Ballet is the first genre of dance every little girl gets introduced to when their mothers sign them up for their first class at age four. For many years of my life, I thought ballet and tap were the only dance styles that even existed. I danced for a year or two when I was around age four myself, and the biggest reason I quit was because ballet classes at age four involve more “leap frog” and game-type activities just to get your body moving than actual, technique-based dancing. Even at age four, I wanted to learn how to dance, not mess around.
As funny as it is, the thing that showed me there was more to dance than just ballet was the show Dance Moms, and that's when I signed up for my first jazz class at age fourteen and truly fell in love with dance. Being exposed to jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and acrobatics through Dance Moms opened my eyes to a whole new realm of enjoyment and passion.
Of course, as many dancers know, if you want to be an excellent jazz or contemporary dancer you must still take ballet for the technical foundation it provides. As I approach my freshman year of college as a dance major (because yes, my passion is so strong that I strive for a dance-related career by owning a studio), I know I will continue to take my fair share of ballet classes along with the styles I enjoy.
I apply myself as much as possible in ballet, however, that doesn't necessarily mean I'm loving every tendu, rond de jambe, and petit allegro exercise I have to do. Particularly the petit allegro, dear lord do I not enjoy the petit allegro. If you don't know what that is, it's essentially a series of small, quick, torturous jumps that make you wish you had better lungs. YouTube it.
One of the biggest reasons I do not enjoy ballet as much as other dance classes is because ballet classes can become way too redundant, resulting in me feeling unmotivated to strive for improvement at times.
The lesson plan feels like too much of a routine, whereas I prefer spontaneity within a dance class. I want to be exposed to learning new skills and doing things a little differently in each dance class, and I have not found a single ballet class to accommodate that learning environment I desire.
Perhaps I have just never been exposed to a good quality ballet class, because I would like to work more on achieving multiple ballet pirouettes with clean technique, getting higher grand jetes, and improving upon my fouette turns. Instead, just about every ballet class I've been in is focused too much on the basic technique instead of delving into the more advanced technique that aims towards improving specific skills, such as fouette turns. This holds truth for every ballet class I have been in, even in some higher level ballet classes.
Yet another reason I struggle to enjoy ballet is the fact that I feel it is too structured and almost old-fashioned, which I suppose is the way it's meant to be. But personally, I would much prefer to work on learning the technique it takes to achieve flawless leg-hold turns and switch leaps in jazz class than have to force myself through a boring barre combination that just isn't sparking my desire to learn. Even beyond technique and skills, ballet choreography is also obviously far more strict than jazz or contemporary choreography.
There is only so much you can do while choreographing a ballet dance while sticking to conventional guidelines. With contemporary for example, you are allowed to be free and unconventional in your choreography. You can throw in some movements that no one has ever done before. With all that freedom, I have a much better time personally relating and emoting to contemporary routines vs. ballet routines.
In short, I will never experience the same passion and desire in ballet class that I will experience in a jazz or contemporary class, and I've grown to accept it. Does that mean I'm going to quit trying in ballet class? Of course not, but I can admit that ballet will never light the same fire that my favorite genres do for me.
While I know ballet is essential to creating a well-rounded dancer, I know I am not the only one that shares the same view on it. Some people do exceptionally better in an environment where there is nothing but structure and a strict routine that is never changed. However, for me, I need a challenge. I need new avenues in which to expend my energy and creativity. Ballet just doesn't satisfy that for me.
Then again, I never aspired to be a prima ballerina. I aspire to be the best I can be with the styles of dance I love the most. I aspire to be able to leap higher, be more flexible, and cleanly execute more turns. I aspire to improve the quality of my movement all while being able to “move” an audience at the same time with my dancing.
I guess you could chalk it up to saying I have different goals beyond ballet, and that's okay. We all have different likes and dislikes, and becoming aware of these differences will allow us to figure out where our passion lies as dancers.
