‘Bikini line is still rejected’: Why does dance have a problem with body hair? | dance

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The body of the ideal dancer is unreal in many ways: more sturdier than Barbie, incredibly thin but very strong, with very special proportions (in ballerinas, small head, long legs, short torso, high mucus). Also, he’s bald. As with swimmers, athletes, gymnasts, and others who wear clothes for a living, constant hair removal is part of the job.

This applies to men as well as women. “I choose the shave because it gives me a sense of readiness,” says dancer and choreographer Elliot Smith. “I think it gives me a better outline of the body versus the stage lights.” On ballet message boards, it’s not uncommon to find parents of teenage sons asking what to do about hairy legs appearing under white tights (wearing a couple of socks, or painting over hair with a pancake are two suggestions, if shaving isn’t an option).

But is there an alternative? When columnist Lily Davis was photographed for the adidas campaign in March showing off her armpit fluff, in addition to her abs, there were plenty of haters online, predictably, but plenty of lovers, too. And there are few – if not many – contemporary dancers who are happy to let their body hair be seen on stage.

“I want it to be normalized,” says Jesse Roberts-Smith, an actress with Scottish Dance Theatre. Independent choreographer Eli Sikorsky sees it as part of a bigger picture. “It’s not the first fight I’d pick about body toning on stage,” she says. “But there is something ancient about dancing – your body is being watched in certain ways. I have learned not to have agency over your body and your body hair is a small detail about that.”

Smooth Players… Irina Takahashi and James Forbat train on ENB. Photo: Dave Jehogan/Getty Images

In ballet, the land of smooth, clean lines and impossible perfection, it’s hard to imagine unkempt hair appearing on stage anytime soon. “In classical ballet, you’d never see a pretty princess tutu with lots of armpit hair,” laughs Nancy Osbaldeston, principal of Antwerp’s Ballet Vlaanderen, who goes by shaved leg and Brazilian wax about her performance schedule. She recently danced with the mousse, a ballet with bare legs and high-cut leotards composed by Andonis Vuniadakis. “There were definitely some tough moments,” she recalls.

In the English National Ballet, a woman would come and do a lot for her part

In fact, Osbaldeston believes that hair removal is such a big part of a job that dancers may be able to claim it as an expense. “I think someone told me that if you have a good accountant to do your taxes, you can write them off,” she says. When Ospaldeston danced with the English National Ballet, she remembers a woman who came once and waxed everyone in turn as a lot.

National Dance Award winner Begoña Cao had a similar experience. “We’d put a mat on and lock the door.” Laser removal is also common. “I like to be tidy,” Kao adds. “The thought never crossed my mind not to take it off. If you had a tutu, the audience wouldn’t be able to see anything. But you have your fellow wingmen and ballet fanatics with their binoculars!”

Beards allowed… Elliot Smith production. Photography: Darren Irwin

Outside of ballet, though, there are some hair snaps, in keeping with a broader cultural shift among Gen Z-ers who are happy to flaunt their armpits au naturel on Instagram, or even dye their body hair. Then there’s beauty brand Billie, which proudly advertises its razors with pictures of models and furry bikini stripes.

“I feel like we’re stepping more into a world where they are both natural,” says Roberts Smith, who is 26 and leaves her hair as is, which is a good thing from the Scottish dance scene. “I don’t even think about it anymore. I’m fortunate to be in a company that embraces different shapes and sizes, hair-free and hair. It has to happen. For me, one of the most profound inequalities between men and women is that we’ve removed parts of ourselves for so long, and that’s What society considers normal. It’s crazy when you think about it, definitely bananas.” Men obviously shave their faces, but the disgust associated with women’s hair is gendered. “There’s all this deep-rooted stuff about hygiene, and it just isn’t true,” says Roberts-Smith.

Sikorsky, 33, stopped shaving her legs at the age of 17. “Because, I think, I figured it was possible,” she says, and because shaving irritated her skin. You’re more likely to get a reaction now on the tube than on stage – she’s had people take pictures of her when she’s holding on to an overhead strut. However, there is a density hierarchy. Sikorsky recalls that, in one of the first pieces she made, she was wearing a swimming costume. “I had hairy legs, hairy underarms, but I cut my bikini line.”

“I think the bikini line is still a hit,” says Robert Smith, regarding the move toward letting it all dangle — even though she has an upcoming piece of clothing and doesn’t plan to buy any wit.

Watch Sayaka Ichikawa, Damien Johnson, Marie-Astrid Mence and Jacob Wye in House of Dreams by Ballet Black

There are a lot of problems with hair – and most seriously, the dancers with African hair who have been told they are not suitable for ballet. French dancer Marie Astrid Mains spoke about this in last year’s movie Pointe Black. The fluctuations of personal grooming may seem trivial in contrast. But discrimination against African hair is changing, according to Northern Ballet dancer Iris Merrill, who has heard those stories but has not been subjected to negative comments about her Afro hair. In the United States, Clara danced at The Nutcracker with her natural hair proudly. “Some companies are more palatable; some companies want it to be very standardized, with the same back-slashing look,” she says.

Like Meryl, 17-year-old Taïs Vinolo, who appeared in the ad for Amazon’s The Show Must Go On last Christmas, used to straighten her hair. “I didn’t feel comfortable with my hair until two or three years ago,” she says. Now she wonders if we’ll ever see ballerinas with braided hair on stage. “I hope it happens. I’m pretty sure we’re close to that,” she says, but adds that as a young pre-professional dancer, “I’m dreading taking up this topic with my teachers.”

“I would have felt bad for my partner when he got stuck”…The Uncleaved Armpit Dilemma. Photography: Alexei Koldunov/Almy

Some choreographers incorporate (head) hair into their choreography, as Pina Bausch was the queen of long, flowing locks, whether she pounced around the dancer like an extra tip in 2006’s Vollmond or used to whip Bluebeard’s ruthless in her 1977 version of the folk tale. Osbaldeston says she missed the opportunity to act once because she had short hair and the choreographer wanted it long and light. Choreographers have a vision in mind – and that includes facial hair. Sikorsky knows of a dancer who has lost his jobs because he won’t shave his beard.

Smith has become more relaxed about his facial hair, he tells me, in keeping with a general shift across the industry that includes dancers with visible tattoos. He says that as an art director he has an open mind, but expects dancers to look “cool” and to be open about what is required for a particular character.

“I think it has to do with whether ballet is a personal expression or whether the choreographer has the final say in your appearance,” says dancer James Forbat, who shaves his chest and leg hair from the selection of performances. expressly requested to.

Sikorsky raises a similar view. Do you see the body as an abstract tool for creating visual art, or a person who is inseparable from what he does? “People think you can strip the body, and I basically think you can’t, and you shouldn’t,” she says. “This is where I disagree with a lot of people in the dance world.”

All of these dancers agree on one thing, though: Each person’s choice must be respected individually. But the decision to shave and wax, or wear your hair straight or natural, inevitably reflects the values ​​of their art forms as well as the broader culture in general. Osbaldiston doesn’t think any of her female colleagues will stop shaving their armpits any time soon. “I would have felt bad from the partnership, if the boy were holding you under your arms,” ​​she says. “But they have hair in there too,” she ponders, “so I don’t really know the difference.”

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