Secrets of the profession. Ballet dancer: our boys are not girls at all, but real men

Correspondent at the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus Naviny . by I learned first-hand what ballet dancers wear under tights and why it is believed that many of them are gay.Read about the pregnancy of ballerinas and one day off a week in our 10 facts.

To figure out which rumors about the Belarusian ballet are true and which are pure fiction, let the correspondent Naviny. by theater artist helped Gennady Kulinkovich with ballerina assistants.

1. Are ballet dancers fragile and fluffy?

Hearing: During one performance, a ballet dancer lifts and carries about 2 tons of weight.

Is it true: The physical activity is really great. On stage - it depends on the production, of course - a ballet dancer, a man lifts the ballerina many times. In modern productions all you do is lift and set, lift and set, lift, circle, set. If you count the number of lifts, then yes, two tons is a real number.

In addition, ballet dancers rehearse and train a lot. This is also a burden. We have rehearsals every day, except for the day off, which is once a week. Plus performances.

2. Ballet dancers get sick more often

Hearing: Due to heavy workloads and constant diets, ballet dancers get sick more often than others.

Is it true: Ballet rehearsal rooms Bolshoi Theater Belarus is equipped with bactericidal lamps, like in a hospital. In winter, when the flu begins and other viruses appear, a separate worker turns on these lamps for half an hour to disinfect the room. This is very important so that diseases do not spread: we all work in close contact, train and rehearse for many hours. If someone brought a disease, then it is neutralized.

3. Occupational diseases in ballet

Hearing: Feet are the most painful place on a dancer’s body.

Is it true: This is partly true. Occupational diseases of dancers are diseases of the joints. Ballet dancers have protruding bones at their big toes, their joints become inflamed and naturally hurt. Women also have this disease, but it is caused by uncomfortable, tight shoes that deform the foot. U ballet masters- constant loads on the toes and forefoot: many movements in ballet are performed on the toes.

The second common class of health problems is prolapse of internal organs from constant jumping. Everything is individual, but often the kidneys, heart, and other internal organs drop, which subsequently put pressure on the bladder.

4. Young pensioners

Hearing: Some people think that ballerinas retire too early.

Is it true. By law, ballet dancers retire after having 23 years of work experience. Maternity leave time is not counted towards length of service. As a result, ballet dancers become young pensioners. However, many of them do not actually retire: depending on their state of health, retired dancers work as tutors, teachers, stage managers, stage workers, costume designers, etc.

To the interlocutor Naviny. by Gennady Kulinkovich has two years left until retirement. In the future, the dancer also plans to engage in teaching.

5. Abnormal operation

Hearing: Ballet theater artists have two days off a week, just like ordinary citizens

Is it true. Ballet dancers work 6 days a week. There is only one day off - Monday. On summer time, due to the fact that spectators migrate to dachas and the sea, the day off at the Bolshoi Theater is postponed to Saturday. Women's part The troupe is happy about this: finally there is an opportunity to spend time with family. Men grumble: when Monday is a day off, you can at least rest and not do household chores.

The working day of ballet masters is also abnormal in understanding ordinary person: from 10:00 to 15:00, then a three-hour break, after the break work resumes at 18:00 due to evening performances. The official working day for ballet workers ends at 21:00.

A long break is necessary so that after morning training and rehearsals the body has time to rest and recover before evening work.

This is convenient for young dancers: they can study during the break. Gennady Kullinkovich, for example, received his higher choreographic education. But now he sees few advantages in this schedule.

“With such a schedule it is very difficult to arrange a personal life. Look at me: 38 years old, and no family, no children. My whole life is in the theatre,”- says Gennady.

6. Are ballet and children incompatible?

Hearing: Due to requirements for appearance, ballerinas have to give up motherhood.

Is it true: Having a family and children at the height of their career is really more difficult for ballet dancers than for representatives of other professions: both the work schedule and the fact that postpartum restoration of shape requires time and effort. So girls use two strategies: either start a family and children immediately after college/university, or postpone it until they retire.

Despite the unfavorable circumstances, there are ballerinas in the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus who have two, and some even three, children.

“We, just like doctors and teachers, combine work and pregnancy. We plan, go on maternity leave, recover and continue working. This is a matter for each individual artist, but during pregnancy, the sooner you leave dancing, the better for you and your unborn child. This is associated with risks: here you need to bend, jump, you can fall and get hurt,”- told website ballerinas of the Bolshoi.

"We are the most best moms, wives, and we also know how to dance and walk around the kitchen on tiptoe,”- ballerinas joke in response to a question about the specifics of family life.

7. If he dances in ballet, that means he’s gay.

Hearing: There are many gays among ballet dancers.

Is it true: This is a common stereotype, says ballet dancer Gennady Kullinkovich. We no longer react to it. This is what they say about all men who dance. It is born out of a misunderstanding on the part of the viewer: how can men remain indifferent and calm surrounded by so much beauty and nudity. Spectators often find themselves behind the scenes, and men are shocked: here everyone changes clothes, intimate parts of their bodies are at arm's length... But we are already accustomed to this and react as if it were something normal. So the viewer thinks that the men in the ballet are gay.

8. What does a dancer wear under his tights?

Hearing: Dancers don’t wear panties.

Photo pixabay.com

Is it true: There is more talk about the underwear of male artists than about the underwear of ballerinas: the viewer under a snow-white tights, to his surprise, does not see the expected outlines of the panties.

