TRAINING TO BE A DANCER
A dancer's training is as strenuous as that of an athlete. In the great academies of
classical dance - the pre-eminent centres in the late 20th century are to be found in New
York City's School of American Ballet and St. Petersburg's Kirov Ballet School - a would-
be dancer begins to train at the age of 7 or 8. If the young dancer shows
both physical and artistic promise, the next decade will be spent perfecting
a program that is progressively more rigorous. Following a strict series of
exercises that have been developed and refined over the last three
centuries, the young dancer will be trained in a great tradition. The limbs will
be strengthened, the torso will be molded into what ballet masters consider
an ideal posture, and the dancer's experience will be enriched through the
study of related subjects in humanities and the arts.
Should the dancer show exceptional promise, he or she will be accepted
into the corps de ballet of a company, where an apprenticeship of a different
sort begins. First, to give the young performer experience, the dancer will fill,
minor roles. While the glamour associated with these roles may be slight,
they give the young performer a chance to gain assurance on stage and
the opportunity to measure their skills against those of other young artists.
Should the dancer continue to grow in stature, graduation from the corps
de ballet may lead to becoming a soloist or a principal artist. Of the
multitude of students who begin the study of dance, only a few of the most
gifted will win the fame and fortune to which many aspire.
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