What's the payoff for you?

Why do you go to the ballet?

Simply, I give myself the pleasure of entertaining all my senses and spoil my imagination. I love the classical plots (I mostly watch classics) and the entanglements around love and heart matters. I also try to compare the qualities of different dancers in different roles.

I guess it's completly irrational otherwise - I cannot explain why I love it.

That is a wonderful response Nadezhda.

I think you expressed my own feelings on the classical productions. There is something there that is hard to define, but it IS there. Something deep that touches the soul.

I suspect that there is a lot more to these classical stories than we know, because if we knew how this magic was created, we could make more of them... but for now it seems that the secret remains a secret.

I also suspect that these are not just stories of the prince and princess, but they present a metaphor that awakens the deeper levels of our own inner life. So thank you so much for saying this thing "cannot explain why I love it"... since I have a hunch that many, many others have that same feeling.

It would be nice to be able to unlock that mystery... and then ballet could really get back on track. It's a mystery, I think, it really is a hidden kind of thing... what is it about these stories that move us so deeply?

Thanks again Nadezhda for your thoughtful reply to such a simple question.

Oh, ronny, thank you for your remarks. I'm glad that I managed to put it down in an understandable way. I thank you for asking such a wonderful question, since I had to think a lot before actually replying (if I wanted the post to make any sense).

What strikes me as amusingly-amazing here is, that classical ballets are always about love, betrayal and hate. But these three have contributed to some of the most amazing plots in existence. Moreover, the plots are almost always so strikingly simillar - have you never thought that La Bayadere's Nikiya is a bird of the same feather as Giselle? They both die for their love, none of them wants to confess their love at first, they're both courted by men of higher rank, they become spirits, shades, a personification of feminine grace and forgiveness...

But despite the plots being so simillar, they always, always, always move me - reach for the part deep inside me, make me empathyze. And I think (no logic or sense here) that this empathy for a creature (Giselle, Nikiya, ...) being awakened in you is exactly what makes me want to see more ballet. For once I feel I undestand what this world is all about - it's love, betrayal and hate/trust. I know the plots were written at least 200 years ago, but they strike me as so contemporary and still alive, that it is almost not comprehensible. I have a feeling, the world's not changed at all in 200 years. Sure, we have computers, internet, fancy cars and McDonalds behind every corner, but what makes people cringe, cry and empathyze hasn't changed. It's love, betrayal and hate. It's the plot of a classical ballet.

Yes Nedezhda, you and I are thinking about the same thing. I think you really "nailed it" when you talked about life in terms of these 3 things... you mentioned Love, Hate, and Betrayal. This is life, this is the Universe.

The word Universe is made up of two things, Unity and Diversity and that is our world, that is our universe, that is life as we know it. Pure Love is the Unity and Hate upholds the diversity since hate repels or separates. Both love and hate are necessary for Uni-verse. There are separate peices (diversity), but held together as one universe by love. Love is the UNI and Hate is the VERSE.

And what about betrayal??? Well, that is there also because Universe is esentually only one thing and NOT two... so it takes Deception (betrayal) to make two out of one (kind of like unity has to be deceived in order for diversity to exist) This quality of deception is shown most graphically in Swan Lake and in Odelle but as you say, it is also demonstrated by the betrayal in Giselle.

So, you have recognized in your analysis of ballet the very deep fundamentals of life, and when you enjoy the ballet this knowledge just gets enlivened within you. It is life, it is your life and it is my life. Classical ballet is about life. It's wonderful, full of wonder and mystery.

Thanks so much for sharing your insights on the basic elements in classical ballet. I think you really nailed it with your analysis.

Oops, have to add one important thing to the previous post. There is the 3, love, hate and betrayal, BUT it is important to know that the Love or unity is the ultimate of the three. So the saying that "Love conquers all" is absolutely true and that truth accounts for the "goose bumps" that we get when the ballet ends in a triumph or a "happily ever after note". Life moves to that end.. a happy ending. Its true for everyone, absolutely everyone.

I'm sorry to be replying to this thread so late. I was away for vacation.

Oh, it's absolutely true - love conquers all. It's striving to achieve that feeling of blissful happines in one's life that makes ballet so enchanting. There is almost always a happy ending. Well, happy in some way. (ie. Even though Giselle cannot be united with Albert in flesh, she still gets the chance to convey the message about love to him and that is, in my opinion the whole point of this particular ballet.)

Were there no happy ending, I cannot imagine why one would still go to see a ballet more than once. ;) A bit of exaggeration there, but really - the wish things always turned out as well as they do in ballet (again, speaking of the classics) makes me want to go and see a story I already know by heart once more.

Took a little time to respond since I am setting up a new computer. I reread your responses Nadezhda and found more nice things there. Yes, I too notice a similarity in the classical ballet plots. One thing in particular that is very, very contemorary in the classics is the "No Boundaries" thing. These old plots start off in ordinary life but then somewhere along the way the story BREAKS THROUGH to some other dimension.

No boundaries is VERY comtemporary. So much so that Ford has picked it up as thier latest slogan... "no boundaries". I would like to design a post that highlights the idea that classical ballet is comtemporary (as you say), and that modern dance is getting old in a hurry. It is kind of a funny outlook on the two, so I am tempted to say more about it, but enough is enough for now.

And I think that we are both still within the context of the original question... why do you go to the ballet? Its really quite a hard question to get a handle on.... people know they like it, but it is hard to express the reason in words. Maybe someone else will be brave enough to give it a shot.

The main reason is inspiration. I get that motivation to get my extension higher and to improve my dancing in class. I always feel I dance better after having gone to see a ballet. I also
like to really see how professional dancers dance and to watch how they perform their steps.

I guess I also go because my favourite dancer is performing in it, namely Darcey Bussell, and therefore I have to go and see her dance, as I would never be able to see her otherwise.

Jeanette

Yes Jeanette, I can see why Darcey Bussell would be an inspiration to you. I have seen her on tape (prince of pagodas on "Great Pas de deux"). She is quite impressive. I might try one of those leg extensions, but in my case I better be careful... maybe I can extend about 1/3 of what I am seeing there.

Oh, and I think I saw her playing the role of Mitzi in Mayerling. She's cool.