Gennady Kulinkovich said that dancers have their own secrets. Manufacturers of dancewear meet the expectations of artists and produce seamless models of special underwear that is invisible under the costume - bandages. A store located near the Bolshoi sells special clothes for dancers.

9. Meat in pointe shoes

Hearing: Ballerinas put meat in their pointe shoes to reduce injury to their feet.

Is it true: No meat is included. There are more modern methods leg protection. Ballet companies produce special half shoes that cover only the toes. They are silicone. Some people don’t add anything - it’s already convenient for them. Silicone inserts for pointe shoes are not produced in Belarus; they are made in the USA, China, and Russia.

Photo pixabay.com

Over the course of a year, a ballerina wears out 5-10 pairs of pointe shoes, depending on the load. Some artists have their own lasts - three-dimensional copies of feet made by masters, from which pointe shoes are made to order.

10. Dancing pays well.

Hearing: Artists earn a lot.

Is it true: Everything is relative. The earnings of ballet dancers depend on their position in the troupe: leading stage master, soloist or corps de ballet dancer. The number of scenes worked in productions also affects. For each performance, points are awarded, which are kept by a special theater employee. The amount of points for each dance is different, standard for all artists, it depends on the complexity and duration of the performance. The amount of points received affects the bonus. Thus, the salary of a corps de ballet dancer is around 120 rubles, and the bonus awarded for performances can exceed it several times.

Photo by Sergei Balay

Continuing to explore the Internet for a match to the search word “ballet,” I came across my favorite resource Gey.ru, the inhabitants of which, as it turns out, really love ballet. And they pay a lot of attention to him.
Here's what I discovered on the most interesting (and more than once discussed) topic of ballet costume.

Men's ballet costume: from camisole and trousers to complete nudity

For men in ballet costume, it all started with such a twist that today it is impossible to even imagine how in such outfits one could not only dance, but simply move around the stage. But the dancers showed themselves to be real fighters for the complete liberation of the body from rag shackles. True, the path that they had to go through to appear before the audience almost naked, only covering their “shame” with a fig leaf called a bandage, or even naked, turned out to be long, thorny and scandalous.
Skirt on a frame
What was a dancer like in the early days of ballet? The artist’s face was hidden by a mask; his head was adorned with a tall wig with fluffy hair, the ends of which fell down his back. Another incredible headdress was put on top of the wig. The fabrics for the suits were heavy, dense, and generously fluffed. The dancer appeared on stage in a skirt with a frame, reaching almost to the knee, and in shoes with high heels. Robes made of gold and silver brocade, reaching from the back to the heels, were also used in men's attire. Well, just a Christmas tree, just not glowing with multi-colored light bulbs.
By the end of the 18th century, the ballet costume gradually began to change, becoming lighter and more elegant. The reason is a more complicated dance technique that requires liberation. male body from heavy outfits. Costume innovations, as always, are dictated by the trendsetter - Paris. The lead performer now wears a Greek chiton and sandals, the straps of which wrap around the ankle and base of the calf of his bare legs. A dancer of the demi-character genre performs in a short camisole, trousers and long stockings, a dancer with a characteristic role - in a theatrical shirt with an open collar, jacket and pants. In the second half of the 18th century, such an important attribute of men’s attire appeared, which by the way has survived to this day, as flesh-colored tights. This amazing invention is attributed to the costume designer of the Paris Opera, Maglio. But it is unlikely that this talented monsieur imagined that his tightly knitted product would turn into something elastic in the 20th century.
Albert without pants
Everything went within the framework of traditions and decency, until the great reformer ballet theater And passionate fan Sergei Diaghilev did not show the world his entreprise of a hot male body - Diaghilev’s Russian seasons. This is where it all began - scandals, noise, hysteria and all sorts of stories connected both with Diaghilev himself and with his lovers. After all, if previously a ballerina reigned on the stage, and the dancer played the role of an obedient gentleman with her - he helped her while spinning so as not to fall, he lifted her higher to show balletomanes what was under her skirts, then Diaghilev makes the dancer the main character of his performances.
Loud scandal, associated not with Diaghilev’s particular sexual orientation, but only with stage costume, broke out in 1911 at the play “Giselle”, in which Vaslav Nijinsky, Diaghilev’s official lover, danced Count Albert. The dancer was wearing everything that was required for the role - tights, a shirt, a short jacket, but there were no panties, which were mandatory for a dancer at that time. And therefore, Nijinsky’s expressive hips appeared to the audience in their frank appetizing, which outraged Empress Maria Fedorovna, who was present at the performance. Scandalous story ended with Nijinsky's dismissal “for disobedience and disrespect” for the imperial stage. But the artist’s dance searches did not stop; he continued his struggle for body freedom in dance. In the same year, Nijinsky appears in the ballet “The Specter of the Rose” in a costume designed by Lev Bakst, which fits his figure like a glove. A little later in " Afternoon rest"faun" dancer Nijinsky appears on stage in such a bold leotard, which even today looks modern and sexy. True, all these revelations are taking place outside the borders of his native, but stubborn Russia.

