Hurdling as Ballet

en devant attitude

Sports Defender jousts with Ballerina

Carl: Ever watched a hurdle race?

Natalia: I detest sports.

Carl: But you do ballet.

Natalia: Ballet is not a sport. It’s an art.

Carl: Sounds a little snobbish. Sports can be an art. Messe raises soccer to art. He can almost make the ball disappear. Hakuho turns sumo into a ballet.

Natalia: Not the same.

Carl: OK, try this. Hurdling in the 1880s, they flew cross legged over the bar cross-legged. Like this.

Natalia: In ballet, that’s en devant attitude.

Carl: Then in the 1900s the style was stretched out, like the splits.

Natalia: Like a grand jeté.

Carl: Balletic! Hurdling was, and is an art.

Natalia: No. Not high art.

__________________

Voice-over

It’s a fine line between art and sport. Gymnastics? Figure skating? Performing arts can be high art. “High art reposes on popular art, without one there cannot be another.” Eric Rohmer.
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