Shall We Pas de Deux?

Is Ballet a contact sport? On May 28, 2005 I posted remarks on Odysseuse on the Move which are relevant during this Christmas Season. Here are some excerpts: Professional ballet dancers, male and female, are well-trained athletes. The men appear to have superhuman strength as they perform their leaps and turns and seem to hover in midair. They also lift and join the fragile ballerinas in dance - but it must be remembered that the small and fragile female dancers are also athletes, feminine and graceful though they are. Every muscle in a dancer's body is strong as steel and flexible as rubber. Ballet is a strenuous discipline; its dancers may perform at their best for a limited number of years.

As a young ballet student I was surprised to find that several members of the Chicago Bears football team had been ordered by their coach to join our beginning class. Why? It seems the men would benefit on the field from the agility of movement attained in classwork. Is ballet a contact sport? The answer is obvious.