I met a tall, beautiful, young Russian lady yesterday morning. Sporting a Bvlgary white gold necklace and charm, she looked every bit a poised figure, and one with tastes for the finer things in life. It was no surprise that she rubbished ballet in Malaysia and wondered what's all the fuss we make about some British certification.
"How can you make ballerinas if the kids only practice twice a week? In Russia, parents send their kids to the ballet school every single day.
I agree with her. That's why we have a school for young talented athletes in Bukit Jalil. But we have nothing of that sort for performing arts. We also do not have a Bolshoi ballet to look forward to for a career.
"In Russia, we are very particular about the classical form. We are very conservative and traditional in that sense. We do not bother with the neo-classical or modern forms. Classical ballet is the only true form. That's why Russian ballet is number one in the world," she said.
Ballet is Russia's pride. Other than nasi lemak and teh tarik (which Singapore has already claimed), what are we proud of?
1 comment:
I’m not surprised with her reaction. The problem is arts or culture is not given any significant in our education system or society itself. Artists are considered losers and you’re wasting your time if you dedicate your life to it. Anyone who tries to either is discouraged by the lack of career or the backstabbing that’s prevalent in each small group of performers.
Take the Indian arts sector, it’s a small bunch, everyone nearly knows everyone, by jealousy is rife, no one really wants to encourage any other dancer, everyone thinks they’re better than the rest and truthfully very few are really up to the mark of artists in india. Yet they have such arrogance and think they are the best.
I’ve been fortunate to meet great artists from India and everytime I met someone who is a musician or dancer it never fails to surprise me how humble these great people are and how encouraging they are to students and new talents.
And the amount of talent n the societys perception on arts – the importance they place to it- you are respected if you’re an artist or striving to be one.
Sad isn’t it.
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