Corps Warriors

Corps Warriors

    

      Like most dancers, I have always longed for the spotlight, a moment to shine on my own

or with a handsome partner by my side. That is what we all work so hard for, to be The Ballerina, the one in the tutu in the spotlight getting the applause. We work tirelessly as children, teenagers, and young adults up until the day we retire, trying to hone ourselves into the best dancers we can be. We put in endless hours in the studio and at home, literally pouring out our hearts and souls for fleeting moments of delight and triumph onstage.

     While many times I have pictured myself in the spotlight, I never, as a young ballet student, really thought about what it would be like to dance in the Corps. But as I embark on the beginning of my 8th season with TBT, and with more than a few full length ballets under my belt, I really appreciate how rewarding it can be to be a part of the silent foot soldiers of the ballet world. It is a special secret sisterhood and  a true team sport. We Swans, Snowflakes, Willies, Nymphs, and Dryads are an essential part of any classical ballet. We come in and lay the ground work and set the tone and the mood for an entire ballet. While none of us singularly make or break a production, it is our focus and devotion to excellence as a unit that can make a performance go from great to outstanding.

     The concerns of a Corps dancer differ slightly from that of a soloist. While the major

focus of any dancer is technique and artistry, a Soloist focuses on making a role her own, adapting the steps and musicality to look best on her specific body type and personality. Conversely, as Corps de Ballet dancers, we must check our individual preferences at the door. Although we come in all shapes and sizes, our goal is to blend in and look exactly alike. We strive to have all of our arms and legs in the exact same position and our heads tilted just so. Counting the music is a big part of being able to dance together. We painstakingly plot out each movement, sometimes breaking a single count of music down to several separate parts in order to assign a place to be for every single moment. Every movement is accounted for and every misstep noticed. We obsessively dissect each step until each dancer has a total understanding of exactly where they are expected to be at any given moment. Only when we have put in this work and start moving and breathing as one unified organism, does the beauty of Corps work emerge.

     My Corps sisters are my support. During “Nutcracker” season, when we’re up to our

eyeballs in fake snow and tired to the bone, we take turns falling to pieces and being strong for each other. We share both in each other’s well earned successes and frustrating disappointments. The life of a dancer is not easy. It is a masochistic and self critical world and it is be easy to lose sight of what is truly important in our quest for perfection. It is with these benevolent beauties beside me that I find strength and inspiration. What an honor it is to stand beside them, where so many other women have stood generations before. To be part of the living history that is the art form of ballet and in some small way to have contributed to it, is a great joy.

     

     The hours are long and the battle wounds are many. We all suffer from tendonitis, blisters, bruised toe nails, strains, sprains, and permanent butt cramps from standing on one leg for excruciatingly long stretches of time. The accolades are few and far between. But there is nothing like the fantastic energy and focus you feel dancing in the corps; nothing like the last few gentle movements danced to the heartbreakingly beautiful music at the end of “Swan Lake”, nothing like that first magnificent moment when the curtain rises on “Serenade”, and nothing like the ferocious fury of dancing Hilarion to death in “Giselle”. I am profoundly honored to be a warrior of the Corps de Ballet.