Ballet Shmallet...

So this is from a while back but i feel like i should bring it up before it gets too old...

Last month we had a drawing project based around the theme of ballet (personally, not really the fondest of projects...). Now this ain't a subject i am particularly fond of let along interested in. However, having witnessed an actual ballet performance of the nutcracker at the English National Ballet (E.N.B), i believe to have been proven wrong as it was a truly remarkable performance with stunning visuals and costumes. Then to top it off the "Black Swan" film came out which completely changed my outlook on ballet... Anyhoo here are illustrations based on this ballet mambo jumbo project...

These two illustrations derived from the concept of a ballet dancer being absorbed by their environment/surroundings, this can be linked to number of elements such as the scenery, stage, story, etc...

As i mentioned earlier the "Black Swan" film caught my attention with its somewhat dark and freakish visuals...

Here are a series of illustrations (displayed above) based on the movie, Portman's eyes as she becomes the black swan were simply horrifying (in a good way) so i decided to play around with that...

The black and blue illustration was another attempt at creating ballet dancers being absorbed into their performances, as their clothes blend with the background, they become one with the show. this concept actually derives from the early era of ballet where the dancers were less considered than costumes and props. So i thought of a way of reversing that by minimising the background and costumes.

Finally, keepin' the best for last (well in my opinion, this one came out the best...), this drawing was inspired by French Ballet and it's "ballet d'action" movement to be more specific. Ballet d'action consists of focusing more on the ballet dancers themselves, such as their features (gestures, facial expressions, etc...), rather than the costumes and props used to display emotions through the play. So i tried depicting a somewhat saddened emotion here through the dancers facial expression as well as their gestures.

Well that's it for ballet now, who knows maybe this subject will come back in the near future... actually cross that out...

More stuff to come shortly!!!

D*Dreg