El ballet es considerado por muchos como un arte elitista. Normalmente, la gente lo ve como una burbuja cerrada al público general; solo aquellos que saben y son parte del proceso, lo pueden apreciar y por lo mismo, disfrutar. Tal vez has escuchado de vez en cuando acerca de una que otra compañía de ballet extranjera (usualmente rusa, cubana, francesa o estadounidense) que se va a presentar en el teatro de tu ciudad con los títulos populares de “El Cascanueces”, “El Lago de los Cisnes” u otras producciones anuales o cada seis meses. Pero, nunca se te anima a bucar más al respecto. 

Ballet has always been an enclosed, elitist type of art. The world of ballet is this hidden gem that only those emerged in the water are able to find the pearls of. Ballet is usually perceived as this closed bubble towards the general public. Yes, you might hear once in a while about a Russian, Cuban, French or American ballet company that is performing at your city’s theatre, and you might even go watch the “The Nutcracker”, “Swan Lake” or other ballet productions near you once or twice a year. But, you are never encouraged to look into the process that those performances entail. One never learns about the how the french origin of the names of the fouettés, the pas de chat or the promenade were changed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the struggles of ballet during the Russian Revolution of 1917, the technical and historical differences of the various ballet techniques or the misconceptions of ballet stereotypes in our society.

“Andrea’s Promenade” aims to change that. Although I have a history of practicing gymnastics, ice skating and other sports, ballet has always caught my eye. But the level required to dance professionally was never available to me, until 3 years ago. Since then, while juggling the highly-demanding academic program of my school and the International Baccalaureate, I managed to train for my desired path in life: ballet. It took me about 15 years to find the right place with the correct technical knowledge to even consider ballet as a possible career path.

Whether you want to make ballet your career, you are taking a few classes at your local studio, you are a “dance mom” who wants to learn more about the world your child is in or you are simply a person interested in the mysteries of the world of ballet, this blog is for you. I had a hard time finding the right information about ballet, but it’s never too late to learn about it and be captured by its beauty and cultural richness. All of the history, the technique, the struggles and the complexities of ballet are going to be explored in the following blog posts along my personal experiences during my career. I am getting myself emerged into this world and I want you to come along with me.