This sweet word is bandage
In the fifties, a dance wizard who idolized the body, especially the male body, Maurice Bejart came up with a universal outfit for a dancer and a dancer: a girl in black tights, a young man in tights and a bare torso. Then the young man’s outfit is improved, and the young man remains in only one bandage. But in the Soviet Union, as you know, there was no sex. He wasn't even on ballet stage. Yes, of course, love existed, but pure love - " Bakhchisarai fountain", "Romeo and Juliet", but no frankness. This also applied men's suit. The dancer wore tight shorts, over them a tights, and on top of the tights also cotton pants. Even if you look through the most powerful telescope, you won’t be able to see any beauty. Nevertheless, there were shameless daredevils in the Soviet fatherland who did not want to put up with such a uniform. They say that at one of the performances at the Kirov (Mariinsky) Theater in 1957, the outstanding dancer Vakhtang Chabukiani appeared on stage in a very revealing manner: in white leggings, worn directly on naked body. Success has surpassed all imaginable limits. Sharp-tongued, the outstanding ballet teacher Agrippina Vaganova, at the sight of the dancer, turned to those sitting in the box with her and quipped: “Even without eyepieces I see such a bouquet!”
Another Kirovsky dancer followed in Chabukiani’s footsteps, at that time not yet a ballet dissident and world-famous gay, but just a soloist of the theater, Rudolf Nureyev. He danced the first two acts of Don Quixote in traditional costume, permitted by the Soviet authorities, - in tights, over which short pants with puffs were worn. Before the third act, a riot erupted backstage real scandal: the artist wanted to wear only a white tight-fitting leotard over a special ballet bandage and no pants: “I don’t need these lampshades,” he said. The theater management extended the intermission for an hour, trying to persuade Nureyev. When the curtain finally opened, the audience was shocked: everyone thought he had forgotten to put on his pants.
Rudolph generally strove for maximum nudity. In "The Corsair" he appeared bare-chested, and in "Don Quixote" an incredibly thin leotard created the illusion of bare skin. But the artist reached his full potential outside the Soviet homeland. Thus, in The Sleeping Beauty, which he staged for the National Ballet of Canada, Nureyev appears wrapped in a floor-length cloak. Then he turns his back to the audience and slowly, slowly lowers his cloak until it freezes just below his buttocks.

Between the legs is a coat shoulder
Tells theater artist Alla Kozhenkova:
- We did it alone ballet performance. While trying on a suit, the lead singer tells me that he doesn’t like the suit. I can’t understand what’s wrong: everything fits well, he looks great in this suit... And suddenly it dawns on me - he doesn’t like the codpiece, it seems that it’s too small. The next day I say to the dressmaker: “Please take the coat shoulder and insert it into the bandage.” She told me: “Why? Why?” I told her: “Listen, I know what I’m saying, he’ll like it.” At the next fitting, the dancer puts on the same costume and happily tells me: “You see, it has become much better.” And after a second he adds: “But it seems to me that you inserted a woman’s shoulder, but it’s small... you need to insert a man’s.” I could barely contain myself from laughing, but I did as he asked. The dressmaker sewed a shoulder from a raglan sleeve into a bandage men's coat. The artist was in seventh heaven.
Once inserted hare's foot, but now it’s no longer in fashion - it’s not the right format, but the coat shoulder is just what you need.
Nureyev was a pioneer in nudity in Leningrad, and Maris Liepa competed with him in Moscow. Like Nureyev, he adored his body and exposed it just as decisively. It was Liepa who was the first in the capital to go on stage in a bandage worn under tights.
Man or woman?
But the most interesting thing is that men in the twentieth century tried not only to expose their bodies as much as possible, but also to cover them up. Some especially liked women's ballet costumes. A real shock was caused in Russia by the creation of the Male Ballet by Valery Mikhailovsky, whose dancers in all seriousness performed the women's repertoire in real ladies' outfits.
- Valery, who came up with the idea to create such an unusual troupe? - I ask Mikhailovsky.
- The idea belongs to me.
- Nowadays it’s difficult to impress the public with something, but how were your, so to speak, female-male dances perceived ten years ago, when the group appeared. Have you been accused of homosexual outrage?
- Yes, it was not easy. There were all kinds of gossip. Nevertheless, the audience welcomes us with pleasure. And there were no accusations of homosexuality. Although everyone is free to think and see what he wants. We are not going to convince anyone.
- Before your men's ballet, did something similar exist in the world of dance?
- There is a troupe in New York called the Ballet Trocadero de Monte Carlo, but what they do is completely different. They have a crude parody of classical dance. We also parody ballet, but we do it as a professional.
- Do you want to say that the technique of women classical dance have you mastered it perfectly?
- In general, we initially did not try to replace women in ballet. The woman is so beautiful that it is not worth encroaching on her. And no matter how elegant, refined, plastic a man may be, he will still never dance the way a woman dances. Therefore, women’s parts should be danced with humor. This is what we demonstrate.
But first, of course, it was necessary to master women's technique.
- What size shoes do your boys have? Male or female?
- From forty-one to forty-three. And this was also a problem - women’s ballet shoes of this size do not exist in nature, so they are made to order for us. By the way, each of the dancers has their own name block.
- How do you hide yours? manhood- muscles, chest hair and all sorts of other piquant details?
- We are not hiding anything and are not trying to mislead the public; on the contrary, we emphasize that it is not women who speak before them, but men.
- And yet, someone can be deceived. There must have been a lot of funny episodes?
- Yes, that was enough. It was, it seems, in Perm. The guys, already made up and wearing wigs, are warming up on stage before the start of the performance, and I stand behind the scenes and hear a conversation between two cleaning ladies. One says to the other: “Listen, have you ever seen such huge ballerinas?” To which she replies: “No, never, but do you hear in what bass voice they speak?” - “Why be surprised, everyone is smoky.”
- And none of the male spectators proposed marriage to your artists?
- No. True, one day one spectator, who paid a lot of money for a ticket, came backstage and demanded that they prove to him that it was not women who were performing before him, but men, he said, looking from the auditorium, he could not make out.
- And how did you prove this?
- The guys were already out of makeup, without tutus, and he understood everything.
Everything is filmed
In fact, today you won’t surprise viewers with anything: not a man in a tutu, not the tightest leotard, not even a bandage. If only with a naked body... Today, more and more often, the naked body appears in groups professing modern dance. This is a kind of bait and seductive toy. The naked body can be sad, pathetic or playful. An American troupe played such a joke in Moscow several years ago." Dancing men Ted Shawn." Young people appeared on stage, modestly dressed in short women's dresses, reminiscent of slips. Before the dance had time to begin, the audience went into ecstasy. The fact is that the men were wearing nothing under their skirts. The audience was in a frenzy of desire to get a better look at the rich male household that suddenly opened up to them, they almost flew out of their seats. The heads of the enthusiastic spectators turned around after the dance pirouettes, and their eyes seemed to be about to pop out of the eyepieces of the binoculars, which in an instant were buried in the stage where the dancers frolicked heartily in their naughty dance. It was both funny and exciting, stronger than any of the coolest stripteases.
Our former compatriot and now international star Vladimir Malakhov performs completely naked in one of the ballets. By the way, when Vladimir was still living in Moscow, he was severely beaten in the entrance own home(so I had to put stitches on my head) precisely because of the unconventional sexual orientation. Now Malakhov dances all over the world, including completely naked. He himself believes that nudity is not shocking, but artistic imagery the ballet in which he dances.

