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Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers Is Saving Ballet From Itself by Chloe Angyal
ecruikshank's review against another edition
5.0
“If ballet survives, it will be because of the individuals and institutions who are demanding that it do better, who have long loved ballet and are now insisting that it, finally, love them back.”
I loved this book, it made me cry, and I read it in a day.
TURNING POINTE is an in-depth exploration of ballet, “an ecosystem in crisis, made fragile and brittle by years of inequality and rendered dysfunctional by sexism, racism, elitism, and a stubborn disregard for the physical and mental well-being of the dancers who make the art form possible.” Angyal is a dancer, journalist, and sociologist. She brings all those perspectives to bear on this fascinating, heavily reported, unputdownable book. The writing is crisp and incisive, perfectly balancing accessibility and depth. It’s clear from every page how much Angyal loves ballet; it’s equally clear how fundamentally it needs to change lest it become culturally irrelevant.
This book resonated deeply with me. I did a bit of ballet as a kid but was primarily a figure skater. I found myself tabbing and underlining passage after passage that struck me as familiar and gasping with recognition at the areas of overlap: the classism and financial exclusivity; the rigid gender binary; the external bullying and internal elevation of boys; the white supremacy; the rampant perfectionism and mental health struggles; the pervasiveness of training through injuries; the immense burden on parents; the lack of an identity outside skating; and the “hidden curriculum” and unquestioned power of coaches. Angyal identified pathologies that were such a formative part of my upbringing that I wasn’t aware they were ingrained in my psyche.
One thing I found notable about the book is that whiteness is not presented as the default in the way Angyal describes her interview subjects and details the challenges and barriers various dancers face. Relatedly, she doesn't have just a single chapter about ballet's white supremacy issue; instead she weaves in the unique burdens imposed on dancers of color throughout the book as well as going into them in more depth in a standalone chapter. Another fascinating point she made was about the way efforts to defend male dancers against bullying actually reinforce toxic masculinity and homophobia: When people defend male dancers by highlighting their strength and athleticism (or, even worse, their desirable proximity to and rarity among female ballet dancers), they are diminishing or rejecting the boys and men who are drawn to ballet because of its beauty.
If you did ballet growing up or love watching it; if you’re wondering whether to enroll your children; if you care about our foundational stories and who gets to tell them; or if any of the topics that struck me resonate with you too, this book is for you.
I loved this book, it made me cry, and I read it in a day.
TURNING POINTE is an in-depth exploration of ballet, “an ecosystem in crisis, made fragile and brittle by years of inequality and rendered dysfunctional by sexism, racism, elitism, and a stubborn disregard for the physical and mental well-being of the dancers who make the art form possible.” Angyal is a dancer, journalist, and sociologist. She brings all those perspectives to bear on this fascinating, heavily reported, unputdownable book. The writing is crisp and incisive, perfectly balancing accessibility and depth. It’s clear from every page how much Angyal loves ballet; it’s equally clear how fundamentally it needs to change lest it become culturally irrelevant.
This book resonated deeply with me. I did a bit of ballet as a kid but was primarily a figure skater. I found myself tabbing and underlining passage after passage that struck me as familiar and gasping with recognition at the areas of overlap: the classism and financial exclusivity; the rigid gender binary; the external bullying and internal elevation of boys; the white supremacy; the rampant perfectionism and mental health struggles; the pervasiveness of training through injuries; the immense burden on parents; the lack of an identity outside skating; and the “hidden curriculum” and unquestioned power of coaches. Angyal identified pathologies that were such a formative part of my upbringing that I wasn’t aware they were ingrained in my psyche.
One thing I found notable about the book is that whiteness is not presented as the default in the way Angyal describes her interview subjects and details the challenges and barriers various dancers face. Relatedly, she doesn't have just a single chapter about ballet's white supremacy issue; instead she weaves in the unique burdens imposed on dancers of color throughout the book as well as going into them in more depth in a standalone chapter. Another fascinating point she made was about the way efforts to defend male dancers against bullying actually reinforce toxic masculinity and homophobia: When people defend male dancers by highlighting their strength and athleticism (or, even worse, their desirable proximity to and rarity among female ballet dancers), they are diminishing or rejecting the boys and men who are drawn to ballet because of its beauty.
If you did ballet growing up or love watching it; if you’re wondering whether to enroll your children; if you care about our foundational stories and who gets to tell them; or if any of the topics that struck me resonate with you too, this book is for you.
shakesabit's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
liralen's review against another edition
4.0
Dancing is an act of connection—to music, to community, to history, to an audience, to one’s own body. To dance is to affirm our humanity, to take up space, to revel in our own beauty and power. In moments of crisis—be they political, ecological, or epidemiological—acts of humanity and beauty are previous, essential, life-affirming. Ballet is sometimes described as an ephemeral art, a creation that vanishes as soon as it appears. But the harm it can do, as well as the enormous good, will endure. (266)Thoughtful look at ballet in its current form—something of a history of now, a story of race and gender and power and, more often than the dance world would like to admit, abuse. In particular, some of the things Angyal says about how hostile the classical dance world can be to POC are on point(e), and of course the discussion about some of the more recent...I'm not sure if 'scandals' is the right word, but public exposures of terrible treatment within major dance companies. And better: how and where things are starting to change.
