Britney Spears: The Ballet

Wendy Garofoli | Feb 01, 2008 | 1

Rambert Dance Company in a Britney ballet, courtesy of BBC News

Just when you thought you'd heard enough about Britney Spears, a British contemporary dance company unveils a ballet in homage to her decline.

The Rambert Dance Company will premiere its Britney ballet, "Meltdown," at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on Friday, February 1. The show, choreographed by Hubert Essakow, depicts Spears being hoarded by paparazzi, shaving off her hair, and eventually being carried off in a stretcher, an apparent nod to her most recent hospitalization on Thursday.

In a BBC News article, Essakow explained his attraction to the material. "I became fascinated by the fact we are fascinated with her," he said.

With music composed by Richard Thomas, the man who also helped write Jerry Springer: The Opera, the Spears drama is headlined by dancer Gemma Nixon, who prepared for the role by watching recent video footage of the pop train wreck.

If you ask me, capitalizing on this rather grotesque fascination with a star's decline is in itself tragic. I thought dance was supposed to be an art form. Creating a piece for shock value seems to be the only way to get attention these days. How else would a modern dance company end up on perezhilton.com?

What's your reaction to the "Meltdown" ballet? Do you think it'll be entertaining? Could it be a poignant piece that captures the current mindset of our celebrity-obsessed culture? Or are you horrified your fellow dancers would participate in Britney's downfall?

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Modern, Performance (all tags)