At the end of the twentieth century, the body defeated the suit in the struggle for its freedom. And this is natural. After all, what is a ballet performance? It is a dance of bodies awakening the bodies of the spectators. And it’s best to watch such a performance with your body, not your eyes. It is for this bodily awakening of the audience that complete freedom is needed dance body. So, long live freedom!
The article was taken from the information resource www.gay.ru.

Conversation between two little girls:

- An auntie in ballet is called a ballerina. Do you know what the uncle is called?

- No, but how?

- Ballerina!

The life of men in ballet is very closed. For example, it was much easier to write about ballerinas - you can find many articles about problems and successes, there are a lot of statements and memories on the forums. But here are the ballet men...

No, well, the problems of ballerinas also fully concern them: injuries and occupational diseases, hard labor and complete immersion in the profession, and, as a consequence, unsettled destinies, poor health, etc. But at the same time, there is a huge number of rumors and fables around this profession, There is probably nothing like this anywhere else. Ballet dancers are brought to the point that when they first meet, they try not to talk about where and who they work for... And the wives of dancers do not like to talk about this topic.

Here, for example, is what the author writes on one of the forums under nickname ballet: "...I say as casually as possible: “My husband is a ballet dancer.” Alas, no matter how many times I tried to immediately change the topic of the conversation, nothing worked. After people found out where my husband worked, they gave me a verbal interrogation, bombarding me with the most ridiculous questions: “Yes?..”, “Wow, how interesting!..”, “Where does he work?” (of course, in the theater, and where else can a ballet dancer work?) “What does he eat?” (special dry food for ballet dancers - I answer), “Does he play sports?”, “Are you jealous of ballerinas?”, or even cooler, “Does he get an erection during a performance?”, “And you have him?” bisexual?"

He is called the prince born on New Year's Eve.

At 10 a little boy named Kolya Tsiskaridze entered the Tbilisi Choreographic School,

at 13 he continued his studies in Moscow,

at 19 he was accepted into the Bolshoi Theater troupe, and at 23 he received the title of Honored Artist of Russia. His dance is technically flawless, characterized by spirituality and joy; his art has that measure internal tension and external restraint, which creates the majestic beauty of plastic.

N. Tsiskaridze : “Curiosity brought me to ballet - I really wanted to move behind the orchestra pit, because I was far from the mysterious backstage world and I’m not sure that if I had been shown the inside out as a child, inner side ballet art, then I would choose this professional path. At the age of three I first went to puppet show, then to the opera and, finally, to the ballet. It seemed to me that it was all easy and simple, but in fact, oh, how much hard work must be spent to make the dancer’s movements light and beautiful.

I was brought to the choreographic school at my insistence; no one in the family had anything to do with ballet."

In the choreographic school, boys have a special position - and this is understandable, very few of them go there. This is probably why tuition fees at first are different for girls and boys:

For girls 100 thousand rubles. per year (10 thousand rubles per month);

For boys from 1st to 5th grade. - 50 thousand rubles. per year (5 thousand rubles per month).

Gene. Director of the Bolshoi Theater A. Iksanov: "The problem of men in ballet has existed for many years. Not only in our theater. There are very few boys coming into ballet - today it is becoming unprestigious. It is believed that a man must earn money, must do business, must be courageous. There is a danger that we will lose an entire ballet generation. To solve this problem, we will be forced to renew the troupe not only at the expense of the Moscow Academy of Choreography. This year, by the way, they didn’t take a single guy. There simply weren’t any worthy graduates of the academy. We’ll have to look for artists in other theaters and in neighboring countries.”

I found on one of the forums the memoirs of a blogger under the nickname Shock worker of Labor: "...When I was doing ballroom dancing, I had a partner ( Azerbaijani boy), who moved amazingly, had good hearing and a sense of style, and who was also involved in martial arts and chess.