I've waited too long to review this and am starting to conflate it in my mind with [b:Hurts So Good|56644004|Hurts So Good The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose|Leigh Cowart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617718384l/56644004._SY75_.jpg|69266410] (also talks a bit about ballet, but they're otherwise verrrry different books), so I'll leave that here.
zinelib's review against another edition
4.0
Angyal's take on what ballet needs to do to survive (basically racial justice, body affirming feminism) is absorbing and the right mix of citation-supported lay language, insider knowledge, and we-criticize-because-we-care-but-power-wielding-predators-fuck-off.
Chapter 1: The Hidden Curriculum has important lessons for pedagogy over all.
Chapter 1: The Hidden Curriculum has important lessons for pedagogy over all.
It's from the hidden curriculum, whether in biology class or ballet class, that students absorb assumptions, norms, and values. ... Students learn the ideal ballet dancer is silent, observant, and obedient. They also learn that she is white: the pink tights that almost every American girl is required to wear to ballet class were originally designed to mimic the color of white women's skin, and today, girls wear them with matching pink slippers.Chapter 5: The Unbearable Whiteness of Ballet observes
As underrepresented as racial and ethnic minorities are in front of the curtain, they are even less likely to hold administrative and artistic power. If ballet is to survive, it will need Black and brown and Asian American ballet masters and mistresses, repetiteurs, choreographers, composers, costume designers, set designers, and most crucially, artistic directors.That she lists set designers and not lighting designers when the latter is more important in dance, is troubling to me, but I forgive her for turning me onto the gleefully snarky Models Doing Ballet on Instagram.
kindleandilluminate's review against another edition
5.0
“Ballet is sometimes described as an ephemeral art, a creation that vanishes as soon as it appears. But the harm it can do, as well as the enormous good, will endure.”
I haven’t been in a dance class in years now, and I miss it. Somehow, even reading about the myriad problems within ballet made me think wistfully back on it. It also made me, not for the first time, grateful that I was never trying to seriously pursue ballet beyond what I needed for theatre and what I enjoyed for its own sake (although some of that lack of seriousness was because I knew, early on, that I’d never be the right ‘type’ - that even if I took ballet seriously, it didn’t take me seriously in return). Because those problems - covering the gamut from rampant eating disorders and mental health issues, to sexual harassment and abuse, to the physical demands on and deterioration of the dancer’s body, to institutionalized racism at every level - are real, and urgent, and desperately in need of addressing.
Angyal’s work in Turning Pointe is clear, thoroughly researched and well-organized, and convincing. This is an eye-opening account, especially if you’re not very embedded in the ballet world yourself, as well as a timely one (I’m glad the timing worked out so that she was able to explore some of the ways in which the pandemic has affected, for better or worse, many of the issues under discussion). And it’s clear throughout that Angyal loves ballet - as do the many dancers, doctors, choreographers, and dance parents interviewed in the book. It’s precisely because of that love that they demand change. “Ballet has survived for centuries because hundreds of thousands of people decided that it should.” And if it is to survive for centuries more, it needs to evolve.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Type Books for the advance review copy!
I haven’t been in a dance class in years now, and I miss it. Somehow, even reading about the myriad problems within ballet made me think wistfully back on it. It also made me, not for the first time, grateful that I was never trying to seriously pursue ballet beyond what I needed for theatre and what I enjoyed for its own sake (although some of that lack of seriousness was because I knew, early on, that I’d never be the right ‘type’ - that even if I took ballet seriously, it didn’t take me seriously in return). Because those problems - covering the gamut from rampant eating disorders and mental health issues, to sexual harassment and abuse, to the physical demands on and deterioration of the dancer’s body, to institutionalized racism at every level - are real, and urgent, and desperately in need of addressing.
Angyal’s work in Turning Pointe is clear, thoroughly researched and well-organized, and convincing. This is an eye-opening account, especially if you’re not very embedded in the ballet world yourself, as well as a timely one (I’m glad the timing worked out so that she was able to explore some of the ways in which the pandemic has affected, for better or worse, many of the issues under discussion). And it’s clear throughout that Angyal loves ballet - as do the many dancers, doctors, choreographers, and dance parents interviewed in the book. It’s precisely because of that love that they demand change. “Ballet has survived for centuries because hundreds of thousands of people decided that it should.” And if it is to survive for centuries more, it needs to evolve.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Type Books for the advance review copy!
heyjulianahey's review against another edition
“[Ballet] Companies should think expansively about what kind of stories are missing from their stages, what kind of human experiences they are failing to represent, and which audience members they are excluding as a result.”
Turning Pointe takes a deeper look at ballet in the 21st century, and how it can survive the issues that permeate its world, such as racial segregation, rigid gender binary, and inacessability.
The book is incredibly well-researched, and covers a lot of ground, including how companies, studios, and dancers were affected by the pandemic, and the place of ballet in the BLM and #MeToo movements.
However, I found that some importante voices were still missing from the narrative, such as dancers with disabilities, and those who never got their shot at ballet due to economic status, race, gender, weight, etc.
(The author quickly addresses disabilities in a single paragraph in the conclusion chapter.)
I enjoyed the book overall—as a former dancer, I am very much its target audience. But I’m not sure I’d recommend it to everyone.