As a ballet dancer is called a man. Ballerina in the big city. Is she a ballerina, is he a “ballerin”? "The world of ballet is so closed that ballerinas and ballet dancers prefer to create families exclusively in their own environment."

Conversation between two little girls:

- Auntie in ballet is called a ballerina. And what is the name of the uncle, you know?

- No, how?

- Ballerun!

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 concern them in full measure: injuries and professional illnesses, hard labor and complete immersion in the profession, and, as a result, unsettled destinies, undermined health, etc. But at the same time, there is a huge number of rumors and tales around this profession, anywhere else, perhaps, this is not. Ballet dancers are driven to the point that when they first meet, they try not to talk about where and by whom they work ... And the dancers' wives do not like to talk about this topic.

For example, what the author writes on one of the forums under nickname balet: “... I say as naturally as possible:“ My husband is a ballet dancer. ”Alas, how many times I didn’t try to immediately translate the topic of the conversation, nothing worked. After people found out where my spouse worked, they arranged a verbal questioning for me, bombarding me with the most ridiculous questions: "Yes? ..", "Uu, how interesting! ..", "And where does he work?" (of course, in the theater, but where else can a ballet dancer work.) "And what does he eat?" (special dry food for ballet dancers - I answer), "Does he play sports?", "Are you jealous of the ballerinas?" bisexual? "

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

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

at 13 he continued his studies in Moscow,

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

N. Tsiskaridze : “Curiosity led me to ballet - I really wanted to move behind the orchestra pit, because I was far from the mysterious behind-the-scenes world and I’m not sure that if in childhood they showed me the wrong side, the inner side of ballet art, I would have chosen this professional path. At the age of three I first went to the puppet theater, 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 easy and beautiful.

They brought me to the choreographic school at my insistence, in my family no one had anything to do with ballet. "

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

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

For boys from 1-5 grades. - 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 several years. Not only in our theater. Very few boys go to ballet - today it is becoming not prestigious. It is believed that a man must earn money, must be in business, must be courageous. There is a danger that we we will lose a whole ballet generation. To solve this problem, we will have to renew the troupe not only at the expense of the Moscow Academy of Choreography. This year, by the way, not a single guy was hired. There were simply no worthy graduates of the Academy. We will have to look for artists in others. theaters, and in the near abroad ".

Found on one of the forums the memories of a blogger under the nickname Worker of Labor: "... When I was engaged in ballroom dancing, I had a partner (an Azerbaijani boy) who moved amazingly, had a good ear and sense of style, and who was simultaneously engaged in martial arts and chess.

Somehow, returning from regular classes in the evening, we came across his classmates (beardless applicants for the proud title of a man with an overwhelming amount of unrealized hormones), who began to ridicule his hobby for ballroom dancing and loudly announced him petty (heel), for which they received a brazen face and they ran to complain to the parents.

It was convened parent meeting, where the fathers (adult men, some of whom had higher education and were engaged in teaching, so to speak, brought up future cultural citizens of the republic in their own and others' boys and girls) declared my partner to be cultureless and an aggressor, and also expressed their authoritative opinion, in an amazing way coinciding with the opinions of their own offspring on the subject of homosexuality among all those who are somehow related to dance culture. The stigma was so flashy that my partner quit dancing and went to study at another school, and, most likely, he will raise his sons in the same spirit of obscurantism and base concepts, which suppressed his versatile nature. This is how they become either gay or fools. "

Sergey Filin, artistic director of the ballet troupe of the K.S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater:"... In general, men are observed less and less. Men disappear as a species, and in ballet, even more so, in the ballet world, a man degenerates. What can be said about male dance, if in the majority of choreographic schools and schools in the world there are 10 girls there are 2-3 boys? And by the time when it is already necessary to enter the world of art, to the theater and take some positions, out of the three there is only one, or even not a single young man.

If talented men come across today, they are like diamonds; such artists, of course, are in many theaters around the world - I will not say that in all.

How was Soviet ballet different? There was a huge amount of talent. A brutal competition was held, and the selected children were genius even before they started working with them. And when they graduated from college, they really became stars and ended up in the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky.

The circle of strong dancers has narrowed very much, and today you can count on one fingers of the real great artists. If earlier in the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, Paris Opera, Covent Garden there were many dancers who had texture, perfectly mastered technique, possessed a bright individuality and intelligence, today this circle is narrowing. And if stars appear, then they are snapped up, they are invited to all theaters, they are literally torn apart.

