ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the transnational nature of the ballet world does not make national culture or the meaning of place obsolete. Ballet people are constantly negotiating national and transnational cultural processes. Ballet centres are characterized by national ballet styles, for example, which can be seen as one way to profile ballet companies and individual dancers transnationally. Yet it is in the contrast with transnational contexts that the national ballet styles become truly national. Transnational experience and exposure are regarded as desirable for dancers’ development and reputation. The idea of national ballet styles can be traced back to the major ballet schools’ providing different types of training that have been acclaimed transnationally: the French, the Russian, the British, the Danish and the American schools – the traditional ballet centres. The dancers who are in transnational demand for guest performances, or even want to be available for openings in other companies, get agents that look for opportunities for them.