One evening, returning from regular classes, we came across his classmates (beardless contenders for the proud title of a man with an overwhelming amount of unrealized hormones), who began to ridicule his passion for ballroom dancing and loudly declared him a petka (pyatukho), for which they received an impudent slap in the face and ran to complain to the parents.

It was convened Parent meeting, in which fathers (adult men, some of whom had higher education and were engaged in teaching activities, so to speak, raised future cultural citizens of the republic in their own and other boys and girls) declared my partner to be uncultured and an aggressor, and also expressed their authoritative opinion, amazingly coinciding with the opinions of their own offspring regarding the tendency towards homosexuality among all those who are in one way or another related to dance culture. The stigma was so loud that my partner quit dancing and went to study at another school, and, quite likely, will raise his sons in the same spirit of obscurantism and base concepts that suppressed his versatile nature. That’s how they become either gay or fools.”

Sergei Filin, artistic director of the ballet troupe of the theater named after K.S. Stanislavsky and Vl.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko:"... In general, we see fewer and fewer men. Men are disappearing as a species, and in ballet even more so, in ballet world the man is degenerating. What can we say about men's dance, if in most choreographic colleges and schools in the world there are 2-3 boys for every 10 girls? And by the time it is time to enter the world of art, the theater and take up some positions, out of the three there is only one, or even not a single young man left.

If you come across talented men today, they are like diamonds; Such artists, of course, exist in many theaters around the world - I won’t say that in all of them.

How was Soviet ballet different? There was a huge amount of talent. A fierce competition was held, and the selected children were geniuses even before they started working with them. And when they graduated from college, they really became stars and got into the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theaters.

The circle of strong dancers has become very narrow, and today the real great artists can be listed on one hand. If earlier at the Bolshoi, the Mariinsky Theater, the Paris Opera, and Covent Garden there were many dancers who had texture, had excellent technique, and had a bright personality and intelligence, today this circle is narrowing. And if stars appear, they are in great demand, they are invited to all theaters, they are literally torn to pieces.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Western society developed a negative view of male ballet. And the strongest stereotype that sits in the brains of people all over the world and is impossible to get it out of there is that men in ballet are all gay. In addition, they run around the stage all day, groping both men and women, and this is pure pleasure! You don't have to work hard in a mine for 12 hours!

Meanwhile, this is a profession in which physical activity and creativity go closely hand in hand.

At the beginning of the 19th century, romanticism was in fashion and the focus of ballet shifted towards ballerinas; the dancer gradually disappeared into her shadow. The ballet turned to folklore, legends, myths and superstitions for inspiration. Nymphs and sylphs, innocent maidens, etc. appeared in it. The dancer was thus demoted to the role of the ballerina's ferryman. It was only to highlight her beauty and talent. Women dominate ballet for the first time in history. The romantic content of the performance is focused on the ballerina, pushing the dancer into the background. The audience wanted to see the ethereal, airy grace of the ballerina.

And the teaching of technique was addressed more to ballerinas. Less and less less than a man trained in ballet. By the mid-19th century, the number of men studying in professional ballet schools V Western Europe decreased sharply. This shortage forced ballerinas to play male roles. This practice of taking on roles intended for dancers of the opposite sex was called travestie dancing.

For several decades, the pas de deux (“dance for two”) was danced by two ballerinas (one of them a travesty).

Romantic critic Jules Janin said: “.. I know nothing more disgusting in the world than a dancer. Under no circumstances can I recognize the right of a man to dance in a public place.”

With the opening of Sergei Diaghilev's Russian seasons in Paris in 1909 Western society saw the ballet dancer's grand return. A real discovery were the productions in which the main character was a man, and the woman in them played a supporting role.

The audience again wanted to see male dancers, although prejudice in society was still not eliminated. However, it has not been eliminated even now.

Rudolf Nureyev changed a lot in ballet, proving that a man can also be the center of attention. And ours great choreographer Yuri Grigorovich sometimes divided the accents equally in performances, and sometimes brought men to the fore. But there were real men's dances there!

“Girl, lift up your bangs! You have four letters “D-U-R-A” on your forehead!” is the favorite phrase of the best ballet teacher. Dancer who has passed all stages career ladder in the Latvian ballet, talked about bloody fingers, hungry fainting, roles and luminaries, intricacies in the ballet family and retirement without a “drug”.

Can you tell us something interesting about your profession? About its pros, cons, pitfalls? To warn or inspire others? The Delfi portal invites you to become the hero of a series of articles about what the “wrong side” of rare and completely ordinary professions looks like. Write to us at [email protected] , through the form on Delfi Reporter or through our profile on Facebook. Our journalist will contact you. The editors guarantee anonymity/

How to become a dancer: mothers bring boys

Children enter the choreographic school at the age of 10. As a rule, girls come on their own. Since childhood, they have been dancing somewhere and dreaming about the career of a ballerina - a white tutu and satin pointe shoes, swans and princesses. Boys are brought by mothers who once dreamed of becoming ballerinas... It seems that this happened to me too. Since childhood, my mother took me to ballroom dancing, and as compensation for the time spent, I played tennis.

Mom decided not to stop there. To say that her message that we were going to enroll in a choreographic ballet school did not make me happy is to say nothing. Of course, I was sure that ballet was for girls. And I thought with horror that I would tell the boys in the yard: hello, I do ballet! And in response I will hear: well, hello, ballerina! But everything turned out to be not so scary.

