Hello!

I have never really had a photo shoot and my boyfriend I decided to have a session after we go see Wicked in two weeks since he will be renting a tux and Ill have a nice dress on.I had the idea to take my pointe shoes and take a couple of pas de deux shots in them because come on a dancer always wants her bf to be her pas de deux partner lol. The restraints are that my dress for the event is on the longer side it goes to a bit above my ankles and it is not too wide. Also my bf is not a dancer. So I was looking for pictures and most of them are of lifts and arabesques things I cant do in this situation. Does anyone have ideas or pictures of poses we could do at the shoot where he is just sustaning me on pointe?? Other things like the picture I posted? Any help would be greatly appericiated! Thank you!!!!!!

If your boyfriend is not a dancer, be careful to put him in a dancers position. It soon looks wrong. And when you make a beautiful ballet pose but he is 'just standing', the picture doesn't work.
And he is in a tux, also not a comfortable thing to make poses in.

Try poses at the barre, and maybe your boyfriend is willing to act like a kind of barre on the photo, that is an option.

You can't do a lot with your legs, I understand because of the dress, so you have to go for poses with your upperbody and arms.

Dancerpointe. I really appreciate what you just said about how women always want their romantic interest to be their pas de deux partner. It is really true that the women in ballet overwhelmingly have the same feelings about their pas de deux partners that the men in ballet have towards their women pas de deux partners. Romance is by far the most dominant element in ballet than anything else is. Unfortunately this dance forum has people that I consider the ballet gestapo who don't think that romance should have any place in ballet and will attack those who know otherwise. Personally I find those people quite disgusting.

I would skip the pointe shoes because the photo will look rehearsed and not spontaneous and romantic like you are probably wanting it to be (and look in the photos). Keep your heels on and have him holds his hand or hands out and simply pique into a low arabesque holding his hands. He doesn't have to do any posing, he can just stand parallel or however he is comfortable and he doesn't have to feel like an idiot when he can't do what you are asking. Way less frustrating for everyone involved.

^^Agree with the above poster. I think you can do an arabesque and put your hands on his shoulders or something as he stands in a pose he's comfortable in. I've done the same with my hubby recently at my niece's wedding.

It is really true that the women in ballet overwhelmingly have the same feelings about their pas de deux partners that the men in ballet have towards their women pas de deux partners.

What is overwhelmingly? I never had a romance with any guy in a company I danced with growing up doing pas de deux, in college, or when I danced professionally. In the ballet company in my city there are some people dating, but they aren't always partners, and I'm going to say a majority of male dancers are gay, so the female/male pas de deux is not usually a romance thing in my own personal experience or the people I've danced with, but I can't speak for the entire ballet world.

Personally I find those people quite disgusting.

People who have a different view than you are disgusting?
Well, alrighty then.

Imadanseur. No, I certainly don't mean that at all. As a matter of fact, I like the way you just said that regarding people who have different beliefs than others because what you just said is my whole point entirely. What I mean is people who have to have a certain set attitude about ballet and then try and enforce that upon other people as that must be their way of having to see ballet too.
As far as romance and ballet goes, look at the number of pas de deux couples who are married and/or are in love off stage.That is a very common thing in major ballet companies. I also believe that if you took a poll of what ballet afficiandos truly enjoy most, romance would top that list by far.

Chris73 wrote:

What I mean is people who have to have a certain set attitude about ballet and then try and enforce that upon other people as that must be their way of having to see ballet too.

WHAT‽ Isn't that exactly what you're doing?

As far as romance and ballet goes, look at the number of pas de deux couples who are married and/or are in love off stage.That is a very common thing in major ballet companies. I also believe that if you took a poll of what ballet afficiandos truly enjoy most, romance would top that list by far.

I know of several married couples in professional ballet companies. I also know that they don't always or even often dance together. A director doesn't go, oh well danseur A and ballerina B are married, so lets showcase them together. It's a matter of who dances best with what partner and often times it's not the person they're married to. Married actors don't only act with their partner. Their personal life has absolutely no bearing on their acting. If they have a sex scene with someone then so be it - that's their career and their spouse just has to realize that it's not real life, it's their job. Same for dancers. Just because the dancers are portraying a romantic ballet does not actually mean they are in fact in love. Dance is as much about acting as technique.

Sure I enjoy a good romantic ballet, it's great to see the heroine and the hero conquer their struggles and end up happily ever after. But that a seriously standard hero/villain archetype story line. I also love a great tragedy. And I really love storyless ballets that are danced for the sake of showing off gorgeous dancing. Paquita? I absolutely adore that ballet. There's no romance. It's just a series of dances that feature some major bravada/o. Serenade? Jewels? Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. I don't need romance to enjoy the variations and the pas de deux work; I can appreciate the dancing at face value.

Whether the dancers have any personal connection is a moot point because I honestly don't care about their personal lives. I care about the character they portray onstage and how well they dance the part. And frankly, if you're looking for love in a ballet or pas class, you're going to be sorely disappointed. If you're looking for a romantic connection in class, at that point you'd be better off joining a dating service and finding a balletomane who shares your enjoyment of dance. Because looking for a relationship in a ballet class is creepy. Really, really creepy.

