The war over pointe shoes and Princess Tutu cosplayers continues to rage. I would say that I am rather moderate on the issue, but I do make an effort to educate people about the issue. Here is a small response I wrote on Cosplay.com in the Princess Tutu thread (on page 40, if you are interested).
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Someone (not I), made this comment on a certain YouTube video of a Princess Tutu cosplay skit that I thought I would bring up:
Pointe shoes are NOT for costumes.
They are an extension of a dancers body, not a costume additive.
Pointe shoes are very, very special to dancers. They are more than just a shoe to many people. Little girls dream of wearing them from the moment they begin lessons, and hours upon hours of work is put into training to be able to wear them. The first pointe fitting and the first lesson are special occasions that are usually treasured in the memory of the dancer. Pointe shoes are also the universal symbol of the art of ballet. I honestly can not think of any other piece of equipment that is as treasured, glorified, mystified, and elevated as the pointe shoe.
As for the criticism from dancers; dance is a different (and much more difficult and demanding) world than cosplay. The cosplay community is extremely tolerant and welcoming of anyone into the art form. It has a certain, "everyone is special, everyone can do whatever they want" outlook. Dance does not. Dancers MUST be critical of all aspects of themselves and training. If not, they will not get jobs, and they will rarely succeed. It is only natural that this pursuit of perfection will filter down and result in some criticism of Tutu players. What they see are are some mimes of ballet dancers, and it isn't unusual that they will voice their opinion. Where they come from, ballet is not something that you necessarily "play with". It is unfortunate that a few do not understand the base desires that are involved in why people cosplay, but then again, cosplay is still a mysterious thing to much of the populace.
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I understand some dancers may be offended by those pictures (I'm not)but my point here is wearing pointe shoes IS VERY dangerous for a person who hasn't had the correct training and technique to use them. You could break an ankle or very seriously damage your feet if you go up en pointe without having previous ballet training. In my opinion as a dancer, DON'T, oh please don't use pointe shoes in cosplays, for someone who knows about ballet, those pictures look wierd because the girls don't have the correct body position (arms, legs, hands, turnout, head, etc.) or the right complexion of a real dancer, and we notice that quick. MY suggestion to cosplayers is to use soft leather slippers. That way you won't look ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI am a dancer. And I enjoy anime amd cosplay, but come on. I mean, as a dancer I know how hard it is, i put hours into breaking in my pointes and going through the pain of a newly bought shoe on a regular basis. I cannot stand when people who are Not dancers wear these shoes. Its takes YEARS to finally be able to get pointes. And when just anyone buys them its not the same. Its...offensive. I understand the beauty in it, or the want. But when i see girls not even over their box, or with a flat foot as they are on releve (on their toes) its horrible. Its very ugly. There should be an arch. It should look pretty. Not like a mess. And when it comes to ribbon tying you DO NOT make a bow!
ReplyDeleteI am all for anime and cosplay because i do that too. But because i have both of these worlds meaning everything to me, i think other coaplayers should leave Princess tutu cosplay to someone who knows technique.
As any dancer, we would say it very very dangerous. And we notice quickly the things that are being done inncorrectly. If you HAVE to cosplay Princess tutu simply wear ballet slippers.