We live in a world where the line between nature and artifice is constantly blurred. From plastic surgery to photo-shopping, the opportunities to enhance or change one’s appearance seem to be endless.
While the performing arts are all about artifice and illusion, when it comes to the mechanics of classical ballet there are not many options for fakery. However, with the development of commercially available prosthetic arches, it is now possible to enhance the shape of one’s foot. Working in a similar way to many cleavage-enhancing bras, the arch is made of silicone attached to fabric, and is worn like a sock.
It’s so simple… but is it cheating? Dance Australia sought the opinions of various dance professionals on the subject.
Newcastle teacher Marie Walton-Mahon is not against the use of false arches. But she warns that they can’t take the place of hard work.
“If the student has correctly worked their feet and the intrinsic muscles are activated then I have no problem if the ‘dance arch’ is placed strategically in exactly the correct position to enhance the line of the foot. To me this is the same as wearing false eyelashes to improve the projection of the eyes. However, I have seen students looking ridiculous [using false arches] because they haven’t used their feet at all!”
Artistic Director of West Australian Ballet, Ivan Cavallari, is of a similar opinion. “If I see that it makes someone feel better, I think, ‘why not?’” His reasoning is that there are so many other factors that determine success in classical ballet, beyond the shape of the top of the foot. “Obviously the footwork should be there, but it’s not so much about how your feet are but what you are doing with them,” he explains. “You can be a good dancer without having fantastic feet – what you express through your soul can still achieve beauty in the eyes of the audience.”
Adjudicator Susan Johnston, who has 30 years of experience judging competitions such as Royal South Street, also believes there is nothing wrong, in principle, with the use of false arches in competition or other events. “I’ve seen arch enhancers used in several competitions and my opinion is that they can be very attractive to look at,” she says. “When they are used through the choreography to enhance the performance, then I see nothing wrong with that as most other genres of dance use props a lot of the time such as in tap, song and dance, acrobatics sections and so on.”
Rebecca Dwyer, who has also adjudicated many competitions, including the Sydney Eisteddfod, is of a different opinion to Johnston. “I don’t endorse dance arches in competition, as I consider false arches to be ‘performance enhancing’ and ultimately deceiving,” she explains. “I need to see the dancers’ feet as they are.”
Beyond the competition circuit, Dwyer is undecided. She raises the interesting point that perhaps false arches are simply part of the evolution of classical ballet. “Do we evolve with the times as sprinters and distance runners have done with the introduction of the steel sprigs?” she wonders.“I would definitely consider these shoes to be far more advantageous than the competitor running in basic shoes or bare feet.” Put that way, the development of false arches could be seen as similar to the development of the blocked pointe shoe.
Dwyer’s mind is not made up, though. “While ballet dancers are also athletes, I feel that the purity and tradition will be lost if dance arches/prosthetics are accepted as the norm,” she says.
It’s not a debate that has a simple answer, but one thing is certain – those false arches are never going to take the place of hard work.
This article was first published in Dance Australia magazine December 2012/January 2013