“No one cares about this anymore,” says Timothée Chalamét, Dune and Marty Supreme actor. But is ballet truly dying? 

It seems like Chalamét has forgotten his roots with three generations of ballet dancers in his bloodline. From his grandmother to his mother, Nicole Flender, and sister Pauline, all three of them attended the School of American Ballet, also known as SAB, one of the most prestigious pre-professional ballet schools in the world. In addition to its title, SAB is also directly affiliated with the New York City Ballet, founded by George Balanchine — widely known as the “father of American ballet” — in 1948, with a roster of approximately 100 dancers, the largest in the United States. All three of the most important female figures in Chalamét’s life danced with the NYCB, many of whom dreamt of this opportunity.  

Chalamét's supposed “diss” to the ballet community came as a shock due to his background and legacy within the industry and art form. Many world renowned companies like the Royal Ballet, the Hong Kong Ballet, and the New York City Ballet, responded to Chalamét's disrespectful comment. The Royal Ballet said on their Instagram page, “Every night at the Royal Opera House, thousands of people gather for ballet and opera. For the music. For the storytelling. For the sheer magic of live performance. If you’d like to reconsider, @tchalamet, our doors are open,” instantly debunking Chalamét's absurd claim. 

That leads to the question many are wondering, is ballet really a dying art? Ballet originated in the Italian renaissance era in the 15th century as a form of noble entertainment and political etiquette. The art form didn’t become popularised until the 17th century when King Louis XIV established his first ballet academy, the Académie Royale de Danse, then later instituted the Paris Opera Ballet. Ballet continued to spread throughout the 1700s to Russia, then arrived in America in the 19th century. As one may say “the Italians created ballet, the French popularised ballet, and the Russians perfected it”, these three styles truly created the foundation for what the art has become today, setting the stage for over 15,000 professional dancers and many more. 

With ballet having such a rich historical background, it has become one of the most popular recreational activities, having many people dreaming of a career in the craft. Currently, over 1800 professional ballet companies stand, scaling from small regional companies to large national ones like the Mariinsky Theatre in Russia , the Paris Opera Ballet in France, and the Royal Ballet in London. Even though it may seem like ballet would be eliminated due to new, modern technology inventions such as social media, nearly 16,800 ballet productions are presented by companies every year in over 140 countries, spanning from classical ballet to neoclassical and contemporary, serving over 29 million attendees worldwide. 

Perhaps the most important deciding factor of whether ballet is becoming less popular is the money generated from the industry. In the Royal Ballet alone, a total income of £170.7m was recorded in 2023, with box office revenues accounting for £52.6m, around 31% of its total income, projected to increase even more over time. Despite going through a rough patch during the pandemic and increasing utility costs, nearly 96% of pre covid levels were achieved, along with the aid of government subsidies, allowing for one of the most influential ballet companies to flourish even more. 

The first ballet production that comes to most people’s minds, regardless of their experience, is typically the Nutcracker, with over 50% of companies' ticket revenue to be generated from repeated performances during the Christmas season. The New York City Ballet puts out almost 50 performances of the Nutcracker annually. Kathy Brown, the executive director of the NYCB and the David H. Koch Theater – home of the NYCB – said "The revenue that it brings in is about 45% of our total ticket revenue for the whole year. So it is enormously important to the business model,” emphasising the continued interest from the public in annual Christmas traditions and the classic Nutcracker. 

This leads to one conclusion, ballet isn’t dying, but is instead a steady growing industry, entertaining millions around the world. Although Chalamét has a strong opinion on the people’s interest in such a beautiful art, ballet still remains as one of the most celebrated art forms in the world, proving his statement to be incorrect.

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