and the entire time we’re looking in the mirror.”
Granted, two of the four walls in many of the dance studios are mirrors; they’re essential to dancers perfecting their technique. But the constant view of dancers’ bodies can easily prompt them to criticize their figures.
“I think the [CSU dance] department is really good about being nurturing, and I think they would be concerned if someone was getting really thin really fast,” Spengler said. “But, there’s always that temptation there, that weird thought process of ‘am I thin enough?’ And I think a lot of that is self pressure, rather than the pressures from other people.”
And though Slusarski-Harris says that she has seen very few problems with eating disorders, she admits she’s dealt with “a couple of situations over the years” while at CSU. According to the dancers, these “situations” occur more often with ballet than the other forms of dance. Mainly because, to borrow from Natalie Portman’s character in “Black Swan,” everything needs to be perfect.
“[Ballet] is the hardest and takes the most work and concentration,” Spengler said. “There’s way more pressure. I don’t get nervous for a show unless we’re doing [ballet]. It’s intense and you’re on pointe, so if you make a mistake, you’re going to fall on your face. You have to be much more precise.”
And to achieve that perfection, the effortless grace and passion that Portman’s character desired, a dancer must practice for hours. Even if it means all day, every day. McCullough says CSU’s rehearsals are mild compared to those of a professional company, but still demanding nonetheless.
“Even here [CSU], people will dance for 8 to 10 hours a day, and it’s not even a company. In a company, they’ll dance all day long,” she said.
And though the hours can sound severe for someone not involved in dance, for a dancer it’s the norm, and it’s what they love. Engelken rehearses for several hours each day, and hardly gives the time a second thought. For her, ballet is about understanding what other dancers feel when they pirouette onstage.
“I love the beauty of it, like when you watch a ballet, you think it looks so easy and beautiful, but you know that girl is working her a— off,” Engelken said. “And I like how my body feels [from ballet]: tight and toned.”
For Spengler, ballet is the most difficult, but rewarding accomplishment in a dancer’s career.
“I think ballet is definitely the highest thing you can achieve in dance,” she said. “It’s hard, but I love it.”
As for “Black Swan,” Slusarski-Harris hopes people will focus on the story, and not on the exaggerated portrayal of professional dancers.
“Hopefully people realize that it’s a fictional tale, about a group of artists telling a story, set in this particular world,” she said. “No matter where you go you will have unbalanced individuals.”
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I actually had a friend who was a ballet dancer; she trained and practiced for one major part in The Nutcracker and lost a dangerous amount of weight in the process. In the end, she was STILL too "heavy" for the role and was reduced to a minor part. I think a lot of people have a similar experience or ideas of what being a ballerina is, but it feels very good to hear more positive aspects, and that CSU is promoting them!
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely good to see that there is a lighter side of what this dark movie portrayed. Personally, I don't have experience with how ballet actually is, I only know what I hear through mainstream media, and what I hear isn't often good. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteI really like the title; it drew me in. I also like that real dancers had the opportunity to defend their craft because Black Swan was a little intense and extreme. The quotes were really good and fit in with your story well. Great job!
ReplyDeleteIm really glad you wrote about this topic, my sister was a dance major at CU and she felt the same way about the movie Black swan. I loved how you described the fading golf ball sized bruise above her knee. It truly painted a great picture to me of how much these dancers are true athletes.
ReplyDeleteI actually have a lot of friends who dance and I do feel that they get a bad reputation at times. The title was great I thought that it really played a key part in drawing me into the story and making me want to find out more. Mad respect to dancers I think any of them would be proud of this story.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys! I used to be a dancer, but stopped in junior high before rehearsals started getting really serious. I think with dancing, it's no different than any other art or passion: if you want to be the best, you have to work hard, and sometimes people will take that to the extreme. But that doesn't mean that every dancer is starving or hurting themselves.
ReplyDelete