Photos by Miguel Reveriego for Vogue Spain
Alas, we are never finished talking about Kendall Jenner.The internet exploded this week with outrage from ballerinas and dancers around the world in response to Kendall Jenner's video shoot with Vogue Spain. In the video, Kendall is rather quirky as she dances (? we're not really sure what she's doing) and while narrating some inspirational sentiments, such as: "I've always been adventurous, so I love doing stuff like that-- I don't know, just stupid stuff. I love walking around; being able to be free."
Photo via Kendall's video shoot with Vogue Spain
What's the outrage? Kendall's odd ballet antics dumbfounded dancers, who then took to social media to voice their anger. The main complaint was that Jenner was appropriating ballet culture. Perhaps the most notable critique came from Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller, who stated on Instagram, "...I cannot be a fan of this shoot. There are so many amazing dancers in the world… Kendall Jenner is not one of them! Shame on Momager, Kris Jenner!!!" Indeed, this Vogue shoot would have been a better opportunity to feature many amazing ballerinas who have years of expertise and hard work under their belt. At the very least, a model trained in ballet, such as Karlie Kloss, should have played the part. As Twitter user @ohsolucee stated, "Ballet dancers don't train 7+ hours a day, 7 days a week, to be represented by Kendall Jenner & her dodgy feet."
Kendall in her Vogue Spain video shoot
However, ballet appropriation is not the only controversial aspect of the video shoot. Ballerinas being portrayed by thin women is, for a large part, unrealistic. As Isha Aran of Fusion stated, "Both the fashion and dance worlds risk promoting harmful body image, so attempting to pass someone off as a ballerina on the sole merit of being skinny is not just reductive and insulting. It’s actively harmful." Professional ballerinas and dancers often have built, muscular frames and toned muscles. There has been, however, extreme pressure in the ballet industry for dancers to be very slight and thin, prompting a campaign in 2014 called "Take Back the Tutu." The campaign aimed to combat pressures ballerinas face, such as body image, eating disorders, and beauty.
Proper ballet form, via Misty Copeland (@mistyonpointe)
A few weeks ago, I discussed other issues I have with Kendall in the industry and how her success is mainly due to nepotism. More eyes were opened after Jenner's video shoot with Vogue Spain, and she has now been bombarded with claims of appropriating ballet culture. It's important to recognize that Jenner, along with her Kardashian sisters, have been appropriating black culture for years. Just over a week ago, Kendall walked down the runway of Marc Jacob's SS17 show wearing dreads (you can see them here) and then showed them off later on her Instagram. However, the outrage that was sparked from this was little in comparison to the response to her Vogue Spain video. Perhaps it's not only time to question Kendall's presence in the industry, but our response to different levels of appropriation as well.
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