Contemporary ballet is for the birds

There is a lot of bad contemporary ballet.  Most of it comes in the form of ballet competitions where the budding ballerinas strike angsty poses to some tearjerking modern ballad and throw themselves on the floor repeatedly like Madama Butterfly before electroshock therapy. Jaysus, what do you have to be so miserable about?  You’re fricking 15 years old and your parents can afford to spend a fortune on your passion.  Given your obsession with ballet, you haven’t had time to kiss anyone much less take a lover or lose your virginity.  It’s hard to get any schlockier than seeing an adolescent girl rolling around on the floor in utter misery to Adele. I mean really, really baaaaaaad contemporary ballet.

Recently, I have seen some youtube videos of more age appropriate contemporary with more lighthearted choreography.  I hope it’s a trend.

Here’s the right way to do contemporary ballet.  This is Daniil Simkin again at an International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS in 2006 performing a piece choreographed by his father Dmitri Simkin to Rimski-Korsikov.  You can go to minute mark .40 if you want to skip the introduction. Utterly delightful.  Cheep!