Advocating Ballet Training

co-writen by ballet master Janet Panetta and her student/assistant Cecilia Lisa
Eliceche *

In Three Guineas Virginia Woolf makes a call for women to Protect culture and
intellectual liberty, simply by reading and writing their own tongue in such a way as to
protect those abstract goddesses themselves. Dance has its own living, concrete,
abstract and mythical goddesses. Each goddess has their own tongue, language,
technique, method, approach to the body and choreography. Some myths are based
on real practices and some on fantasies we construct. The construction can be
common or personal. We would like to rephrase Virginia Woolfs quote in the context
of dance and ballet, to make a call to female dance artists to Protect dance, the
living art of movement and choreography, an actual and potential space for physical
intelectual liberty and body criticality, simply by studying and incorporating their own
traditions (new and old), in such a ways as to protect those abstract and living
goddesses themselves. These dance goddesses might also be called witches. The
living witches are namely woman, who carry in their bodies and minds profound
knowledge of their craft and artistry. If dance and ballet are crafts of the body, many
women are the carriers of these embodied knowledges and histories in their tissues,
cells, joints, muscles, and imaginations.

Ballet is wisdom accumulated over the years with physical experience through
repetition in the body. Its a deep kind of knowledge stored in muscles, bones, cell
memory. It is passed on orally/practically from teacher to student. Generation to
generation. A passage of knowledge, one could say, equal to the martial and healing
arts. We dare to suggest this information that is transferred is on a large scale
female knowledge. From the moment when ballet moved from the court into the
theatre it has been a profession female dominated in numbers if not in rank. Despite
the fact that its a profession practiced and studied by way more woman then men,
the positions of power, directors, choreographers, teachers have been awarded to
the numerically fewer men. Still nowadays, in ballet classes one sees very few male
students and very many male teachers, compared to the amount of female teachers
in relationship to the high number of female students. Woman have to be twice as
good to get as far. This statements are written from experience in the practice and
not from a thorough statistical research**. Its like women doing most of the cooking
in the household and men being the professional chefs. Still, despite this unfair
gender distribution in the professional field, ballet and dance compared to other
professions in society hold a high amount of women. It is majorly female bodily
knowledge pass on from generation to generation. From dance mothers to dance
daughters. Physical knowledge shared among dance sisters. In the craft of ballet this
passing of information is not always a fairy tale. However, although there are some,
arguably many, abusive power situations in ballet, like in many other professions,
this is not an inherent quality of the form. In fact the relationship master/disciple,
mother witch/daughter witch, teacher/student can be one of great love and
generosity. A relation of sharing. It is the role of the teacher to make the best of each
individual come out, to make each dancer shine their best within their own body and
capacities.

Now all witches have their protocols of passing information. Ballet, Dance and
Choreography have various technologies for learning. Before the invention of VHS
in1970s it was an oral tradition supported by scores and notations developed by
different dance artists. Since the 70 various technologies have been invented
including the marvellous revolution of world wide web. Old and new technology (such
as VHS or you tube) as well as dance notation and scores, are forms of learning
movement and choreography from other time periods and places. Following the
witch craft tradition of oral transmission, we advocate this mean as a main form of
learning about the body and dance. We will give a brief explanation of our
understanding. In terms of learning movement , video changes the dynamic that we
see from the original action. In video there is visual delay, a trailing. Movement can
be copied with the idea that it was originally done that way, when in fact it might have
been done with more sharpness and precise arrival. Namely the video form (2D
image) misses precision, sharpness and nuance. Also if a performer in the video
makes a mistake of any kind it is set in stone. Now, lets take you tube, vimeo and
social media, these are important, precious technologies, but pose their own
problems. Since the beginning of mass distribution of VHS till todays easy and free
access to you-tube tutorials in many techniques and practices for the body, people
have chosen this media over an actual human tutor/teacher/master. We applaud this
open source free tutorial accessible to all, but think they are in no way a replacement
to a personalised relation with a live guide. We are in times of quick process
generation, fast and superficial. If there is no access to the source of the video or
study of the context of its creation, the copying from a video can become highly
problematic on social, racial and political level. The problem can arise because in
this media you have an aesthetic relationship to dance and movement that is
decontextualised from its geographical and socio-political framework. A typical
example is the ongoing tension with appropriation of african american culture in the
United States. For all cases, what an oral tradition offers, is not a aesthetic copy, but
a learning from within. A deep form of understanding. In a society of trash, use and
throw, we stand for long term profound commitment to dance and the body. The
deeper your study, the deeper your interest, the deeper your experimentation goes,
deeper your knowledge. Its a cyclical move. In times of virtual superficial relations
we stand for a witch to witch generational deep knowledge passage, transferred
fiscally, orally, from human to human, body to body, tissue to tissue, cell to cell.

