Would you say that ballet is exactly "anatomicaly correct"?

Question

because the widely held opinion is that it isn't...

Answer 1

Ballet isn't what our bodies were made for, it puts us in positions that can, and most of the time do, cause damage to your bodies. Why do you think ballerinas retire at such an early age? Ballet is defiantly unnatural. Like standing on your toes, We defiantly weren't meant to do that, that's why we have to wear pointe shoes, to help us. And I definatly don't think that its natural for someone to lift their leg 160 degrees and hold it there, that's why it takes so long to work to get that.

I think that because its so unnatural ballet is beautiful, its what separates ballerinas from the rest.

Answer 2

I feel compelled to correct "Jessica's" blatantly false response.

If someone were to break another person's hip -- be that the pelvic bone or the top of the femur -- that person would not be able to WALK much less dance. That reply was not well thought through. No one in Russia or in any other country has ever "broken" a potential ballet dancer's bones, not 400 years ago and not today.

Ballet is a difficult art -- and it is an art, not a sport -- for the reasons mentioned in other replies. When taught correctly under the careful eye of experienced teachers, there is less chance of injury than in other sports. If you consider that professional ballet dancers begin training young, around age 7, and they train several hours per day, 6 days per week, of ccourse that is a physically demanding profession. By the time the human body is 40 years old however, it doens't matter what profession you are in, whether you are an Olympic athlete or ballet dancer, your tendons/ligaments and muscles are NOT the same as they were at age 20. This isn't due to the sport, this is due to simply growing old. Dancers are highly in tune with their bodies, much moreso than "normal" people and, because of the rigorous demands of their "anatomically challenging" (ie anti- nature) profession, moreso than even Olympic athletes. When you combine aging with the excessive use of muscles and joints over a 20 or 25-year period, of course injuries and traumas to the body will result.

I think the answer to this question is both "yes" and "no". If one considers that the human body was not made to turn out from the hips, or stand on toes -- then the answer is "no." But was the human body made to run hundreds of miles, like Olympic runners to? No. Again -- if you are trained the right way, AND begin at a young age, the muscles will adapt to the training as you grow into adulthood. In this manner the answer can be "yes", ballet is anatomically correct if you approach it with care.

Answer 3

The two do not go together nor refer one to the other

Ballet is an art form. Anatomically correct refers to "Representing the body or a body part, especially a sex organ, in a physiologically accurate manner."

Since Ballet is performed by both Men AND Women no reference can be made to it being 'Anatomically correct' in any way shape or form.

Answer 4

No. This is why dancers spend their entire lives perfecting the art of ballet. If it were anatomically correct, it woul dbe easy to learn.

The whole idea of turning out your legs goes against the body's natural alignment. In fact, back in the day in Russia, ballet masters would have the hips of little girls and boys broken in order to allow for better turnout.

Answer 5

"Anatomically" refers to anatomy, not ballet. You could say
that the positioning of ballet movements are anatomically
difficult or unnatural or push the body beyond it's limits.
This I know from horrible feet and having a turned out
gait that makes me walk like a duck today.

Answer 6

some forms of dance are not easy on the body but some are designed to work with the body. russin ballet was the first to make ballet work for the body and not against it. a lot of your question depends on the teacher's leval and the style they teach.