On Ballet

Personnel: Tom
Location: The Bakerloo Line
Type of Recliner:  Standing
Reason for Lounge: Returning from the West End
Relative Comfort Rating: 1/5

Yet again, the Bakerloo line has proven to be a smelting pot of yet another small fraction of interest. And this was so un-contrived it’s not true.

The topic of Ballet arose between me and my accompanying friend and i’ll set forth, especially for YOU, my point. I would be interested to know what you think on the matter.

I feel that Ballet is pointless.

Bear-with-me.

Let me explain first off that i am as pretentious a Bohemian as you might never wish to cross paths with over a bottle of Proseco in a Soho drinking hole. I love contemporary classical music & jazz, appreciate the power of modern fine-art and independent film and enjoy a jaunt to the theater once in a while. However. Dance. I don’t get it.

When you go to a concert you are invited to experience all the emotions and colours and one can create ones own visualization based on what the composer intends for you. Fine. So let’s add the idea of motion to this, via Ballet. I genuinely feel that it doesn’t ADD anything to the ‘art’. The music is wonderful and enveloping and beautifully tells the story to which you can fantasize whatever you will. But by imposing dance upon this, in my humble opinion, does little more than limit the experience! It takes the power out of allowing the visuals and colors to take place in the mind and restricts the viewer to what s/he sees prancing in front of him/her. In somewhat of the same way people don’t like to watch the film before they’ve read the book.

I realise this may sound glib, and i have no problems with ‘dance’ per se, despite not really understanding it. I do think that as part of an aggregation of several other forms it can certainly have a place and go a distance to heightening the experience for the viewer. That is to say, combined with song, music, drama, whatever, it can be extremely moving and powerful. But, to limit the viewers experience to music, which COULD and often DOES stand alone, plus dance which does no add anything emotionally, and arguably detracts visually/ mentally, i find in favor of - “pointless”.

To use the metaphor i bumbled through on our favorite train line:

It’s like a beautiful woman; the form and curves stand alone. To simply put on a pair of shoes would only make a rather oddly erotic image but certainly doesn’t heighten her beauty. It is not until she finds an elegant red silk dress, sparkling golden jewelery and spends 3 hours on her hair and makeup that she will have added to the experience for her audience.