[The Guardian] ‘The perfect body is not important’: discipline is the pointe for ballet dancers in Peru

‘The perfect body is not important’: discipline is the pointe for ballet dancers in Peru

María del Carmen Silva, a retired professional dancer in Lima, Peru, teaches girls whose families cannot afford ballet classes and refuses to select her students by ability. ‘The perfect body or the best costumes are not important. In my class, those who have discipline stand out,’ Silva says. ‘The prototype of a classical ballet dancer usually does not fit the characteristic physique of Peruvians: neck, trunk, arms commonly short, short stature – that should not be a stigma or a barrier’

• Words and photographs by Magda Gibelli

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