Witches have potions, spells, principles and protocols. We would like to talk now
specifically about the craft of ballet. The craft of ballet should not function as an
oppressive system that limits the physical possibilities of a dancer. In fact it should
be the opposite. If the idea of beauty is a priority over the function of the body it will
block dance and freedom in movement and therefore make it strained and not
beautiful. Examples of this are the over encouragement of super high extension that
obliterate the integrity of the body, as well as forcing pretty poses that block dancers
from moving, jumping, transferring weight, basic dance actions. Ballet like witchcraft
is old, but this does not mean that it is inherently a stagnant oppressive system. It is
a technique for understanding the body. Can we have an experimental approach to
ballet? and what would that mean? To approach ballet with a research mind set, a
creative criticality, with curiosity to study the human body in movement. Its a mind
set but it is also a deconstruction of ballet to its basics. To its essence, to its
founding principles. We want to challenge the notion that the founding principles of
ballet are the court and royalty, to us the founding principles are the body in
movement. By founding principles of ballet we mean not the royal court but the
bones of the body. We are not interested in the mannerism and affectation of the
ballet tradition but in its pure technique. To deconstruct ballet technique and
understand it from a priority of bone placement, with muscles following. This is a
study of function in order to understand better ones own body in movement.

The ballet class is the daily ritual of the ballet witches. Like all rituals it has its own
protocols. The structure of the ballet class allows for independent articulations in the
beginning exercises at the barre and later more holistic approaches are required.
The exercises at the barre have a strong emphasis on dissociating different body
parts allowing them to govern at different times. A concrete example is the very basic
tendue step. A tendue a terre or a grand battement is domain of the foot. In other
words the foot moves and the leg follows.Each body part has its own intelligence
and can be a sovereign at different moments. The ballet barre provides for a
structure to awaken each independent body part. encouraging a body of multiple
intelligences, decentralised and non hegemonic. Technique in its basic principles
offers the dancer the possibility of making choices based on understanding. The
ideal of technique is to have more tools to access and make choices. To be able to
choose at different times different body parts ruling opposed to a monopolized
relation to the body.Donna Haraway writes that feminist objectivity is quiet simply
situated knowledges ***. Ballet can offer that understanding of the different body
parts, or local knowledges, from toes to top of the head, independently within the
whole of the body. Physics can be studied and understood both theoretically and
empirically. This refinement of situated knowledges not only allows for independence
of different body parts in a decentralised whole but by doing so it offers a greater
range of possible movement. Namely richer potentials for a richer dance. A craftier
more sophisticated technique. A wonderful detailed. active, partial way of organising
worlds. Worlds within worlds. Now back to grand battement, lifting a leg from your
foot demands less energy. But it is offering you a choice, the choice of wether you
want a more efficient lift or arduous one. However both are viable as choices
depending on choreography, aesthetic or your personal goal.

A more conceptual approach to ballet technique is to utilise the actual meaning of

the words that name the actions.
What is a pli?
- a movement?
- a position?
- an action?

Its primarily an ACTION. the verb TO BENDand secondarily a position or a

movement. Now we find the need to clarify the difference between a movement and
an action. We use action as opposed to movement because movement is too
generic in the imagery while an action is specific. Although positioning is a key
practice in grounding knowledge when the position is more important then the action
you lose the aim of the goal. The more specific image the brain has, the more direct
is the body response. To the point where the body intelligence takes priority over the
cerebral. The brain can be useful in honing body intelligence but not dictating over
the dance. The language approach is of great value to understanding and utilising
the precise image. However if we want the language to move from information to
knowledge, embodiment is necessary. By repeating precise actions we allow each
body part to understand, learn and register the knowledge in the muscles, nerves
and tissues. The more precise pathways you can store in your body memory, the
bigger the range of movement possibilities. When working with a specific image you
might not always succeed.You might not arrive, but what matters is overcoming the
fear of failing. To allow yourself to take a risk, is what will give your body the chance
to figure out new information in practice and not just theoretically. One can
understand the physics, but it is most important that the body does, and that is what
working on precision offers. The more physical this knowledge becomes the more
risk is allowed to happen.Information by itself is not knowledge. Knowledge
happens only when we physicalise the information.