Even at the beginning of the 19th century, a negative view of male ballet was formed in Western society. And the strongest stereotype that sits in people's brains all over the world and it is not possible to get it from there is that men in ballet are all gay as one. In addition, they run around the stage all day, touching both men and women, and this is sheer pleasure! This is not for you to work in a mine for 12 hours!

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

At the beginning of the 19th century, romanticism was in vogue 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 carrier. It was only to highlight her beauty and talent. Women dominate ballet for the first time in history. The romantic content of the performance focuses 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 directed more towards ballerinas. Fewer and fewer men were trained in ballet. By the mid-19th century, the number of men enrolled in professional ballet schools in Western Europe had dropped dramatically. This deficit 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 is a travesty).

Romantic critic Jules Jeanin stated: "... I know nothing more disgusting in the world than a dancer. Under no circumstances can I recognize a man's right to dance in a public place."

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

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

Rudolf Nureyev changed a lot in ballet, proving that a man can also be the center of attention. And our great choreographer Yuri Grigorovich sometimes divided the accents equally in performances, and sometimes even put men in the foreground. But there were real male dances!

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OF VICTORINA KOSCHEY from 12.11.2009.

1. TO BURN, THE LAMP NEEDS EL ______ (whole word)
El ektrichestvo.

2. "Hippopotamus" means: swamp pig, water horse , dry whale?
Water horse.

Although hippos spend most of their life in the water, they are poor swimmers. In most cases, they do not swim, but move along the bottom of the reservoir on foot. For this they got their scientific name - hippopotamus, which in translation from Greek means - "water horse".

3. Is a man doing ballet called BALERUN? well no
No.

Do you know what ballet dancers are called? That's right, ballerinas. And ballet dancers are called so - a ballet dancer, or a dancer, because there is no word ballerun in Russian!

4. Is there a country called OCEANIA? well no
No.

Oceania is not a country, but a region - that is, simply the general name for the world's largest cluster of islands (about 10,000 islands) in the central and western Pacific Ocean. But Oceania cannot be called a country, since the islands included in this concept are themselvessovereign states.

The total area of \u200b\u200bOceania is a million square kilometers! The largest islands in Oceania are New Guinea and New Zealand... Most of the islands of Oceania are resorts of fabulous beauty and climate.

By the way, when you are asked to name parts of the land, you should not say "Australia", but correctly - "Australia and Oceania". Otherwise, most of the globe will remain unaccounted for!

At the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus correspondent Naviny . by I learned firsthand what ballet dancers wear under tights and why it is believed that there are many gays among them. Read about ballerinas pregnancy 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, to the correspondent Naviny. by assisted by a theater artist Gennady Kulinkovich with the ballerina assistants.

1. Are ballet dancers fragile and fluffy?

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

true: The physical activity is really great. On stage - it depends on the production, of course - the ballet dancer, the man lifts the ballerina many times. In modern productions, all you do is pick up, set, pick up, set, pick up, 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 load. We have rehearsals every day, except for the weekend, which is once a week. Plus performances.

2. Ballet dancers are more likely to get sick

Hearing: Ballet dancers get sick more often than others due to heavy loads and constant diets.

True: The ballet rehearsal rooms of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus are equipped with bactericidal lamps, just like in a hospital. In winter, when the flu starts and other viruses appear, the individual worker turns on these lamps for half an hour to decontaminate the room. It is very important that diseases do not spread: we all work in close contact, train for many hours, rehearse. If someone brings a disease, then it is neutralized.

3. Occupational diseases in ballet

Hearing: Legs are the most sore spot on the dancer's body.

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

A 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 go down, which subsequently press on the bladder.

4. Young retirees

Hearing: Some people think that ballerinas retire too early.

True.Ballet dancers legally retire with 23 years of work experience. The time of maternity leave is not included in the seniority. As a result, ballet dancers become young retirees. However, many of them actually do not go on a well-deserved rest: depending on their health condition, retired dancers work as tutors, teachers, directors, stage workers, costume designers, etc.

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

5. Abnormal operation

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

True.Ballet dancers work 6 days a week. One day off - on Monday. In summer, due to the fact that spectators migrate to summer cottages and to the seas, the day off at the Bolshoi is postponed to Saturday. The female part of the troupe is happy about this: at last there is an opportunity to spend time with the family. Men grumble: when it's Monday off, you can at least relax and not do household chores.

