In praise of beauty and elegance: Sailboats and ballerinas
Classical ballet, also called romantic ballet, system of dance based on formalized movements and positions of the arms, feet, and body designed to enable the dancer to move with the greatest possible agility, control, speed, lightness, and grace. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
The words commonly used to describe classical ballet dancers — agility, speed, lightness, grace — may apply as well to sailboats. Watching the latter glide on the water, their sails resplendent in the sunlight, is like watching a ballet at sea. The parallelism between sailboats and ballerinas is illustrated by the following vintage photographs. Each is juxtaposed with a painting or pastel by Edgar Degas, the artist most identified with ballet.
Sailboats competing on Moreton Bay, Brisbane (circa 1940)
Photo by George Jackman for Queensland Newspapers Pty Ltd
Courtesy of the State Library of Queensland
Ballet Rehearsal (between 1875 and 1877)
Pastel on cardboard
Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Cadet dinghies sailing out of Prince Edward Yacht Club in Point Piper, Sydney (circa 1935)
Photo courtesy of the Australian National Maritime Museum, Samuel J. Hood Studio Collection
Dancers in the foyer (circa 1887–1890)
Oil on canvas
Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Sloop on Sydney Harbour (circa 1920)
Photo courtesy of the Australian National Maritime Museum, William J Hall collection
The Star: Dancer in Pointe (circa 1878–1880)
Gouache and pastel on paper
Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
A related post:
Ballet at sea: Six striking paintings of sailboats
~ Barista Uno