For information to be physicalised, training, repetition, rigor and discipline are

needed. Unlike an assembly line in a factory the repetition in ballet technique is more
of a ritual for the body. The strict codification of the exercises and development of
the class give space for both challenging patterns of movement and understanding
the body. It is a space for connecting with oneself. This ritual of repetition offers a
familiarity, a place to come back into your own body. For us rigor and discipline are
not dirty words. In fact they are values of great merit. Were talking here about a self
imposed rigor, not an artificial outside force that weighs heavy on the individual, but
a positive obsession, a desire to learn, a love for knowledge and spirit of curiosity
and research. Rigor requires patience and desire. We oppose the cartesian notion of
the body as a machine, raw material or a resource. The body is an agent with history
and will. Desire and imagination are precious qualities for technique to be developed.
Dancers should have the desire to get better. Yes, frustration and discomfort will
probably arise at some point, as it does in life, but working through it will strengthen
you to go forward and broaden the possibilities. Work and repetition if done with the
right intention it is not only a viable way to learn, but it will reward a dancer with the
feeling of mastering movement and understanding more deeply how ones own body
functions. This sense of achievement and understanding offers the feeling of
success, a success that is personal, and not fixed. There is personal reward in
mastering a movement. This is how confidence is gained. Shying away from the
task only limits one's possibilities. Narrows the imagination of what can be done.
Master one small action and gain the confidence to go on to another. Even if you
chose to never use the information you gained, it is a stronger position to advance
from than not being able to do it.Ballet is about understanding the body in motion.
We would like now to talk about dance training as warm up.While in a personal warm
up yo do what you know, training takes you out of your comfort zone, into something
you dont understand or cant imagine you can do. It confronts us with the unknown,
possible fiction and the unimaginable. The capacity to challenge ones own comfort
zone. Last but not least the ballet training, if practiced from a deep understanding of
the body mechanics, it helps prevent injuries and keep dancers in shape, no matter
what kind of dance they practice in their professional work.

On a last note to functionality we would like to talk about music and rhythm.
Musicality is not merely a decorative or complementary aspect of dancing. Musicality
and rhythm are basic elements of technique and understanding of the body in
motion. Timing is crucial when it comes to weight transfer and movement in space.
The ultimate goal of a ballet class is to be able to jump. Jumping is all dynamics, its
a bounce. In order to achieve a light high airy jump or a sharp speedy weight
transfer, rhythm is essential. Being musical is bringing out a personal opinion to
movement, offering different meanings to a phrase by emphasising different parts of
the phrase.

Back to witchcraft, we just reviewed some the potions, and spell recipes, as well as
protocols for the ballet class ritual and the discipline of the craft. All this witch work
and bodily knowledge are spells and potions. Ultimately the goal of technique is to
transcend technique. Witches must do the magic with their dance

*This essay a materialisation of an ongoing conversation between ballet Master

Janet Panetta and dancer/choreographer Cecilia Lisa Eliceche. Cecilia has been a
student of Ms. Panetta since 2006. The text was co-written in November 2015 in the
context of Amsterdam Master in Choreography, while teaching at P.A.R.T.S. and
during the Rosas auditions.

** We suspected choreographer Keith Hennessy might have some statistic on this

subject, upon request he responded to us your basic observations are probably
just as accurate. The base economics in (ballet, modern, contemporary, western
concert) dance is female bodies and class fees. Probably 80% or more. Women and
girls study for more years before teaching and still do not get most of the high status
jobs. At Impulse Tanz women are 50% of the teachers. They are 50% of the
choreographers in the 8Tension series and way less than half of the presented
choreographers in the main/professional program. Keith Hennesy on email
conversation November 25th, 2015

***Donna Haraway. feminist studies, Vol.14, No.3. (Autumn,1998)