What I mean is people who have to have a certain set attitude about ballet and then try and enforce that upon other people as that must be their way of having to see ballet too.

But that is basically what you are doing right now. You are saying that there are a MAJORITY of pas couples that dance together and are in love and that somehow is the focal point of ballets and other people who say differently disgust you. They have a right to think ballet is something completely different and unromantic. Maybe they purposely pick ballets that are more modern and unconventional?!?

As far as romance and ballet goes, look at the number of pas de deux couples who are married and/or are in love off stage.That is a very common thing in major ballet companies. I also believe that if you took a poll of what ballet afficiandos truly enjoy most, romance would top that list by far.

Again, while there are married couples or people who date in companies, I think you'll find more gay guys partnering up than women and men who do pas couples. I've had season tickets to my city's ballet for 10 years. There have only been 2-3 couples that were married to one another in the company that entire time here, and in the last 2 seasons the leads were danced with people that were not romantically involved at all (for the major classical ballets). I just did a quick google search of 5 major ballet companies and didn't find that the majority were married. It's really really inconvenient dating someone in the same company as you. The dancers I've known prefer to date someone that doesn't dance. Again...it's just in the dance circles I've run in over the last 18 years in a few states. I can't speak for everyone.

I think you are also making grand claims for what all ballet goers like. What are you basing this from? Your views on ballet and what you like and what resonates with you is not going to be what other millions of ballet goers feel. Yes many people do like the romantic ballets and the fact that you like them is wonderful, but those are not my favorites AT ALL! The nice thing is that usually ballet companies have a season that is diverse enough for ballet goers to appreciate all styles, or they can just pick the ones they know they will like.

I do have to say that there was a principle dancer in my city's company that retired about 10 years ago. Her husband retired the year or 2 before to open a ballet school. He came back to dance a special dance with her. It is still one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. They choreographed it together and they danced as one person. WOW WOW WOW. I do understand what you are saying about a connection with someone, but I don't want other people to get the impression that is the majority of companies. I also know whenever I danced with a guy as my partner I wasn't in love with him...it's work...just business, but I'm an actress so the audience believes we're in love. That is part of being a professional.

Have you actually been in a professional dance company? I have a feeling that maybe you are romanticizing this life a little too much. Have you ever been around 2 dancers in a company that broke up? WOW, talk about uncomfortable and awkward rehearsals! BUT you don't see that on stage, and you can't tell on stage who hates each other in the company either right, because there is a lot of that going on that you never see.

Back to the OP... maybe go to a ballroom dance instructor to help you pose. There's a lot of potential there for some stunning shots. And I think the ballroom dance background would work a little better with street clothing.

Chris73... I'm rather astounded at the way you hijacked this thread and insulted DDN membership all in one breath. Your tactic seems to be to try to "make friends" with one person while setting him/her against others. That's just not cool.

As for the love thing... as others have pointed out, ballet is SHOW BUSINESS. It's THEATER! Do you believe that Leonardo DiCaprio is romantically involved with Kate Winslet after watching "Titanic?" Dancers (and actors) need to be convincing about what they portray, that what it's all about.

You hold a lot of misconceptions about what ballet is about. That is understandable, you seem to not have much experience. What is more mind-boggling is that when people with a lot of professional experience in ballet take the time to tell you how things really are, you argue against it! Where do you get your knowledge from? Your basic assertions are just plain not true.

Chris73 wrote:

Dancerpointe. I really appreciate what you just said about how women always want their romantic interest to be their pas de deux partner. It is really true that the women in ballet overwhelmingly have the same feelings about their pas de deux partners that the men in ballet have towards their women pas de deux partners. Romance is by far the most dominant element in ballet than anything else is. Unfortunately this dance forum has people that I consider the ballet gestapo who don't think that romance should have any place in ballet and will attack those who know otherwise. Personally I find those people quite disgusting.

My husband is my PDD partner, so yes, we have feelings for each other. We also dance very well together.

In our first dance, since I wore pointes for our wedding, I did hop up on pointe, bouree and he assisted me in a turn, all while he was holding my hand. We would have done more, but me having spinal surgery a month prior to our wedding, lifts and things more complicated put me at too much risk and obviously my husband didn't want to chance that. I also sous sous'd for our first kiss at husband and wife.

^^Okay but you weren't in a company together right? That's not how you met, let's be clear about this.

^Right. Be very, painstakingly clear. Neither of you is in a company currently, and that's not how you met each other. It's just a skill you both happen to share and enjoy.

Chris73 wrote:

Dancerpointe. I really appreciate what you just said about how women always want their romantic interest to be their pas de deux partner. It is really true that the women in ballet overwhelmingly have the same feelings about their pas de deux partners that the men in ballet have towards their women pas de deux partners. Romance is by far the most dominant element in ballet than anything else is. Unfortunately this dance forum has people that I consider the ballet gestapo who don't think that romance should have any place in ballet and will attack those who know otherwise. Personally I find those people quite disgusting.

As a retired professional ballet dancer I can tell you that romance really has nothing to do with the job.

Most people who have had to work with their spouses will tell you how difficult it can be to spend all of your time with your SO.

I love my husband dearly but I'm very glad he never had to partner me and that he's not even a dancer.


And now I'll just goose step off into the distance.....