Dear Diary,
I’m so sick and tired of advertising and media companies disrespecting dancers. It’s absolutely ridiculous, lazy and offensive to the hundreds of talented, and gorgeous, dancers out there. After the Free People disaster a few years ago, I thought that perhaps things were looking up. But here comes Kendall Jenner, flapping her feet around like two fish gasping for their last breath of air in a Vogue commercial. Why does she need to be in ballet shoes and ballet clothes to talk about how she likes walking around outside? She could be wearing Loubotins, or those Gucci slippers that look like Donald Trump’s hair piece. Anything but pointe shoes. Her flailing and sickling is painful to watch. And it’s completely unnecessary. Now, I’m not blaming Kendall or the FP model that claimed she had been dancing since she was 3 (girl, bye). But apparel companies, agencies and casting companies need to get their sh*t together. If you want models, use models. If you want to simulate a dancer, use dancers. Dancers are beautiful, talented hardworking athletes and artists who rarely get a substantial paycheck. How difficult would it be to throw a couple hundred, or thousand, to a dancer to represent your product ? Apparently it’s extremely difficult, since no one is doing it. Smh. It just doesn’t make sense to me. It seems like dancing is such a popular thing to be doing, or pretending to be doing these days. Misty’s ads have really helped to expose dance and bring it into the social light. And yet these companies continue to be flippant and unconcerned when it comes to supporting and representing dancers. Wells Fargo posted an ad stating ” A ballerina yesterday. An engineer today. Let’s get them ready for tomorrow”. Thankfully, we all know how full of sh*t Wells Fargo is, but seriously?! Who let them publish that?! “Wells Fargo. Scamming people today. Bankrupt tomorrow.” Didn’t have to be an engineer to figure that one out. If dancers had more celebrity, I don’t think we would be dealing with this as often as we do. You don’t see companies using ordinary models to simulate football players or basketball players. I’m tired of society viewing dance as a pseudo career, or just something pretty that anyone can do. Agencies, let Kendall model without pointe shoes on, and try to make an actual effort to contact real dancers in the future. And set me up in a meeting with the PR guy from Wells Fargo, and I’ll show him just how serious dancers can be.
Xoxo,
Mad Swan
Well said. I’m just horrified by some of the sights I’ve seen in ads recently. I’ve been pondering: Given that advertisers have a particular demographic that they are trying to appeal to, are they trying to suggest that anyone can embrace their ‘inner ballerina’ – and look pretty/elegant/fit or whatever adjective is brand-related? Is it just too intimidating to use real dancers as they are unrelatable for said demographic who do vaguely understand the years of hard graft that go into honing ones body and craft. IDK, it is a mystery. Keep your great articles coming Gabi – great food for thought Jxx
Thanks Jayney! Honestly…I think part of it is just that beautiful fit people who can simulate dancers are easier to find than actual dancers. The pool of models and celebrities and actors is vast and it’s less trouble for companies to pick from that pool than hold auditions or scout out real talent. Always appreciate your feedback!!!
I agree entirely with Gabrielle Salvetto’s comments – advertising agencies, directors, and casting directors need to know how to find genuine talent with the skill set they are demonstrating. I was recently involved in a small way in an advertisement on UK television where they use the beautiful talented Alessandra Ferri, and the choreographer Wayne McGregor. This advert or commercial stands out for using a trained, skilled dancer and choreographer and for using an older dancer/woman. So round of applause to Tomboy Films who produced and directed this, it is a rare find. If you would like to see it, you can find it on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCJue-1Tls4
Thank you Celia- I’ve seen that commercial and I think it is absolutely amazing! Kudos to you and Tomboy Films!!