ABSTRACT
Ballet is a symbol of ideal femininity or feminine beauty, and is strongly linked to notions of girlhood as reflected by the popularity of ballet classes among young girls and images of ballet in princess culture. Since the mid-2000s, representations of contemporary and classical ballet have become increasingly popular in films, television, and music videos. This chapter explores what these representations tell us about ballet, gender, and race. From Coldplay to Lady Gaga to Kanye West, musicians have incorporated images of ballet into their videos. Confusion between ballerinas and ballet-inspired toys or costumes reduces the achievements of real dancers to a composite of commercialized princess-culture objects. P. Knights argued that the ballet narratives in books written for young girls entangle a competitive, individualist desire with a longing to fulfill other people’s dreams. The reality of the satire confirms exclusionary images of ballet that maintain exclusionary practices while also perpetuating normative gender performances.
