Podcast: From Black Swan to Barbie – A Closer Look at Balletcore

(PHILADELPHIA) – Martha Graham once said that to be a dancer is to become “an athlete of God.” As we see the continued popularity of Balletcore in both high fashion and athleisure, it is clear that the desire to deify our wardrobe and lifestyle is stronger than ever.

The Balletcore fashion trend was predicted to be on the rise as early as 2022 with celebrities like Jennie from Blackpink, Ariana Grande, and Sabrina Carpenter sporting ballet flats, leotards, tulle skirts, wrap sweaters, and bows.  Even for people who have never stepped foot in a ballet class, exercise regimens like pilates and barre which promise a sleek and lithe physique comparable to that of ballet dancers, are both skyrocketing in popularity.

While trends come as quickly as they go in the age of TikTok, many have been surprised by the longevity of this trend. As of October 2023, several athleisure and fast fashion brands have presented ballet-themed collections, most notably Reformation’s collaboration with New York City Ballet.

So what is it about ballerinas that makes them so fashionable, and how are Gen Z, a cohort known for their progressive views on body image, uplifting an art form that is notoriously rigid and conservative in this regard? In this episode, Genevieve Hartnett speaks with Dr. Jennifer Fisher, Dance Professor at the University of California Irvine about the cyclical nature of fashion trends, feminism, and irony in fashion to get to the pointe about balletcore.

TRANSCRIPT

GENEVIEVE HARTNETT: When you’ve been scrolling on Tik Tok or Instagram recently, have you heard this music? <<Swan Lake Music Plays>> Sound familiar? It’s the iconic theme from the ballet Swan Lake, and you probably heard it with a video of someone wearing a leotard, a billowy tulle skirt, leg warmers and bows. Everywhere! And the creator likely used the hashtag, Balletcore. 

DR. JENNIFER FISHER: I think it’s been in the last two years, maybe, that I had to ask my students what they meant by ballet core, it was a brand new word, but not a brand new concept. 

GENEVIEVE HARTNETT: That’s Dr. Jennifer Fisher, Professor of Dance Studies at the University of California Irvine. A former journalist and film critic, Dr. Fisher sees Balletcore as just another chapter in a long history of our cultural fascination with ballet. 

DR. JENNIFER FISHER: Well, I think through the years, people have always fantasized about dancers. They were representations of our fantasies and our fears on stage.

GENEVIEVE HARTNETT: From the revival of ballet flats to most recently Ariana Grande’s ballet class-ready look in the “yes, and?” music video, Balletcore is expected to be one of the hottest fashion trends of 2024. But by dressing in this heightened and childlike version of what ballet dancers actually wear, are we really clinging to our youth to ease our anxieties about the current state of the world?

DR. JENNIFER FISHER: So for those of us who live in the ordinary world, especially nowadays, when dress is so casual, there is something about tapping into that fantasy that appeals to people. And if they had it all a positive relationship with their childhood ballet. They maybe prefer to dress like that to remember it, as opposed to keeping up with the technique, which is a very hard and difficult thing.

GENEVIEVE HARTNETT: But let’s go back in time to the 1900s for a second. We have the Ballet Russe to thank for the influence of ballet in fashion. The Paris-based company, formed by Russian art patron, Sergei Diaghelev, brought the grandeur of the Imperial Ballet in Russia to the fashion capital of the world.

DR. JENNIFER FISHER: And they present this sort of vivid imaginary past, of these Russian energetic dancers who show new versions of ballet on the stage dressed as rajahs or princesses, or in an orgy of some type onstage, so that to be fashionable, the Ballet Russe is very fashionable, so you might get some very Egyptian looking jewelry or a less bulky dress of some kind by imitating the dancers on stage. 

GENEVIEVE HARTNETT: So Balletcore isn’t just a trend with Gen Z. Doctor Fisher says it’s been around in various decades in various ways. Ballet Flats and Ballet Pink came in and out of vogue in the 1950s and 60s. Once stretchy fabric became available in the 1970s and 80s, women were wearing leotards and tights to workout. And in the 1990s, who could forget Janet Hubert’s ballet pink jumper in her iconic dance scene on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air? In fact, Dr. Fisher says Hollywood has played a major role in turning ballet aesthetics into fashion

DR. JENNIFER FISHER: The Turning Point was during the 1970s. And the trend in actual ballet Studios was to wear sort of ragged things, very well worn, beat up things, cut out your leotards to make your neckline now they have so many designs, you don’t have to do that anymore. So people were probably imitating The Turning Point. And then Center Stage became the biggest ballet movie. So people were probably wrapping themselves, they wanted red pointe shoes and wearing whatever those dancers were wearing to rehearse in. And suddenly there’s Black Swan. So I assume that people maybe want to look like Natalie Portman these days. It’s a resurgence of basically the same thing of tapping into the culture of ballet from an outsider’s point of view, imitating the insiders but making it their own as a fashion statement.

GENEVIEVE HARTNETT: Dr. Fisher attributes a major part of this trend and a love for all things pink coming from the success of the 2023 Smash summer blockbuster Barbie. 

DR. JENNIFER FISHER: So, Balletcore was certainly helped by Barbiecore

GENEVIEVE HARTNETT: So the trend of imitating ballet has surfaced again, but Dr. Fisher says with a new generation, it’s emerging in a new way

DR. JENNIFER FISHER: I think there is the same interest in ballet but critiquing it now or making it your own. So earlier In the 1950s, 60s, or even 70s, when people dressed like ballet, they probably were imitating it with admiration and sincerity. Maybe being more nostalgic for the past and finding out they looked good in these clothes. Whereas nowadays, I think people dress with irony more. 

GENEVIEVE HARTNETT: While people are dressing in the trend because they love the aesthetics of girlhood and youth it evokes, it’s not without consciousness and recognizing ballet’s many flaws

DR. JENNIFER FISHER: And certainly the idea of Barbie becoming this phenomenon, but the critique is there, right? There’s a feminist critique, you could argue with what it is. But there’s definitely a critique of ballet being served up right now. Ballet has always been very conservative. And after the pandemic, many people have noticed what goes wrong with ballet. And the fact is ballet pink has been called racist because it matches white skin more than other skin tones. But if you make it a critique, I am choosing to wear pink. I’m calling it Barbie core or balletcore. We know it’s not real. I’m just choosing something frivolous. I know better than to believe that Ballerinas are princesses and live happily ever after.

GENEVIEVE HARTNETT: Even if the fashion of this trend is very different from what actual dancers wear, Balletcore is in its own way taking this elitist art form out of its ivory tower and allowing a whole new generation to experience the magic of dance.  While we shouldn’t overlook the strength, grit, and determination ballet dancers show every day for their craft, minimizing ballet to “just something children do,” a more inclusive and accessible future for the dance world is something we should all be cheering for.  And with all that, Dr. Fisher has one parting message…

DR. JENNIFER FISHER: Go forth. wear pink, do whatever you like. 

GENEVIEVE HARTNETT: This is Genevieve Hartnett. Have a great day, and as we say in the dance world, Merde!