Meet Chloe Angyal, the author of Turning Pointe-How a new generation of dancers is saving ballet from itself. Turning Pointe is a book about the future of ballet, and a reckoning with all the forces – racism, sexism, elitism, and more – that endanger that future.
Chloe originally hails from Sydney and is now based in Iowa in the US.
In 3 words what does ballet mean to you?
Tradition, progress, potential.
What would be your favourite ballet to dance?
I'd want to be a Wili! The corps work in the second act of Giselle is so intense and beautiful, and who doesn't want to belong to a sorority of vengeful ghost brides?
Do you believe that ballet is a readily accessible art-form?
No. It's exclusive in so many ways: it's expensive to train and to watch, it's unaccepting of those who fall outside of a strict gender binary, and it's generally a hostile environment for dancers of colour, especially Black dancers and most especially Black girls and women.
What do you believe is a typical misconception about ballet that you would like to set straight?
Inside the ballet world, I think there's a misconception that ballet cannot and does not change, and that's simply untrue. The history of ballet is a history of radical change; it's what has allowed the artform to survive as the world around it changes. Those inside the ballet world are too willing to call stagnation or oppression "tradition," and that threatens the future of the art form.
What are you reading right now?
Heartbreaker, by Sarah MacLean. I love a good romance novel.
Ballet without Borders aims to allow children from disadvantaged backgrounds to experience ballet- if you had ultimate power for a day what would you do to make this happen?
Strip tuition down to what's actually essential to pay teachers well and make sure kids get a safe and fulfilling experience. Put teachers of colour in every dance school, regardless of the racial makeup of the students, so that all ballet students grow up seeing people of colour as dance leaders and as sources of knowledge about the art form. Commission dozens of new story ballets that tell new stories from around the world, not the same old European fairy tales ballet has been rehashing for the last two centuries. Design and bring to market a safe, affordable, durable pointe shoe in as many skin tones as possible.
Favourite ballet to watch?
After the Rain, by Christopher Wheeldon.
If you could go back to a point in time in your life, what advice would you give yourself?
I'd go back to age 12, when I was told that my body wasn't right for ballet, and when I started believing that made me a failure. I'd tell myself that ballet technique has no moral valence, and that being good at ballet doesn't make you a good person. It just makes you good at ballet.
You have been given an elephant! You cannot sell it or give it away, what do you do?
In exchange for food and care at a sanctuary, I'd lend it for stud services, so that we can rebuild elephant populations in the wild.
