Machine

The dance world remains somewhat bashful on the subject, but it cannot be denied: ballet demands highly optimized bodies. And not just classical ballet: even in contemporary and neoclassical dance, certain body norms must be adhered to. Even if this isn't explicitly stated, it's unavoidable that certain bodies become the norm on stage, even if one might have something else in mind artistically. Because, in the end, it's all about movement sequences, and these require clearly comparable bodies. If a dancer jumps into her partner's arm, that partner must be muscular so that they don't collapse under the weight of the one who jumps. Speaking of weight—the dancer shouldn't weigh too much either. Say, as little possible. Hyperbolically speaking: Ideally, she weighs nothing at all. Diverse ...