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Ballet is typically seen as a graceful and delicate sport, but behind the scenes it can become competitive, according to many STA ballerinas.

According to junior Grace Crowe, who was a level seven dancer at the Kansas City Ballet (KCB), the highest level at her company, there was always tension between students.

‘[Ballet is] very competitive in a passive aggressive kind of way,’ Crowe said.

Sophomore Emma Robertson, former KCB dancer and current Legacy School of the Arts dancer, also witnessed many instances where classmates were competitive.

‘There is a girl [in my class] who is really good, but really competitive,” Robertson said. “She doesn’t talk to one of my friends because she sees her as a threat.”

After the movie ‘Black Swan’ premiered, many peoples’ perspectives on ballerinas changed because people realized the intensity of the sport, according to Robertson.

‘[The portrayal of ballerina’s in ‘Black Swan’] is dead on,’ said sophomore and former KCB dancer Sara Meurer.

Robertson agreed with some of the movie’s interpretation of competitive ballet, but not the stereotypes.

‘[‘Black Swan’ is] stereotypical of our dance world,” Robertson said. “We don’t all have mental problems and we are not all lesbians.”

The intensity and competitiveness of ‘Black Swan’ also seems realistic, according to Crowe.

‘Scarily enough [‘Black Swan’s’ portrayal is] pretty close to [real ballet],’ Crowe said. ‘The scenes with [Natalie Portman] interacting with the other dancers and seeing competitiveness they can’t voice. The cattiness and how everyone is trying to be the best is actually the culture of [ballet].’

When Meurer did ballet she felt like she had constant competition.

‘There is a fine line between trusting the people in your class and seeing them as competitors,’ Meurer said. ‘At KCB if there was a new person no one would talk to her. Everyone would just analyze her skill. Like the first week it’s not trying to get to know the person, or seeing if you can be friends with them, it’s realizing if they are a threat to you.’

According to Robertson, this behavior is not only directed at new girls.

‘[There’s] a lot of talking behind your back, like ‘oh she didn’t hit her double turn correctly,” Robertson said.

Sophomore and KCB dancer Jill Campbell states, however, that there is not always a competitive atmosphere.

‘I have a lot of friends at ballet,’ Campbell said. ‘[It’s] not really [competitive] with my friends, but some girls do act competitively, it’s more like for fun for me. I just see it as everyone in my class has their strengths and weaknesses.’

According to Meurer, many teachers add to the intensity sometimes with harsh comments.

‘There is lot of pressure keeping a specific body image and teachers don’t have a problem telling you when something is wrong with your body,’ Meurer said.

According to Robertson she was told she was too short to be a professional dancer, but she also added that not all pressures are negative.

‘At Legacy they are more concerned with you being healthy,” Robertson said. “They want you to dance and not hurt yourself.”

According to mother of Sara Meurer, Michelle Meurer, like any sport, ballet gets more competitive as the students get older.

‘[Ballet is] not too competitive or too intense,” said Michelle. “It’s just more competitive and more intense because at KCB they take ballet very serious.They are looking for girls with a lot of talent so it tends to be a more serious place to dance.’