Why don't men dance on pointe?

Рет қаралды 9,865

Күн бұрын

Ever wonder what keeps men from dancing on pointe? Well I'm here to tell you why men don't dance on pointe... well kind of.
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Пікірлер: 44

@kaymuldoon3575 Жыл бұрын

I studied ballet in the 70s (I’m in my 60s now). I had wondered back then why men didn’t go on pointe. I remember discussing this with my mom and she had no idea either (she wasn’t a dancer)…so we had wondered if there was a physiological reason why male dancers didn’t do pointe. My mom decided to ask my dance teacher (who had also been a professional dancer) about this. My teacher said that yes, men technically COULD do pointe (there was no physiological reason why they couldn’t), but she said that it made them look VERY effeminate or “sissy”as she put it. Lol…of course this was back in the 70s, where gender roles were much more defined and rigid than they are today.

@Newsbro89 8 ай бұрын

I agree. There is no real reason except for gender roles. As your ballet instructor said, the only reason she could come up with was that it was more feminine to be on pointe. But when you think about It, it’s really just made up traditional nonsense. While I’m not saying to just drop gender roles in ballet, I do like that more ballets now have incorporated men on pointe.

@madyseeen Жыл бұрын

I know that the Australian Ballet did an adaption of Midsummer's Night Dream where all the donkeys were on pointe in a completely serious manner (meaning it wasn't meant for comedy or parody like the step sisters in Cinderella). The choreographer wanted them on point because it looked more otherworldly and the ponte shoes looked like hoves to him, so he made all of the men learn how to dance on ponte for the production!! Super cool and a good step in the right direction I think

@Newsbro89 8 ай бұрын

So I danced ballet all through my adolescent and teenage years making it to junior company, and finally company for one year before I stopped dancing when I went to college. With that said, I learned how to dance on pointe from my ballet instructor when I asked her if she would teach me. There are a few ballets that the choreography requires men to be on pointe because of reversing gender roles. For example, I danced as Puck in A Midsommar Night’s Dream. This character in Shakespeare doesn’t have a gender so he/she can traditional be danced on pointe by male or female dancers. However, as the maker of the video said, dancing on pointe didn’t come as intuitively to me as it did my female counterparts. The OP is right that my technical training revolved mostly around jumps, and lifts. When men jump they dominate the stage, so it it’s just a different skill set. If you want to learn how to dance on pointe do it. They are plenty of talented ballet instructors out there that would be more than happy.

@Hannah-oi6tk 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for this video. It gives me a perspective I didn’t have. I’m glad to hear that men are starting to do pointe because prior to knowing this, knowing that it’s extremely painful, I found it to be sexist to require women to do pointe and not men in one of the hardest arts known.

@sageisdeadtome3315 Жыл бұрын

As a male that’s done ballet since I was 8 trust me weight would not matter.. I weigh a little bit more than the female dancers, and even then there r sometimes gonna be other body types, ballets not restricted to one body type

@suem6004 8 ай бұрын

Keep thinking that until you blow out your knees. Weight does matter

@Kendrix1 7 ай бұрын

I tried pointe when I was 16 was actually very good at it. It made a lot of things much easier. I had a 42 inch vertical leap and my dance teacher said the pointe shoes would not able to stand the amount of force. When I did it I spray painted the shoes black and my mother sewed in black laces

@klausfrey2656 8 ай бұрын

I'am 58 years old - male dancer 1,93m / 85 kg.. there's no technical limit.. it's the gender role idea I think which is a limit in thinking.. I learn point dancing now for two years - I Love it!!! If you like - try it!!! But with professional teacher advise

@suem6004 8 ай бұрын

Just does not look strong and manly to be in fairy slippers.

@hallowbunny1941 3 ай бұрын

that's totally awesome! I don't know much about ballet, but it's cool to see people who doesn't sink in sexist concepts and don't feel embarrassed to try new things and enjoying it :D

@klausfrey2656 3 ай бұрын

@suem6004 :-) .. I feel at home.. doing so.. being a fairy - beautyful.. Like to be a fairy it makes me feel complete

@klausfrey2656 3 ай бұрын

@@suem6004 @suem6004 :-) .. I feel at home.. doing so.. being a fairy - beautyful.. Like to be a Fairy it makes me feel complete

@suem6004 3 ай бұрын

@@klausfrey2656 But you do not look that way to observers. Female dancers exemplify the true gravity defying, floating fairies. Males have other characteristics that are wonderful in their roles and fit their bodies and center of gravity better.

@myotiswii 2 жыл бұрын

I do point. I have gotten quite the backlash from one point shoe fitter, my mum and my former ballet teacher. (but my mum came around) I am not like very good by any means, but I can't jump especially high either. Like I can jump double turns but they kinda look bad. I think what makes me look bad on point is my flexibility (not foot flexibility, that one is great). Like I can do splits, but barely. No oversplits or something like that. I have pink/beige pointshoes, because they were the only ones in the store that fit me, and the seller that makes them doesn't have many colors. It really doesn't hurt unless I do hours at a time which I barely do. I don't get what some people say about it. Like I understand that it hurts untrained feet and if you completely overdo it. But it shouldn't really hurt most people? And I am just doing it for fun. Not because of technique or anything. I started at age 18. Which honestly I feel like makes sense. I had growing pains until I was 17, like my legs hurting and all that. My sister started at age 12 and she eventually quit ballet all together because dancing on point hurt her feet so much and she was still growing. And although I only have only 1 year compared to the others in my class who have around 6 years on point, there isn't too big a difference. Like I can't do tripleturns but other than that I am doing well.

