Ballet is not only a beautiful art form, but it also involves as much strength as a professional sport. It is hard and it provides a solid foundation for many other dance forms. Work in ballet means working on your OWN anatomy and using is as a foundation to improve. Everyone is not born with 180-degree turnout and perfectly arched feet. Learning what your strengths and weakness are provides you with things to work with and skills to develop over time. Whenever I take a ballet class I focus on one thing I need to improve on or a bad habit I need to fix. I set mini goals for myself. Once that goal is met, I set another one. To me, work in Ballet means that you always find something to work towards every class and the constantly keep in mind that no one is perfect and there is always something that needs improvement. This mind state helps you progress at a faster pace.
Work in ballet is very different from work in any other art form. It is extremely technical and demands a great amount of exactness, determination, and focus. Ballet training not only challenges your body, but it challenges your mind as well. There is always something to fix technically, so the work in class never stops. Ballet is difficult because it requires a large amount of repetition, memorization of French terminology, and an enormous amount of mind over body focus and control. Ballet is a beautiful strength.
I really agree with what Courtney has to say relating to the ballet technique and working with one's own anatomy. Being able to acknowledge these strengths and weaknesses is important in finding what one is able to work with and how he or she may be able to improve in certain areas. As I wrote in my own blog, I also agree with Courtney when she defines "work" as setting goals for yourself. With these goals in mind, one will try to accomplish them through training and practice, or "work," and hopefully become a more knowledgeable ballet dancer. Lastly, I also view "work" differently in the ballet technique than in other dance forms. I do find it to be more difficult work than work dedicated to other classes. Because it does seem to be a more technical genre, especially one that I am not exactly comfortable with, the goals set are approached with greater determination or sometimes a stronger work ethic.
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