I’ll come out right now and say it: I don’t like the Kardashian family. I have never been one to “Keep Up With The Kardashians;” I will never buy a Kylie Lip Kit, for reasons that will surface at a later date; and frankly, it pains my soul that Kanye married Kim (fan since All Falls Down).
After all that, here I am defending Kendall Jenner.
Unless you have been too busy keeping up with the rest of the family, Kendall has recently made a video for Vogue where she is dancing around a dance studio playing in various dress and dance gear. At the same time, Kendall talks about how she wishes she was younger, and how much simpler it was then. I honestly don’t know how much simpler her childhood was compared to her life now, but that’s beside the point. At one point in the video she is “en pointe,” where she is wearing pointe shoes and stands fully up on her toes. Personally, doing anything “en pointe” is probably one of the more uncomfortable things I have ever experienced. As a ballerina since the age of four, I know that this skill is one that many dancers work toward. She is strengthening her body through various exercises to eventually be able to hold all her body weight on her ankles and the very tips of her toes.
The ballet community is outraged that Kendall is the “ballerina” in this video. She is not a ballet dancer and has had no classical training, yet here she is in pointe shoes, pretending she is. Similar backlash was seen when the company Free People used non-ballerinas to advertise their ballet clothing back in 2014. Various ballet inspired Twitter accounts took to the site to criticize the company. Vogue and Free People using women who are not classically trained is actually very dangerous. The tip of the pointe shoe, or the platform, needs to be completely parallel to the floor in order for the dancer to be “on her box.” This is the safest and steadiest spot a dancer can be, on pointe, as it reduces the risk of injury.
Having a dance background, I see both sides to the Kendall/Vogue video debate. As a dancer, it is very frustrating to see someone who has not been properly trained put on pointe shoes. It was one of my proudest moments when I was allowed to take pointe classes at my dance studio. It was something that I earned, not something that was given to me, or that I was paid to do. From Kendall’s point of view, she was hired to do this video. The video is about childlike wonder, pretending to be young and wishing you were a ballerina; it’s something I, along with others, can relate to. It’s unfortunate that Vogue decided to use Kendall instead of a professional ballerina like Misty Copeland or any other young rising dance star.