What is artistry in ballet?

Photo by Drew Forsyth of Kate Byrne

Ballet is not just about technique and physicality; it is also an art form that requires expression, emotion, and storytelling. Artistry in ballet refers to the ability of a dancer to communicate a character or story and move their audience through interpretation, expression, and musicality. It is an essential element of ballet that elevates performances from technical proficiency to artistry. Dancers have to work hard to develop their artistry, combining facial expressions, a range of different dynamics, musicality and understanding of their character to create memorable performances that move and inspire audiences.

Without artistry, a performance may be technically perfect, but would lack the emotional depth and impact that makes it truly memorable. However, it can be much harder to teach than technique since the latter can be copied, whereas artistry requires the dancer to incorporate their own interpretation and emotional understanding of the choreography. To make things even harder, not everyone agrees on the exact definition and the meaning can vary from one individual to the next. Let's start by looking at how artistry is graded in exams.

The Royal Academy of Dance awards marks for overall "performance" depending on 4 main factors:

• Projection: defined as "Expression reflected in face, body and dynamics of the movement". To me, this is the difference between performing for yourself and performing for an audience on a large stage. The quality and size of every movement along with each expression will need to be exaggerated in order to project a message or feeling across an auditorium.

• Expression: referring to "The ability to project expression, feelings and emotions to an audience". Linked with communication, I understand this to be not just facial expressions, but body language too. Just as in normal life, when we react it is not just with our face, but with our whole body.

• Interpretation: this could be described as bringing your own unique understanding and personalisation to the choreography while remaining faithful to the original intent of the piece. The RAD interprets this as "Dancing with understanding and intelligent response to what one is dancing about, i.e. the motivation for the movement". I would say this is the hardest one to teach as it comes down to what makes each dancer's performance unique. There is often no single correct way to interpret movement and relies on the dancer using their own life experiences to make sense of their character, the narrative or what they are trying to communicate.

• Communication, described as "Appropriate engagement with the audience and partners". I understand this as the story-telling side to ballet and the importance of acknowledging your audience. Great communication is often what really moves the spectator and helps them to feel absorbed in what the dancer is doing.

How to show artistry

It is all very well knowing the definition of artistry, but it is a lot harder to know how to translate this into movement.

Artistry is an essential aspect of ballet that separates it from other forms of dance. It is the ability to communicate a character or story through movement, expression, and musicality. Showing artistry in ballet requires more than just technical proficiency, it also involves a deep understanding of the character and story, musical interpretation, and emotional expressiveness.

Here are some tips on how to show artistry in ballet:

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Experiment with different dynamics:

My old choreography teacher, Rosella Hightower's daughter Monet Robier, used to give us a great choreographic exercise to teach the different qualities of movement. She would ask us to create about 30 seconds of choreography to silence. She would then choose a piece of music which could vary greatly from a sad adagio to a sensual tango or even a frantic pizzicato. Whilst only changing the dynamics and quality of the movement never the steps themselves, our task was to make the choreography fit to whatever piece of music she played as if we had created the piece specifically for that score. "This is what gives you value as an artist" she would say and explain that so many dancers can execute the steps well and achieve the technical aspect of the choreography, but you will only stand out in the crowd from what you do with those steps.

Musicality

Dancers must be able to interpret the music and match their movements to its rhythm, melody, and dynamics. This involves understanding the structure of the music and using it to enhance the storytelling and emotional impact of the performance.

Most ballet schools will grade musicality separately to artistry as it is possible to have one without the other, but when both are done well they complement each other beautifully. In certain dance styles where the dancers are supposed to make noise with their movements, like tap dancing or some Irish dancing, the sound of every step becomes part of the music and if you miss a beat or make a mistake it can be very noticeable. Even though ballet is a relatively quiet dance style, I always try to imagine that my movements are correlated with what the orchestra plays, to avoid falling behind the music and to remind myself that every step counts. Whether there is a crescendo, a flirtatious trill or moment of silent suspense, I feel the need to reflect that in my performance and I try to encourage students to do the same. Pay close attention to the different layers within the musical score and let it guide your movements and try experimenting with different styles and rhythms.

Self-awareness and body language

Ballet dancers use their entire body to convey emotions and tell a story. This includes changing their posture, facial expressions and changing the size or intensity of their movements to communicate the character's personality and motivations.

Being aware of how your body looks to a spectator and what your need to alter to express different emotions is a crucial aspect of your performance. So many dancers think they're projecting well and filling the stage, when in fact their movements and expressions are far too small and barely noticeable to an audience member. Remember that when on stage you will appear much smaller to onlookers compared to dancing in a studio. If you can't film yourself, then make the most of the mirrors in the studio and experiment with different facial expressions, your posture, your eye-line and the way your interact with other dancers. And don't forget, if your back is turned to the audience this is not a time to switch off, but to work harder at establishing a presence!

Understanding your character

Even if you haven't been given a specific character you can always make one up or create a scenario if it helps to clarify the purpose to your role. Once you know what message or atmosphere you're trying to create on stage, you can then work on your interpretation. For example, an arabesque is just a position, but changing your posture, eye focus and even breathing can transform a dancer from Odette to Odile. Study (or invent!) the character's personality, motivations, and emotions to develop a deeper connection to the role. This will help you convey the character's emotions and tell their story through your movements and expressions. Still not sure? Try watching some of your favourite dancers on Youtube or on stage and take inspiration from how they bring their character to life.

Breath:

Just as in every day life, our breath is connected to our emotions. In dance, knowing how to use your breath is crucial, not only to keep oxygen pumping around your body, but also to enhance your expression and help convey certain emotions. This goes in hand with your posture- inhaling deeply with inflate your chest and sometimes lift your chin and eye line- the perfect posture if we want to coney something with high energy (excitement, fear, pride etc). Whereas as exhaling can do the opposite- you might notice the shoulders and chin drop and the spine slump a little, which would be ideal for a character feeling disheartened or shy for example.

Ballet dancers work constantly on developing their emotional range, physical expressiveness, and interpretive skills to create memorable performances that move and inspire audiences. This is not something thatches overnight, but despite the amount of work required it should get easier with time and be an enjoyable process.

By developing your musicality, studying the character, using facial expressions, working on transitions, personalising the choreography, and focusing on emotional expressiveness, you can show artistry in ballet and create performances that move and inspire audiences. And with AI on the rise, I hope you'll agree it's more important than ever for artists to show what makes us human!

If you are doing an RAD exam, click here to see my blog post " how to get a distinction in your RAD exams" where I talk about how points are awarded in exams and the value of artistry.