During the selection process at the school, they examine you like a breeding stallion - every muscle and ligament - what bends, where and what breaks... Absolutely wooden pinocchio They kick you out immediately and give the rest a chance. Especially for boys - they are in short supply. There are those hardworking people who, within a year, turn from ugly ducklings into real swans - they simply live around the clock at the machine and under the machine. And vice versa, there are students whose natural abilities are off the charts, but laziness has ruined everything.

Of the 12 boys who entered school with me, only two graduated from college. At some point, my initial resistance grew into sports interest. I wanted to be the best since I ended up here. More than 20 girls were accepted at the start, eight reached the finish line, and only three got into the theater... To make it clear how offensive this can be: 8 years, 6 hours a day, 6 times a week. And in the end - no swans, no princesses...

The screening was extremely strict: every six months they looked at us through a magnifying glass to see who had achieved what. And this is correct, because the profession is associated with enormous physical and emotional stress. If a person cannot stand them, it is better to understand this in time. Experienced teachers they immediately see everything in advance. I think Baryshnikov and Godunov were “figured out” already in their first year of study.

IN secondary school we studied together with the guys from music school Emil Darzin, and after lessons they went to different buildings. I didn’t really want to study the lessons - I somehow thought that I would dance later anyway, so why do I need all these sines and cosines. But the teachers didn’t think so, so love didn’t work out. While our peers played football in the evenings and took girls to the cinema, we only thought about how to raise low calves, develop turnout, “break” the instep or do the splits. For two or three years in a row, every day I jumped on one leg on the stairs to the fourth floor - up and down, did massages and bandages. Only to change the shape of your calves because it looks more beautiful from the stage! The other boys were practically sleeping in the frog position.

The teachers did not stand on ceremony with us - they shouted and beat us with sticks. Everyone was crying. It wasn't so much painful as it was offensive. For an ordinary person this might seem sadistic, but the further we went, the more we realized that otherwise we would not be able to achieve results from some people. People tend to feel sorry for themselves. Yes, and you need to be prepared for the fact that physical pain and injury - normal condition to the dancer: everyone’s finger is worn until it bleeds, a muscle is stretched, or something is dislocated.

We had a legendary teacher, Valentin Tikhonovich Blinov - he was the best, he taught us to give 200%, but at the same time he was extremely harsh. He could throw something heavy at a dull boy right in class, or tell a girl who mixed up the combination: “Girl, raise your bangs - you have four letters “D-U-R-A” written on your forehead.

He had his favorites, and there were those whom he endlessly oppressed. At the time it seemed like a monstrous injustice, but when we grew up, we realized how right he was in his assessments of the children. If you do everything to win, he encouraged, if he saw that a person was on the verge, he straightened his brain. If he could not withstand the mental stress, it means that this profession is not for him. Ballet is continuous hellish work. The parents of some children tried to complain about the teacher, but it was useless, he was faithful to his method until the end of his life, for which many later told him: thank you very much!

Diet: no, I haven’t!

There are probably exceptions, but the ballet dancers I know eat like horses. Boys and men definitely don’t have any diets. The load is such that any amount of calories is burned. Of course, you need to make sure that the food is very energetic, so that you have enough strength.

Girls have a period of hormonal changes when they swell a little. At this moment, they are strictly prohibited from all flour, cakes and sweets, and are constantly told: you are fat, you have grown your thighs and butt. Some girls brought themselves to the point of fainting from hunger and anorexia. Adult ballerinas, as a rule, do not need diets when they are working hard.

I remember there was a girl - one of the best - who at some point suddenly stood almost two meters tall. And she had to leave ballet, because it’s hard to find a partner that tall, and it’s much more difficult for a tall ballerina to assemble her arms and legs. Although there are exceptions here too - say, Ulyana Lopatkina is not at all vertically challenged. But she proved her right with inhuman labor.

Competition: there are also fights

It starts from college. In the hall at the machine, everyone lines up in the letter “P”. If you are placed in the middle - you are the best, if on the side - something is wrong in your life, try to slowly migrate from the sides closer to the center. But it happens the other way around, when the teacher moves from the center to the side - this is a bad signal. Because the same disposition will then remain in the theater.

I can’t say that the boys fought among themselves in any particular way or used any ugly methods. Well, they could unite and start teasing someone, and there were fights - everything was like with ordinary boys. Among the girls, competition and envy were expressed much more clearly. Most often it was a verbal sparring, but it also led to fights in the wardrobes. And all the stories about crushed glass poured into pointe shoes - I’ve never heard of that.

Orientation: we have almost no minorities

People often ask me, are all of you gays there or is there someone normal? It is a myth. The vast majority of ballet dancers (at least in Latvia) are quite heterosexual men, who, due to their occupation, must dress up and put on makeup.

Abroad, in Europe or the USA, the gay presence in ballet is much more developed. I do not know why. I even heard about the so-called gay mafia! In our theater I know at most two or three people. Out of forty. And I didn’t notice any special treatment or hazing towards them. And they themselves did not really show themselves.

All the talk about boys in tights being half-girls is not true. Normal boys, and then normal men. Even, I would say, not every man can withstand such a load. I remember how Lesha Avechkin (who died two years ago as the premier of the National Ballet - editor's note) - thin as a string - like feathers, lifted ballerinas of 60 kg of net weight. And this is not even a barbell that you can easily grab by the handle, but a living girl who moves all the time! In general, this is a huge amount of physical labor and a technique perfected down to the millimeter. One wrong move can result in lifelong disability.

