Flowers, Skirts and High Heels

Character dance is an exciting part of classical ballet. Based upon traditional folk dance, character encourages dancers to work together to create strong performances with steps from different countries.

Character steps are relatable to the costumes which used to be worn by dancers. For example, many of the steps in the Hungarian Peasant style are small as dancers would wear long ‘pencil’ type skirts and dance in close proximity in small pubs! In contrast to this, Hungarian Court dancers would wear bell shaped skirts where the back of the skirt would be a little shorter than the front so that the audience can clearly see the dancer’s feet. Russian dancers would wear big A line skirts paired with white blouses with puffy sleeves and waistcoats. Polish dancers have a similar outfit but would wear long boots to compliment the skirt. The hairstyles presented in character are often elaborate with ribbons, flowers and in some cases hats!

In class, unfortunately we don’t have time to dress up in all of the different outfits so the students will wear long black skirts with beautiful ribbon around the bottom. They also get to wear black heeled shoes which is such a treat for the younger ones. Every week I get asked ‘’are we doing character today?’’ as for some there is nothing better than twirling around in a skirt and high heels!

Last weekend I went on a character course, and it was great fun. Sometimes it is nice to be the student again and to learn new things that I can pass onto other dancers. Now I just need to write up all of the different steps…wish me luck!