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Sydney Sweeney fell under fire on Instagram as the ballet police went right for her in November 2022. Sharing photos from a shoot as she modeled a custom pink tutu while standing en pointe, the 26-year-old gave actress Mila Kunis a run for her money on the whole Black Swan thing, but some felt that her technique was lacking.
Users, by the masses, took to the comments to pick Sydney’s move apart, with many pointing out that going en pointe without the required years of preparatory training can cause injury. Sydney does not appear to have addressed the backlash. Despite it, The White Lotus star still managed to earn herself over 1.2 million likes.
Sydney Sweeney Shows Instagram Her Ballerina Game
Keeping it girly as she delivered her Passé Relevé against a candy-pink backdrop, Sydney stunned as she flaunted her toned legs and famous curves in a tulle tutu dress by designer Giambattista Valli.
Rocking pale pink fabrics forming a plunging bodice leading into a floaty skirt, the blonde lifted one bent leg up to her knee while showing off her balance as her supporting leg was fully en pointe. Wearing traditional satin pointe shoes with ribbons, Sydney coordinated her lifted arm with her leg, affording a floating-effect, graceful finish.
Keeping with the ballerina theme, the Miu Miu ambassador sported a bun hairdo, completing her glam with soft, matte makeup, a pale pink, frosted lip, plus a pair of diamond earrings. “Feeling haute,” she wrote in a caption.
Told Untrained Pointework ‘Dangerous’
Fans quickly picked the photo apart. “WHY ARE THEY TIED LIKE THAT SHE WOULD BREAK HER ANKLE,” one said.
Predicting the wave of criticism, another replied: “I came here for the ballerina comments and they don’t disappointed me. As someone who used pointe shoes this is killing me.” A third, meanwhile said: “Not another picture of a non-dancer in pointe shoes… Cringe!”
Some, however, defended Sydney. One fan, who seemed to know their classical ballet, said that the position wasn’t all “that bad” and that Sweeney was at least “over” her shoe box. Ballet dancers who start their training in childhood typically have to wait until their early teens to commence pointework. The years running up to their very first pair of pointe shoes include intense training to prepare the muscles and joints for the load.
That said, one user gained likes for saying that Sydney going en pointe when not a trained dancer was “dangerous.” Sydney is followed by 20.7 million on Instagram.