I’m Going To Need White Ladies To Take Up A Lot Less Space In Ballet Classes

Aja Barber
Aug 9, 2017 · 4 min read

There is a white lady that comes to class late. Every. Single. Class. We aren’t talking plié late. We’re talking dégagé late. Or maybe even fondu late. If you know ballet terminology than you know that’s pretty late. Especially since lateness is a sign of rudeness. I watched a documentary where the Principal of a world famous ballet got sassed out by the choreographer for being late for rehearsals in front of the tv cameras. Because it’s a sign of lack of discipline and rudeness. We all run late from time to time. I know I do. I live an hour from my ballet school and DC traffic dictates that I have to give myself sometimes an hour fifteen to make it to class in a timely manner. Also it’s class, so teachers are little more lenient. But if you’re late for every single class, it kinda starts to seem like you don’t actually care that it’s rude. I used to be late to class when I first started dancing. And then I realized it was rude and disruptive. And I stopped being late. Being late for every class is one thing. That’s on you … it is after all your money being wasted. But it is QUITE another thing to come into class and ask people to move, to make room for you when there’s plenty of spaces in less desirable spots in the room. Who does that????? WHO?

White ladies. Constantly.

There is one in every adult ballet class I’ve ever taken. But it’s never the professionals because they know that’s really bad etiquette and they also don’t need to watch someone on each side in order to get through the barre. It isn’t the young pre professionals because they know they can get booted out of class for disrespectful behavior (I’ve seen it happen before and it’s pretty awkward and AWESOME). But older white ladies, got this area covered. Back to the beginning of my essay, this one lady comes into class late every time and wedges herself into a spot when everyone else (WHO WAS ON TIME) is settled and dancing. She did it to me once when I was in the corner. She stood within two feet of me (which isn’t enough space unless your legs are two feet long) and forced me to move up into the piano. I was frustrated because I got there on time and claimed that space for myself and what you’re basically saying is that I’m not entitled to that space. Despite the fact that I was here first.

Today, she came and stood in front of me during the middle of a dégagé exercise and said “Hey, will you switch me so I could stand there?” And I said,

“NO”.

But not before she threw off my exercise causing me to make mistakes because I was standing at the end of the barre … and causing everyone behind me to make mistakes too.

BECAUSE WHO DOES THAT? WHO TALKS TO SOMEONE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EXERCISE ABOUT HOW THEY CAN BETTER ACCOMMODATE YOU AND YOUR LATENESS?

White ladies.

My other class is more crowded and the students set up the barres in the center (because the barres along the wall fill up quickly). I used to do it all the time when I came into class and one day I stopped. I set out just the barre I wanted to use and left the rest. As a result all the late comers arrived and proceeded to squeeze themselves onto the four barres that had been set up instead of taking out the two extras at the front of the class. Because you’re late and how dare they expect you to move a barre so that you can stand at it. Why do that when you can instead crowd everyone else? Who does that?

White ladies.

Who talks in class often over the teacher when it’s really really not appropriate at all?

White ladies.

Many years ago, I was going across the floor and instead of exiting the floor the proper way, I went backwards. I cut someone off and boy did my teacher yell at me. He told me if I was in a professional dance company I’d get run over and I’d deserve it. It was embarrassing and stung BUT it was a lesson learned and I’ve never made that mistake again in my life. However literally no one seems to have sent that memo to older white ladies. The amount of times my center exercise has been thrown off because I have to dance around some older white lady that can’t be bothered to properly space herself or exit quickly enough for the next group, countless. Sometimes they stand there like I’m invisible and they don’t see me coming about to dance on them and it’s either I modify what I’m doing or we collide. Because self awareness apparently doesn’t come in buckets full these days. But yet I’ve never heard anyone shout at an older white lady for ruining the exercise for the next group of students. If I deserved that embarrassing lecture and learned from it … so do they. But hey.

White ladies.

White ladies get away with way too much shit in ballet. But today was the day I finally said “NO”.

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