It begins with barre. The young girl’s left hand grips the bar, her right hand in first position, her tutu adorably upright, while she inquisitively, and somewhat nervously, looks at her reflection in the mirror.
It’s a process every dancer starts with, and it’s this image that visitors see first at Beauty Must Suffer, an exhibition by US-born artist Karon Davis at Salon 94 in New York. The show that traces the whole process of ballet: from the training to the final bow, while simultaneously revealing the pressure to live up to an idealised image – as well as the passion and resilience integral to life as a dancer.
