An experience of compiling The Shortest Dictionary of Ballet Untranslatables
Abstract
The article applies the concept of the “untranslatable” (B. Cassin) to ballet vocabulary, revealing it as a conglomerate of culturally specific phenomena. The authors identify three levels of untranslatability: terminological (where technical terms like plié or ballon carry a unique cultural code), stylistic (where phenomena such as Soviet “drambalet” or Virsaladze’s “pictorial symphonism” represent entire artistic worlds), and habitus-related (the level of bodily ethos, muscle memory, and performer’s mentality). Using the “Shortest Dictionary of Ballet Untranslatables” (25 entries, from Aché to Żal) as an example, the study demonstrates that it is this inherent untranslatability, rooted in national history, philosophy, and aesthetics, that constitutes the wealth of world ballet, turning it into a space for perpetual cultural dialogue.
About the Authors
A. V. Markov
Russian State University for the Humanities
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Dr. Habil. (Philology), Ass. Prof., Prof. of the Chair
6, Miusskaya Sq., Moscow, 125047
O. A. Shtayn
Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Cand. Sci. (Philosophy), Ass. Prof. of the Chair
51, Lenin Ave., Yekaterinburg, 620075
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Review
For citations:
Markov A.V., Shtayn O.A. An experience of compiling The Shortest Dictionary of Ballet Untranslatables. Bulletin of Vaganova Ballet Academy. 2025;(5):38-52. (In Russ.)
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