Career: today you are a prima, and tomorrow - a cord

Already from the age of 13-14 you begin to be invited to practice - from school to the theater. They danced some arapchat in "Raymond", or Anna's brothers in "Anyuta". If your name is called, it's very cool. You are already dancing with the stars, you are beginning to be saturated with the poison of applause, audience energy - everything that is most important for an artist, taking into account the not at all great salaries and very short term life on stage. At the age of 16, they are already accepted into The Nutcracker. Veterans always treat children kindly and patronizingly - they give advice and provide moral support.

At the final exam, boss Aivars Leimanis tells who goes to the theater and who doesn't. Those who have flown through decide their fate in their own way: some continue to study at the pedagogical department, others go abroad, others go to some variety show, and others completely change their profession. The tragedy is more for the parents. After all, if you don’t have talent and character, why suffer all your life?

Alas, many good dancers with talents do not stay here - they leave. The same Timofey Adriaschenko, who now dances at La Scala, immediately had the talent and character - he was already trying to be friends with the leading soloists at the age of 13. He's great. Yuri Safonov has already started his own troupe in America. Dace Radinya in Budapest is the leading soloist, Anna Laudere is the leading soloist with the great choreographer John Neumeier in Hamburg.

Usually it goes like this. First you get into the corps de ballet, you get some experience. Then they give you solo dance- you are a luminary. You can become a luminary when you grow out of the corps de ballet or, conversely, when you have worked for 15 years as a soloist and it’s hard for you to bear such a load - you emerge as some kind of king. The next step after the luminaries is the demi-soloist. These are non-main solo parts. Then - soloists (all sorts of pas de trois) and leading soloists (roughly speaking, princes).

As for the distribution of roles, you need to be able to be friends with everyone, then you are on the wave and at the top. In fact, until recently we had a rather strange system, when dancers had to perform both as soloists and in the line (when not busy as a soloist). Like, you’re both a professor and you wash the floors in the classroom. Of course, we respect any work, but from the point of view of ballet, it slows down. Either you achieved something or you didn’t.

Money: you can live, but it’s far from world class

For a long time, the payment system was extremely unfair - only two rates were paid - corps de ballet or solo. And no luminaries, demi-soloists or leading soloists. Although the loads are different. We lost many good soloists because of this. I remember once one of the bright soloists came and told the boss that he didn’t have enough money - he advised him to sell the car. The soloist quit. Other dissatisfied people followed him. Fortunately, the system has now changed.

Today the starting salary in the corps de ballet is 600 euros. Further more. Leading soloists receive about one and a half thousand. Plus, soloists and premieres are given separate fees for each role in the production. And this is not so much, given the load and endless health problems. Good that Lately health insurance appeared.

Touring is separate money. This is per diem plus allowance for each solo role. True, no one knows how much anyone will get. Most try to save on food in every possible way - they take boilers and homeless bags with them in order to bring their daily allowance to Latvia. But, of course, foreign trips are very interesting.

Partners: pregnancy is not a reason to leave

Yes, there are girls whose bones are heavy - it’s not easy to lift them. Especially when at rehearsal there are 10 girls to three boys. How many circles of hell is this? But the harder it is at rehearsal, the easier it is on stage.

It's no secret that the ballet troupe is practically one family. After all, dancers are in close physical contact at work all the time, and they... are people too. And here you no longer need dates and going to the movies - everything happens much faster. Typical story when they go on tour with one “wife” and return with another. This is not reflected at work - except perhaps in conversations in smoking rooms and dressing rooms.

Ballerinas nowadays rarely sacrifice motherhood in the name of their career. Often they dance when they are already pregnant. Some had serious problems, very. Of course, ballerinas have to go on maternity leave earlier - but they somehow negotiate with the doctors.

Meeting the Great: Pride for the rest of your life

A huge plus of the profession is that you can meet and work with great people and see them in real life, without embellishment. Rastropovich, Eifman, Vasiliev (and ballet Vladimir, and fashion historian Alexander), Ratmansky, Krzysztof Pastor... Working with them is something you can be proud of for the rest of your life.

Let's say our orchestra is playing - I can't say anything, it's very good. But when Rastropovich is at the controls - it’s magic and flight, it’s as if a powerful flow of energy is covering you. Everything sounds different. With the same musicians. At the same time, he is a very cheerful and completely humane person.

Eifman, on the contrary, is a stern guy - but undoubtedly also a genius. The Tchaikovsky ballet is one of the best. Andrei Rumyantsev, who recently left, was the soloist in it.

Pension: second life on disability

Usually people retire at the age of 38-40, after 18 years of work in the theater. But some work much longer, for example, Gennady Gorbanev, who was considered Soviet time the most technical artist who still appears on stage today. I have seen few happy pensioners. It’s good if you have the talent of a teacher - you can study at the Academy of Culture and work at a choreographic school or with gymnasts or with folk groups. And if not, everything is sad.

The state could support former stars, and even ordinary ballet dancers, who, as a rule, become disabled by retirement. But no one cares about them. And even though their pension is not the smallest, but after fame and applause on stage, to find yourself of no use to anyone, alone with yourself, is morally very difficult. It's like losing a drug. Some people become drunkards. Men and women. Fortunately, we have good training - many ballet dancers managed to start a second life, find themselves in a new business. After all, they are not afraid of work, even though their health is no longer the same.

