Perhaps starting with the release of the movie 'Mao's Last Dancer' in 2009.
Followed by the movie 'Black Swan' in 2010.
Ballet is (once again) hitting the pop culture mainstream.
So far this year, hopping on and riding the popularity wave we have 2 current TV series:
1. The reality based 'Breaking Pointe' on the CW network following the lives of dancers in the Utah based company 'Ballet West'
2. The not-reality based 'Bunheads' on ABC.
It all seems so improbable at first.
After all, Ballet doesn't ooze attitude like HipHop dancing, or splash couple dynamics in your face like Tango.. So where is the mass appeal ?
Quite unexpectedly, I think I got an answer, while reading the latest (June 2012) edition of the UK Motorcycle magazine 'Fast Bikes'. 'Fast Bikes' is about, well, Fast Bikes. The magazine chock full of articles about machines sporting deliriously crazy power to weight ratios. On such machines a decent rider could be hurled from a sitting start to 100 mph in less than 5 seconds. That's awesome power on the human scale.
But on page 77 (shown above) there's a full page ad for the KTM 690 'Duke'...
It says (and I quote) "I need a Duke because...
dancing is my life"
Huh ? Yeah, that's right *because dancing is my life* (!) So says:
Name: Susi S.
Age: 24
Profession: Ballerina
We're in an age where Ballerinas are selling motorcycles in the pages of 'Fast Bikes' magazine. It seems that 'The Marlboro Man' has been kicked to the curb.
'Susi' goes on to say ".. blending previously unattainable refinement with sensationally cultivated manners and perfectly controlled power"
Yep, that sounds like Ballet (or is it a motorcycle ?). Controlled power with all the focus and grace of a pouncing leopard and there lies a lot of appeal.
