This prejudice really annoys me:
Ballet is only for girls!
Tutus, tights and classical music. White swans, ghostly willis and sylphs, floating air fairies that bewitch men.
Kien boy, no man seems to fit in here.
This is certainly a very one-sided and extremely outdated picture of classical dance.
In the meantime, ballet as an art of stage dance has changed and developed a great deal. The long, dispensable training, the enormous physical demands and the flexibility in dealing with numerous very different styles and choreographic signatures are the same for everyone, regardless of gender. The intensity can easily be compared to the challenge and training effort in high-performance sport.
Since the end of the 1980s at the latest, when more and more young dancers could be seen who could compete with ballerinas in terms of extreme agility and physical elegance, almost outstripping them and also bringing an extra dose of powerful, dynamic athleticism to the stage, boys have been equally challenged and encouraged, and the conditions in ballet are the same for both sexes and extremely high.
Of course, in the traditional classics such as Swan Lake, Giselle or Sleeping Beauty and many other works of ballet, the female figures are largely in the foreground. The white acts in particular are originally and predominantly interpreted by female dancers. And in the classical pas de deuxs, the man (to put it badly) sometimes has the role of the ‘better’ ballet barre.
But, as I said, this is an outdated image.
Today's professional dance has achieved a diversity that offers a platform to so many different bodies, dance styles and techniques that all forms of aesthetics, expression and athleticism are in demand.
And: gender roles have often become secondary in contemporary creations, the themes allow for many things.
There are now enough ensembles and choreographers who are exploring ideas and content with exclusively male performers.
And if you want to look sporty and have a well-trained body, holistic training, which not only keeps the body fit, but also the mind and brain, is a good idea.
It's not for nothing that they say that dancers usually look younger than they actually are.
Keep on supporting young boys and men. Lead them to dance. And ballet.
See you soon and goodbye!
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