Dogs+Ballet: Dogs, pugs, dancers and ballet: some common things

1. Friendship. Dancer are living in special rhythm, working the evenings and week-ends, their schedule is busy: ballet class, rehearsals, peformances, auditions, tours, guestings. Ballet is very demanding both physically and mentally. Emotionally too. In many Opera houses all around the world dance companies are often "orphan childs", dancers are less respected than their should be. In these conditions having a dog means a lot of sacrifices and complications but many dancers find place still in their life for a pet. Me and István Simon, principal dancer of Hungarian National Ballet, we have 2 black pugs, Darth Vader and Dr. Watson.

Svetlana Zakharova and her poodle

2. Pack members. A dance company is like a big family, dancers spend their time together, they protect and support each other. Lonelyness doesn't exist.

Cesar Millan's pack

Ballerinas of Degas

3. Sympathy for veils

Elena Vostrotina as Myrtha in David Dawson's Giselle

István Simon as Solor in La Bayadere

Watson is rehearsing Giselle

Vader as bride

Watson with the curtain

Vader and Watson

4. Dancers and dogs are hard to shot because they move too much. I think I need a better camera and more practice... I have thousands of pictures presenting unrecognisable black (pugs) and white (dancers) figures.

Vader and Watson

Vader in pullover (Lucky Dog)

If dancers and dogs are really focusing on something they don't move so much so I can make some clear photos i.e.:

Istvan Simon and Darth Vader in the ballet studio

Some other people are better in this field. Dogs in motion:

Running pug puppies

Dancers in motion:

Elena Vostrotina by Costin Radu

Istvan Simon by Ian Whalen

Together:

Sylvie Guillem with her dog, Zak

5. Bone problems. Health issues from the side of the dancers (being a physio I have great solutions in these cases) and surprisely erupting predator instincts from the side of the pugs (while feeding bones). Darth Vader, our older pug became a black pather when he got a bone to play with at the very first time. Coordianted steps, tight muscles, raised hackles. Slowly he became more altruist and now he shares his bone with our puppy, Dr. Watson.

Vader and his 1st bone

Dr. Watson and Vader's bone

Combination: Vader has a kind of ballet hip. He needed kinesiotape and physiotherapy. It was a bit more complicated than working with professional ballet dancers because he was a bit less cooperative on balance-boards...