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

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

It's convenient for young dancers: you can study during a break. Gennady Kullinkovich, for example, received a higher choreographic education. But now he sees few advantages in this graph.

“With such a schedule, it is very difficult to arrange a personal life. Look at me: 38 years old, no family, no children. All life is in the theater ", - says Gennady.

6. Ballet and children are incompatible?

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

true: It is really more difficult for ballet dancers to have a family and children in the midst of their careers than for representatives of other professions: both the work schedule and the fact that postnatal recovery takes time and effort are reflected. So girls use two strategies: they either have a family and children right after college / university, or put it off until they retire.

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

“Just like doctors and teachers, we combine work and pregnancy. We plan, go on maternity leave, recover and work further. This is the business of 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 have to bend, jump, you can fall and get hurt, ” - told websiteballerinas of the Bolshoi.

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

7. If he dances in ballet, then he is gay

Hearing: There are many gays among ballet dancers.

true: This is a common stereotype, says ballet dancer Gennady Kullinkovich. We already do not react to it. So they say about all men who dance. It is born out of a misunderstanding on the part of the viewer: how men can remain indifferent and calm, surrounded by so much beauty and nudity. After all, viewers often get backstage, and men are shocked: here everyone changes clothes, intimate parts of bodies are at hand ... But we are already used to this and react as if it were something normal. So the viewer thinks that men in ballet are gay.

8. What does the dancer have under the leotard

Hearing: Dancers don't wear panties.

Photo pixabay.com

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

Gennady Kulinkovich said that dancers have their own secrets. Dancewear manufacturers meet the artists' expectations and produce seamless patterns of special underwear invisible under the costume - bandages. Special clothes for dancers are sold by a store located near the Bolshoi.

9. Meat in pointe

Hearing: Ballerinas put meat in pointe shoes in order to less injure their feet.

true: Do not put meat. There are more modern ways to protect your feet. Ballet firms produce special half shoes that only cover the toes. They are silicone. Someone does not put anything - it is already convenient for him. Silicone inserts for pointe shoes are not produced in Belarus, they are made in the USA, China, Russia.

Photo pixabay.com

For a year, a ballerina wears out 5-10 pairs of pointe shoes, depending on the load. Some artists have their own pads - volume copies of feet made by masters, according to which pointe shoes are made according to an individual order.

10. Dancing pays well

Hearing: Artists earn a lot.

true: Everything is relative. The salaries 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 exit, points are awarded, which are kept by a special theater worker. The value 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 award. So, the salary of a corps de ballet artist is in the region of 120 rubles, and the bonus accrued for performances may exceed it several times.

Photo by Sergei Balay

Without a doubt, ballet is the main art form representing our country at the international level. And at the same time, the world of ballet, living according to its own laws, is hidden from the eyes of strangers. Thanks to this, many legends associated with him appear.

Our editorial staff collected the most common stereotypes and asked Igor Tsvirko, the premier of the Hungarian Opera House and former leading soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, to comment on them. About the legs knocked down in blood, shards of glass in pointe shoes and clackers - in the material of the portal Moscow 24.

"A woman doing ballet is a ballerina, and a man is a ballet dancer"

Of course not. The word "ballet dancer" does not exist at all. A ballet dancer is either a ballet dancer or a dancer, or (as I like best) an actor. But my son came up with a new name - "ballerinas". He says, since mom is a ballerina, dad must be ballerinas. I am amused by this word, and then, as I was told, in Spanish “ballerinas” means just a ballet dancer.

"Ballet dancers and ballerinas are forced to diet for life, eating water and salad"

This is fundamentally wrong, and if you ask ballerinas, they basically eat everything - they have meat, chocolate, and cakes in their diet. The Bolshoi Theater has its own bakery and pastry shop, where they make delicious pies with cherries, apples and cinnamon - many people also love them very much. After the premieres, we can afford both champagne and a glass of wine, so there are no restrictions, because physical activity compensates for everything. In general, everyone monitors their inner state for themselves.

"A real man will not go to ballet, only homosexuals work there"

This is actually very stereotypical thinking. In our profession, there are indeed a lot of people of non-traditional orientation, but to a greater extent this is typical, probably, all the same for Western groups. In Russian teams, this is not welcome. I would say that the dancers in our troupes are men who practice an art called ballet. I do not know what others think, but I am proud to be a representative of the traditional orientation in this art form.