@ballerinabythebook7091 3 жыл бұрын

What a well researched video! I hope this soon gets more attention

@margaretpughdance 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

@Dane_Youssef 8 ай бұрын

I was just going to say all this. You are absolutely 1000% right. Thanks for clearing everything up to those who are somewhat unenlightened about what goes on in the world of ballet...

@ravennaprojects 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! I started dancing about 6 months ago as an adult and love it but all of the choreo I’ve seen that I really like is on pointe, I’m not as in to the traditional male dances. I’d like to sign up for a pointe class at some point but I feel a little weird about it

@margaretpughdance 2 жыл бұрын

I understand why that might feel a little weird, although I definitely think that all early pointe work should be monitored within a class setting. Just a thought I had, if you are more interested in the female vocabulary of ballet, I would recommend learning some female ballet variations or finding a variations class to take in flat shoes. Becoming more comfortable with the style of moving might help boost your confidence when finding a pointe class. And congrats on starting dance as an adult, I know that it can be daunting sometimes, but I'm so glad you have been enjoying it! Happy dancing :)

@JustClaude13 2 жыл бұрын

Pointe looks like an interesting physical skill. I'd like to take a class and learn all about the plie and tendu and other stuff. And yes, I'm a long way from learning pointe.

@Newsbro89 8 ай бұрын

So I danced ballet all through my adolescent and teenage years making it to junior company. With that said, I learned how to dance on pointe from my ballet instructor when I asked her if she would teach me. There are a few ballets that the choreography requires men to be on pointe because of reversing gender roles. For example, I danced as Puck in A Midsommar Night’s Dream. This character in Shakespeare doesn’t have a gender so he/she can traditional be danced on pointe by male or female dancers. However, as the maker of the video said, dancing on pointe didn’t come as intuitively to me as it did my female counterparts. The OP is right that my technical training revolved mostly around jumps, and lifts. When men jump they dominate the stage, so it it’s just a different skill set. If you want to learn how to dance on pointe do it. They are plenty of talented ballet instructors out there that would be more than happy.

@vaughngracey255 2 жыл бұрын

We need more men and boys on pointe.

@margaretpughdance 2 жыл бұрын

You should definitely check out Ballet22 I think you'd like them. They are a new all male ballet company and they do pointe

@vaughngracey255 2 жыл бұрын

@@margaretpughdance I've heard of Ballet22; those guys are incredible!

@margaretpughdance 2 жыл бұрын

@@vaughngracey255 yeah they are a really interesting company and still pretty new. I think they were on Dance Magazine's 25 to watch this year

@Yander_van_der_wurff 2 жыл бұрын

I am a boy and i do point, im not a profesional ballet dancer but stil, i love it

@JackF99 2 ай бұрын

Subscribed. Epic vocal fry.

@NeverlandSystemKitten 2 жыл бұрын

There are some men stepping (pun intended) into the pointe world. I love the idea, personally.

@margaretpughdance 2 жыл бұрын

I totally agree. I'm really interested in how this is going to evolve the art form as a whole!

@larakalish881 2 жыл бұрын

Couldn’t women stop wearing pointe shoes that destroy and punish their toes?

@margaretpughdance 2 жыл бұрын

haha it is true that pointe does hurt, especially when you first start out, but I honestly think a lot of women really enjoy pointe and wouldn't want to stop (at least I know I do). However, there are more and more professional dance companies that are performing ballet pieces in flat shoes instead of pointe (most of these also perform contemporary and modern dances, but even some larger ballet only companies have flat shoe ballets). Now a days if a dancer doesn't want to perform en pointe they have more paths open to them. Thanks for the comment!

@zzzcocopepe Жыл бұрын

It's kind of interesting how you brought it up from a history perspective. Because when you step back and look at it as a bigger picture through the history lens, you can see how modern times we're having a new Revival moment. Whereas in the past there was a diversion of gender roles. And now we're having an information explosion with the internet. Everybody is able to communicate like never before. And it's allowing people to be honest in a way that's never been possible before. So we're seeing men do pointe, because they enjoy it and why not

@AMC08 3 ай бұрын

I asked my teacher and she told me i could not do pointe because male feet are bigger and need different shoes, and she doesn’t teach boys?

@veritythomas5682 3 ай бұрын

I don't know anything about ballet, not quite sure how I ended up here (though it is interesting), but I am an engineer. Weight certainly could be a factor. F=ma, so the acceleration is gravity, a, is approx 10m/s^2, so say a man's mass is 10kg more than a woman's, that's a whole 100N more of force that needs to be supported. (imagine the force of a 1 year old boy standing on you on one foot...) For some muscles that's probably not a problem but for others it may be harder if they are weak muscles. Which muscles are used in pointe? If it is tiny ones in your toes then that would like be easier for women. However, if pointe uses ankles or calf muscles only then that would like be easier for men as those are stronger and can support more. Do you jump when you're on pointe, if so, then suvat equations come into this and the force would be even greater. This might be okay occasionally but if repeatedly doing this, there'll be more wear and tear.