Dance Informa Magazine: Why ballet etiquette does matter, but how it’s changing
Dance Informa Magazine’s UK edition explored how expectations around ballet etiquette are shifting, and invited our Executive Director, Robin Fiddes, to contribute the perspective of a scholarship programme that reviews audition submissions from dancers all over the world.
Robin noted a clear move toward more casual attire in the audition videos the Scholarship receives, observing that it is now uncommon to see a dancer submit in plain leotard and tights — a change that matters, because clean lines help a selection committee assess facility and alignment. She also made the case that a dancer who feels comfortable in what they are wearing tends to perform better.
On professionalism her point was simple: follow the instructions. Around ninety percent of applicants do. The remainder, she suggests, show a lack of respect not only for the selection committee but for themselves — and it shows in the work, however technically gifted the dancer.