Women in Sports: The Prix de Lausanne and my beloved Russian Figure Skaters

I’m sitting here after braiding a flower in my hair. I just brought them to my boyfriend, who is sitting here playing a hyper realistic train conductor simulation which I find mega sexy. Behind him, his pre-pro chef roommate is making us all dinner out of what remains in the fridge. The fumes from the spices are so intense that both my boyfriend and I cough, but only he vocally laments, while I revel in my luck.

This past week at work, my last week at work, happened to coincide with an exciting moment in the ballet universe. The annual Prix de Lausanne was streaming from Switzerland, and this past year of ballet-company-employment afforded me the a priori knowledge of the selected candidates and their strengths. Basically, last week was MY superbowl. I scowled at anyone who suggested my last week as a salaried employee should involve any serious output, and instead kicked me feet up and watched the three-to-four-hour long daily live streams of 15-18 year olds in classical and contemporary coaching. 

My largest takeaway was shockingly in the contemporary category. One of the ballet influencers who I follow, thanks to her relative overexposure in what many would consider exploitative training, was present in the competition. She competed the same contemporary solo as number 317, Paloma from Argentina, who quickly became my favorite candidate. Never have I seen such an obvious display of lack of artistry due to perfectionism. Where Melanie pretended, Pamela embodied. I can't tell if it's a bias due to solely sex appeal, but there is clearly a delineation between the girl's training and their ability to inhibit fluid choreography. Pamela ended up placing the highest out of any girl in the competition. 

Melanie’s solo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE3kmo8Wydo

Pamelas solo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBuylGqZPxM

The athleticism is honorable, but I find the mental stains even more fortuitous. It harkens back to my obsession with the Russian figure skaters over the winter olympics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKkblzLuhw4 The adolescent girl experience is very easy to siphon into a public display of bodily perfection, and it's difficult and entrancing to watch it unfold. 

The dancers of ABT are now threatening to strike if their wages are not increased. My departure from the company made my pro-strike stance much easier to embody. I was emboldened in my declarations that these prima artistas are entitled to higher compensation, whereas my colleagues lamented the practicalities of us fundraisers already making a fraction of their wage. To be a working artist is honorable, to be a working girl is even harder! #reversesuffrage2024