This post comes on the heels of the blockbuster Beauty & the Beast live-action version now playing in cinemas. I saw the beloved animated original in 1991 and was riveted by the theme and treatment of the movie. At the time, the animation was a cinematic achievement over the previous Disney cartoon film, and the original music, even more memorable. But what really blew me away was Belle, who was portrayed as not just beautiful (as all fairy tale princesses are) but also brooding, independent, strong-willed, smarter than the men, and...a bibliophile!
Fast-forward to 2017. Emma Watson is perfectly cast as Belle alongside a supporting cast of British acting stalwarts. Watson, really brings the character to life physically and gives credibility to the role. She is after all, the actress who planted "subversive feminist literature" all over the New York City subway and is a vocal Trump critic.
Belle and Emma. Emma and Belle seem almost identical and, for me, are both an ideal that ballerinas should aspire to. To be a Princess who is beautiful, strong and smart all at once.
"My ballerinas are not frail," says Teacher Vic. For emphasis, he places Daniella's gym bag on her back while she planks. "I teach them to move logically and instinctively. Our exercises at the barre and in centre are designed to train both their minds and bodies to work together. Often, exercises are repeated until it is committed to memory, and so that the body knows what muscles to correctly recruit for one movement or more."
getting strong with waist belts during releve
In the VGUD Studio, where the teaching style is constantly innovative, evolving and motivational, ballet students are given a bit of the "royal treatment" by Teacher Vic, who crowns the girls with garlands to make them "feel the part". This may seem like fun at first for the girls, until he starts putting plastic coasters on their elbows to balance while their arms are in second.
"I encourage them to feel like princesses," Teacher Vic says. "When they are exhausted by their entrechats, I tell them to say: I am tired but still beautiful!"
The girls are super smart too, if the combinations at the barre and in centre are any indication. Teacher Vic seldom demonstrates but always adjusts, and it's amazing how the girls can comprehend instructions in a foreign language so quickly.
In essence, the VGUD syllabus-if I may call it that-molds female dancers to be both Beauty and a Beast. In practice, I see it clearly in their petit/grand allegros, more so in their adagios, which are teeming with arabesques, attitudes, promenades and pirouettes. Without regular, deliberate and focused training...the adagio will be reduced to an unpleasant spectacle for the audience, with the dancer struggling to keep her balance and possibly getting injured in the long-term.
The beautiful Lily Macatangay (center, foreground) in Beast mode.