"Ballet dancers retire at 40, and ballerinas prefer not to give birth, because this could ruin their careers."

As for the fact that ballerinas prefer not to give birth, everyone's life is different. Someone finds their prince early, a person with whom they want to spend the rest of the time that is allotted to us on this planet. Therefore, there are ballerinas who give birth at 18, and there are those who give birth at 36 or even 47 years old, so there are no rules here. A striking example is Diana Vishneva. She first made an amazing career, and not so long ago gave birth to a son, Rudolph. In any case, no career and no ballet can compare to the feeling of having a child.

As for the pension, if the body allows, you can still stretch up to 40. Artists such as Svetlana Zakharova, Roberto Bolle, Ulyana Lopatkina are people of unique capabilities and data, therefore, perhaps it is a little easier for them to keep themselves in proper shape for ballet in order to continue dancing at the turn of this age. Often the term of a ballet dancer is 18 years for a corps de ballet and 15 years for a soloist. After 15 years of experience, you can receive a pension certificate, but at the same time you continue to work as long as the theater and the director need you.

"The world of ballet is so closed that ballerinas and ballet dancers prefer to create families exclusively in their own environment."

This is rather due not to the fact that people are closed, but to the fact that we do not have enough free time to visit some places. Our work is intense and takes all the time, and when you have only one day off a week, you prefer to lie at home.

Sometimes an outsider who lives an ordinary life does not understand why we sacrifice our time and emotions, does not understand our faith in what we are doing, so sometimes people from the ballet face certain difficulties. Therefore, if it happens that people find like-minded people in our sphere, it is often a very strong and strong marriage.

"Ballet dancers do not have weekends and vacations. In order not to lose their shape, they must practice every day."

We have days off, in troupes it is one day. At the Bolshoi - Monday, at the Stanislavsky Theater - Tuesday. In Western-style troupes - either one or two days off. Paid vacation is 56 days, but often tours are organized during this period, so additional work is obtained.

Even when we have a vacation, people can lie for a week, but then they start to warm up, so often the artists do something on vacation - they pull the twine, swing the abs, someone runs in the morning ... In any case, they do physical activities. loads, because when you have been working for 11 months, you can no longer take and lie with an eggplant on a sunbed - otherwise it will be hard with the beginning of the season.

"The world of ballet is cruel. To eliminate competitors and rivals, the most cruel methods are used, including broken glass sprinkled into pointe shoes."

The world of ballet is really cruel, but it also has its pleasant moments. Of course, not everyone can cope with that, rather even psychological rather than physical, stress. But in order to get to the point that people sprinkled glass or ruined suits ... I heard about this, but I myself have not come across it, personally from my own experience it is hard for me to say. I am a kind person, and I never had any thoughts to do something bad for the artists. On the contrary, if only to support, because everyone who prepares a performance or dances understands perfectly well that a person prepares, tunes in and puts his soul into his work.

Rather, things like this can be seen in movies to enhance drama and a sense of competition. But in general, it can be compared with sports: if an athlete prepares for the Olympics for four years, and then participates in it, for an artist "preparation for the Olympics" ends with graduation, and it itself lasts until you leave the ballet ...

"However, in ballet, broken glass is not necessary either, because everyone who practices this art knocks their feet into blood."

Men - no, but ballerinas - yes, because they dance in pointe shoes. By the way, this is another common misconception: everyone thinks that men dance in pointe shoes, but they are not. We dance in pointe only if the role requires it, as in Alexei Ratmansky's ballet "The Bright Stream". Ballerinas really erase their fingers into the blood: this happens, because due to constant intense friction, calluses appear, which then burst - in general, everything, as it happens with ordinary people. It's just that it happens more often with ballerinas.

"In every musical theater there are people who are personally familiar to all artists: they are the ones who shout" bravo "especially zealously after each performance and receive free tickets for this. Artists respect and fear them, since not only their success, but and a complete failure "

Such people do exist, they call them "clakers". These are people who are much louder than regular visitors, clapping and shouting "bravo". Often they go too far and do it too deliberately, so that it begins to annoy not only the audience, but also the artists themselves. But I would not say that the artists are afraid of them: I believe that in any case, what you danced on, they will slap you.

Liza Minaeva