The boy who chose ballet will have to thorny path. If you're straight, you have to defend your choice; if you're gay, you'll be stigmatized, perhaps before you're ready. People often make assumptions about you based on what you do. We have friends who were very surprised that my son loves cars, and as soon as he mentioned his girlfriend, a sigh of relief was clearly heard. My father, and my father-in-law too, never watched my son dance. Once upon a time, I brought home a video of his Nutcracker (my daughter, by the way, was also there). They didn’t look, they just apologized. It hurts. I don't think they realized how rude it was and that they were sending a very unpleasant message to me and my son, but it's a fact. Another “enlightened and cultured” acquaintance could “subtly” say: “It’s good that he knows who he is.” They also own the classic, “What are your male dancers called?” It was probably assumed that the ballet mothers would politely swallow this and pretend that they didn’t get the context. Most of us understand this context.

My son was bullied by straight teenagers and harassed by homosexual teenagers. He often had to apologize for the fact that he preferred women and had to overcome himself when he embraced homosexual acquaintances. That's it.

All this is just the tip of the iceberg for a male dancer and not the hardest part. What may surprise you is the pressure that male dancers are put under. Since choosing this path is associated with considerable difficulties, few boys begin it without some kind of ambition. Parents who allow their children to dance often encourage them to do so, because this increases the chances of success. There is some truth in this, but reality proves that it is not quite what most people assume.

Both men in ballet and women in ballet have competition. The higher the status, the more there is. The number of vacancies is limited, and applications for them are limited. a large number of talented performers. Studying in super-duper institutions is not a pass to heaven, employment in a good ballet troupe illusory for both men and women. But if a woman is unlucky, people will just shake their heads knowingly, because they understand that it is a competitive world. Once the same thing happens to a man, they start thinking about him that he is a loser.

When boys are still young, it’s not easy for mothers to brag about their son’s successes. As soon as mom says, “Fred has just been accepted into the Royal Ballet School for budgetary basis!”, people politely say “Congratulations!”, but almost always add: “You’re lucky, you’re having a boy!” It's as if anyone can study at the Royal Ballet, and talent and hard work mean nothing. For reference, the Royal Ballet is an extremely strong institution and not everyone can study there. I know very talented guys who couldn't get into the Royal or the School of American Ballet, or ABTII, or HBII.

Another reason that having a son is not very easy is the crazy mothers of ballet boys!

You've probably heard about these crazy divas, mothers of ballerinas. Wait, you haven't seen the ballet boy's mom yet. Note that not all mothers of boys are crazy, but those with whom this happened have an increased level of insanity. These crazy moms believe the world revolves around their boys; due to the fact that they, you see, are a boy, they often play the role of Queen Bee. They pompously talk about how to do this and that and boss everyone around like A-list movie stars. The driven mother of a ballet boy rarely has a sense of proportion when talking about her son and will constantly ride on your ears, telling you what he is all about. They become pseudo-managers for their sons and are sure that everyone, including the leaders of the ballet studio, must serve them. They expect their child's requests to be fulfilled first. If they feel like they haven't been given their due, things can take a turn for the worse. They sulk, they scheme, they threaten to leave before the big production, and they will fight anyone they perceive as a threat. This is an unfortunate phenomenon, but I have seen it in different studios and with different mothers. The saddest thing, perhaps, is that this is gradually passed on to his son, he becomes the king in the studio and is often socially isolated. Moreover, when does he start in the ballet world independent life, the boy is surprised that this world does not revolve around him.

I am sure that this state of affairs stems from the following things. First, overzealous leaders ballet studios they just jump for joy when they see that they are having a boy. Investments in a boy will pay off very quickly, so you don’t have to skimp on flattery just to get the boy to come to you. Artistic director will give him the most winning roles even at a young age, just to interest him, thereby provoking a feeling of superiority.

Second, due to the fact that most boys start dancing quite late (after 10 or 11 years), a boy who started early (4, 5, 6, 7 years old) often reaps laurels that are disproportionately large in comparison with girls. This leads to parents beginning to think that their child is extremely talented. A child can really be talented, but at this age there is no one to compare his talents with.

And third, Mothers of Ballet Boys must constantly protect their son from various threats. In principle, mothers already protect their children, but boys who choose to dance need additional protection. People are often cruel to them, so mothers also have to protect the child with redoubled force. This behavior is then difficult to change and, even when the child has already grown up, we continue to take care of him and are ready to tear apart anyone who dares to offend him.

I'm proud of my son and I'm glad he dances. When I see him move across the stage, my heart soars with him, but still, I don’t take anything for granted. I don't think that just because he's a man, he should be allowed more than his female counterparts. I expect his success to come solely through hard work, and maybe Lucky case will also play a role. I start to get furious when I hear from people that it will be easy for my son to get through because he is a man. Yes, it’s not the same for them as it is for women, but I dare to assure you, it’s not an easy path. He hates it when strangers When they find out that he dances, he speaks, they immediately become suspicious of him, so he has to make extra efforts to ensure that his personality is perceived without stereotypes. If suddenly he receives a scholarship or main role, it is taken for granted. If there is another boy in the studio, besides him, he has to be careful in his friendship; once he got a lot of trouble from one misguided mother and her privileged son. It's a lonely road, and I didn't choose it for him (like my father, I thought it wasn't what boys should do), but I'm happy he took it. Now my life is richer, my friendships are stronger, and my relationship with my son is better than many; so... I’m lucky that I have a boy, but not in the way that people think, but because it was from him that I learned a lot about life and love.