American Ballet Theatre will bring Tony Bennett’s prescient words to life with the world premiere of Jessica Lang’s 'ZigZag' at the company’s fall gala.
On Ballet TikTok, a Place for Young Dancers to Be Real
“On TikTok, rather than your technique going viral, you could have your ideas about ballet go viral.”
Harper Watters, @theharperwatters, a Houston Ballet soloist, is the rare professional ballet dancer to break through on TikTok.Credit.Videos by Yael Malka For The New York Times
Feb. 5, 2021
“How am I supposed to feel confident in myself when these are the ballet body standards?” begins a TikTok video by user @hardcorpsballet. The question stopped this former dancer mid-scroll. An honest conversation about ballet’s cult of thinness? Yes, please.
Then came the slide show: not a parade of waiflike bodies, but instead the well-padded Bear from Boston Ballet’s “Nutcracker,” and the furred and feathered creatures of Frederick Ashton’s “Tales of Beatrix Potter.”