Russian Ballet Dancer in a Syrian Costume

Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)

Here is a nice little Syrian Dancer. At least, this is what the Russians thought Syrian dancers looked like. This was part of the Japanesque and Orientalism trends that were common Place in Europe. Russians were caught in that trend. It was more visible in their ballets. 

Ballet is not a traditional dance of Russia. Now, ballets has become quite common place in Russia. This is not to say that Russians never bothered to do a little research. This is well noted in the head gear and outfit of the maiden. The colors chosen in the outfit were not made at random. 

The rest of the form was changed in order to draw more visitors to the ballet. This is how Orientalism and Japanesque works. They take something real, and then they change it about to match the European expectation of that set item. It was not done by accident, but on purpose to sell tickets. Russians from the start of the 20th century knew their audience, and how to sell to them.