The Ballerina Here

She doesn’t dance for the applause.

A ballerina will go through 100 to 300 pairs of pointe shoes in a single year. Each pair costs $80-$120 and lasts only a single performance, sometimes a single act. To prepare them, she slices the satin, flattens the box, and breaks the shank. She then darns the platform to prevent slipping. The Ballerina

In works by Crystal Pite or Wayne McGregor, The Ballerina is no longer a passive muse. She is aggressive. She speaks. She stutters. She falls on purpose. Contemporary ballet demands that the ballerina display rage, sexuality, and clumsiness—human emotions previously forbidden in the realm of the sylph. She doesn’t dance for the applause