Andrea Bayne tiptoes across the dance floor.

She leans back, on point, stretching her legs straight up from the tips of her toes and vaults into the air. Her flight graceful, genuine, years of painstaking ballet training hidden behind a smile.

B次元官网网址淭he hardest part of our jobB次元官网网址� especially with classical ballet is making every step we do look effortless,B次元官网网址� Bayne says. B次元官网网址淎nd the amount of training and technique it takes to make it look easy.B次元官网网址�

The principal dancer at Ballet Victoria trains almost daily and has done so most her life, falling in love with ballet at a young age after seeing The Nutcracker. Years of blisters and callusing followed, endless hours putting approximately 100kg of pressure on a point not much bigger than the diameter of a loonie.

B次元官网网址淒ancers, we love to do what we do and itB次元官网网址檚 almost like it is not a choice for us I love it that much it is a passion,B次元官网网址� Bayne said. B次元官网网址淲e work hard, but I wake up every morning feeling blessed to do what I do for a living because I love it.B次元官网网址�

Victoria BalletB次元官网网址檚 artistic director Paul Destrooper, the former long-time principal dancer at the Winnipeg Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theatre, compared the work ethic and athletic acumen of ballet dancers to highly-trained Olympic athletes.

B次元官网网址淧hysically they are very flexible, very strong and one of the things they canB次元官网网址檛 do is they canB次元官网网址檛 show effort so they have to be in great physical condition,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淪o their face is very calm and relaxed and they dance with poise and they can express emotion. They are like actors running a marathon.B次元官网网址�

The beneficiaries of that training he says, will be audiences, who come to enjoy athletic grace of The Gift, Ballet VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 traditional but fresh take on The Nutcracker. The Victoria Symphony perform Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyB次元官网网址檚 timeless music marrying the Christmas spirit, their most elaborate costumes and sets ever and the artistry and athleticism of the best of ballet and music.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like poetry, it has a very unique interpretation that belongs to every single patron that watches the performances,B次元官网网址� Destrooper continued. B次元官网网址淲e communicate with them back and forth when we are performing on stage. I think that creates a bond and that feeds the dancer that continues expressing and not showing any effort.B次元官网网址�

For more information visit for performances in Revelstoke, Coquitlam, Chilliwack and Victoria Dec. 15 to 30. Performances at the Royal Theatre are Dec. 28 and 29.

arnold.lim@blackpress.ca
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