What Makes A Professional Ballet Dancer

There is no doubt that a professional ballet dancer must be at the peak of their physical fitness and have impressive technical capabilities. However, all of that means nothing if the dancer has no artistry. A professional ballet dancer must be able to tell a story and convey a character, allowing themselves to be emotionally vulnerable on stage, in front of an audience. The objective of a dancer is to tell the story with their body and their characterization, taking the audience members on a journey with them. A ballet dancer wants the audience to feel something when watching a performance. That is why certain dancers create roles where we are immediately connected to the story and others just perform. Suzanne Farrell, a woman considered
The most intriguing dancers are those who pull us into their world as we watch. The more the dancers reveal about themselves, the more interesting they are. An important part of developing artistry is discomfort- pushing past the safety zone. “It takes daring,” says Farrell. “Ballet is moving time through space, not standing in one spot! Be adventuresome. Use gravity to enhance movement not to inhibit it. What makes artistry is how you conquer space.” The stronger a dancer's sense of self, the more fully he or she can interpret each role. They can bring the steps to life through many small choice in accent, attack and expression that make it his or her
Studio hours may be spent practicing and perfecting steps, no doubt. This time must be understood, conquered, embraced and celebrated. However, the individual dancer needs to embark on a process of discovery of the character, studying those who went before her and exploring phrasing and musicality. When dancing with artistry, it is important to use every aspect of the music. All the different nuances and shades of the music should be reflected in the movement. Susan Jaffe, a former principal with American Ballet Theater, encourages her students to imagine that they are the music, to use “the breath within the adagio, to find what is sharp, bright, staccato, lyric, soft, dynamic - all the different ways a dancer needs to move.” A dancer must add a bit of themselves into every single step, even those as simple as a tendu. Artistry is what separates students from the professionals. One must add individuality within the confines of the piece they are dancing. The choreography gives a dancer the mood and they fill in the blanks. A dancer learns when they need to attack, restrain, or stretch something out. Dancers, as intellectual beings, choose what they want to emphasize in their dancing. Technique without artistry leaves the audiences wanting more. Technique with artistry is