Ballet Dancer 1984

Petros Malayan captured this image of a Ballet Dancer in watercolor sometime during his career as an Armenian artist in the Soviet Union. Malayan lived through some of the most formative and turbulent periods of Soviet history, and much of his work reflects the social realism of his time. Here, Malayan’s dancer sits and prepares, perhaps backstage or in a practice room. She is caught in a moment of focused self-care. One that presents a narrative of a person readying themselves for a performance, and is also indicative of the laborious and often unseen efforts and sacrifices of dancers. Ballet, especially in the Soviet Union, was a potent cultural symbol, but also a symbol of the dancer’s intense discipline. Malayan has left us with a sensitive portrayal that acknowledges the physical and emotional demands on artists, while revealing the intersection between personal preparation and public presentation.