Where Are All The Men In Ballet?

[@AstroBuoyant]

I was a 6’2 straight dude in ballet for a decade. Also, was an athlete: football, track&field, swimming. Was a successful collegiate swimmer. I was attracted to the challenge of dance … was a tremendous combination of athletics & art. (And … there were so many beautiful, intelligent women). After beginning dance, it became apparent to me that people were absolutely freaked out that a guy could be seriously studying ballet. The stigma was pervasive. Outside of the dance scene … many women, in addition to the larger culture were horrified at the prospect of a guy doing ballet. In life & in college, teachers would sometime notice that I was moving like a dancer. Once in a college kinesiology activity class a teacher asked me in front of the class, if I had experience in modern dance, I lied and told all that I had taken “yoga”. This college instructor, knew I was being evasive, & asked if I wanted to talk about and demonstrate a bit of “yoga” to the class. And I declined. I was trying to limit the amount of crap I would take from admitting to, and representing ballet/dance & that it was the best, most challenging/difficult of athletic/art pursuits … The body awareness training was the gift of a lifetime, … would have been a valuable component of an physical education curriculum program for kids in general. Doesn’t have to ballet, … could be contemporary, modern, jazz … all great for learning body spacial awareness, a kind of grace, …painting, sculpture, music, theater … a view of living a life informed by art. When a bad injury ended my decade in dance. Leaving formal dance … was both very sad, and a great relief … to have this societal judgmental weight lifted. Though my improved aesthetics and body/spacial/movement greatly informed my following career as a sports coach. The stigma against males in ballet is a damn shame … a loss to the full, beautiful potential of the larger human experience/opportunity.

[@PettyBlue1]

thank you for sharing! watching male ballet dancers is what first got me into ballet as a female. I had my own prejudices about ballet being just a parade of pink and white tutus. After seeing an all male performance, my perception changed completely. I wanted to be able to do what they do!

[@DavidLeBlanc]

One big reason to me is that a male can make more money in a career in professional sports than in a career in ballet. The physical demands required a dancer are greater than those in any sport, I have read, and only professional hockey comes close. For someone talented enough and dedicated enough to go into either, certainly the money has to be factor at some point. In the movie the Turning Point, Shirley McClaine's character tells her son he has to choose one, baseball or ballet. She wants him to choose baseball because the money is better. If a choice is available, the boy has to love ballet a lot more to make the choice to forgo potentially more money in a professional sport. In the movie, her son chose ballet because that is the career he truly wants, and movie nicely, if subtly, makes that point.

[@antewaso8876]

Great analysis, thank you!

[@changabriela3412]

Many gay ballet students posting on social media dones''t help parents to have peace of mind sending their boys to ballet schools. Have you thought of that?

[@sp44404]

if your son is gay, he is gonna be gay regardless which sports he does. if you lack a peace of mind because your son is in the same space with someone who is attracted to the same gender, you might as well prohibit them from going outside your home because you know what - there's gonna be gays outside! and even if you locked him up in your house, there's still a chance he'll be gay. he's gay if he's gay. it's got nothing to do with dance. arts are just usually more welcoming than other types of sports for people who don't feel like they belong. but putting your son into a school where he'll get tons of attention from toned girls in tight clothes won't turn him gay. if we follow your logic, it'd be far more dangerous to put your son to boxing or wrestling: boys having physical contact with other boys who are sweaty and wearing less clothes 😂...

[@tilder3721]

maybe the parents should learn not to be bigots. have you thought of that?

[@JosedeJezeus]

@@tilder3721 maybe ballet should ditch the tights? The strict dress code is a turn off. Maybe put some clothes on and more men will join.

[@tilder3721]

@@JosedeJezeus gymnasts, runners, etc train with a lot less clothes on. have you ever seen wrestling uniforms...? yeah

[@user-fm5eh1fi5z]

in order to change that, people would have to start a whole movement to normalize straight boys in ballet

[@JosedeJezeus]

Because the tights expose their junk. Some people don’t want to be semi-naked to dance.

[@sp44404]

bro have u ever seen professional swimmers, gymnastics, or american football players. their pants are just as tight lol

[@JosedeJezeus]

@@sp44404 no no no. That’s not true. Male ballet dancers wear a sling type thing? under their tights. Their junk is on full display. Like… presented. It’s not OK for most men to be caught dead wearing that. Ballet is wrong for that. Change the dress code, and More boys will want to participate. It’s porn.

[@JosedeJezeus]

@@sp44404 even the girls tutu is obscene. We are just used to it (desensitized)

[@sp44404]

@@JosedeJezeus and oh, how could i forget cyclists... and a reminder, no piece of clothing is sexual unless you sexualize it.

[@JosedeJezeus]

@@sp44404 a man’s crotch shouldn’t be on display. I would never dance in something like that. Do you care about ballet surviving? Get rid of the crotch showing, and more men will participate.