On January 31, the Notre Dame Ballet Club put on their first showcase in the club’s history. Founded in 2021, the Ballet Club practices twice a week and has occasionally performed with the Notre Dame Dance Company in larger performances. However, this past weekend marked the first time they organized and performed a show independently. The club is entirely student-run, meaning it was up to just a few undergraduate ballerinas to coordinate with Washington Hall to set up performance and practice dates as well as schedule with various rehearsal spaces around campus to accommodate their modest troupe.
The showcase, a brief 45-minute recital titled “A Fairy Garden,” presented excerpts from classical ballets featuring fairies. The large group opening number was “Les Sylphides,” followed by solos from ballets such as “Sleeping Beauty,” “Don Quixote,” and, of course, the classic “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy” from “The Nutcracker.”
The dancers captivated the audience with their impressive displays of control — all of them performing on pointe. Highlights of the evening included the larger group numbers, such as “Les Sylphides”, whose movements set the tone for the show: classical beauty, peace and elegance — a welcome sight in an era of the more commonly seen modern, lyrical dances. The ballerinas moved in sync for the most part, and their matching white tutus elevated the grace with which they moved. The ballerinas, always with a smile on their faces, made the most complex steps look as easy as walking.
The audience was certainly engaged, holding their breath as the dancers leapt and ran across the stage, the patter of their pointe shoes the only sound aside from the music pulsing through the speakers. The audience, mainly friends and family of the dancers, applauded greatly after every dance, much to the surprise of my classical/orchestral mind — it would be considered improper to clap in between movements of a symphony — but I found myself so entranced by the skill and excellence that I clapped along as well.
Throughout the first half of the show, I kept going back and forth on my opinion of their set and costumes. To go with the fairy garden theme, the steps leading up to the stage were mildly decorated with string lights and flower baskets, and the stage itself was blank, save for the lights illuminating the back wall. The costumes were simple: white leotards and white tutus. While I appreciated the quiet modesty — letting the ballet speak for itself — I couldn’t help but want more. As a young club, I could likely chalk it up to a small budget, but just from an audience perspective, I found myself itching for a backdrop or set pieces. When I realized embarrassingly late that the first twenty or so minutes of the show were all one piece, “Les Sylphides,” I quickly reevaluated my judgments, excitedly awaiting what the next act would bring. When the dancers cleared the stage at the final movement of the first piece, a new soloist emerged in a sharp red costume — a stark contrast to the calm opener. As the rest of the show progressed, I became much more engaged. Various soloists followed, performing more upbeat and bright excerpts. Through these solos, I got more of that contrast that I was looking for, though the only other change besides the dancers was the color of the lights on the back wall.
A few times during the showcase, the group numbers appeared disorganized, with ballerinas landing on different ends of the beat, most likely due to nerves about performing with a new group and having only a few opportunities to practice over the week. But overall, the talent exceeded my expectations tenfold, and as they practice more, I am quite sure the ballerinas will fall into equal steps with one another. I believe that for a first-ever showcase, the Ballet Club did an exceptional job. While there is room for improvement, this club shows a promising future. Many of the members are young, with a large number of first-year students, so the coming years are sure to smooth out the kinks and turn the club into a well-oiled machine of grace.
