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Raising the barre: The reinvention of classical ballet

posted by Pretty Tough | Girls Who Are Fun Fierce & Feminine
Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 4:00pm CST

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If you think Swan Lake or The Nutcracker when you think of ballet, think again. Many contemporary troupes are forging new ways to enchant modern audiences by demonstrating that ballet is a living dance form. Check out just a few of the ways in which ballet is being reinvented.

Indie Rock Ballet: Goodbye Tchaikovsky, hello…The Shins? Last month, choreographer Trey McIntyre debuted with San Francisco’s Smuin Ballet a series of eight dance vignettes, set to tracks off the The Shins’ Oh, Inverted World album. Not only was there nary a pointe shoe in sight, but the male dancers shuffled across the stage wearing shorts and crew socks that evoked American Apparel more than Capezio.

Avant Chamber Ballet: The Shins aren’t the only indie artist to receive the ballet treatment. The New York City Ballet’s Justin Peck recently choreographed a performance inspired by Osso’s Run Rabbit Run, a reinterpretation of Sufjan Stevens’ Enjoy Your Rabbit record. Performed this past weekend at Columbia University’s Miller Theater, the piece was part of the New York Choreographic Institute’s 10th Anniversary Celebration. Known for blending a variety of instrumental styles (ranging from electronica to freak folk) to create ambient worlds of avant-garde sounds, Sufjan’s music serves easily as a blueprint for the contemporary ballet movement.

Ballet Inspired Workouts: Everyone wants to look like a dancer, but not everyone knows they actually can. All over the country, fitness studios are introducing ballet inspired workouts promising that long, lean dancer’s physique. Most notably, The Bar Method and Pure Barre studios have both seen an uptick in customers. It’s remarkable that even those who lack the coordination for ballet can take these classes and transform their bodies.

Pretty sweet.

Looking for a fast ballet fix? Watch the final scene of Center Stage or check out the new Black Swan trailer with Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. If you’re feeling inspired, you can even practice your own grand pliés.

(h/t to trendcentral)