Does the Ballet World Define You By Your Gender?
We recently came across this fascinating article via the wonderful blog, My Son Can Dance where this post originally appeared. It is written by Catherine L. Tully and you can visit her blog at 4dancers.org. It definitely got us thinking about how we are all limited by our defined ‘roles’ in ballet. And how the future of dance holds exciting possibilities for breaking those limitations.
Challenging Gender Stereotypes in Ballet
by Catherine L. Tully
Much as I love Balanchine, I have come to a place in my life where I take issue with one of his more popular statements: “Ballet is Woman. In sports, it’s Mickey Mantle. In politics, it’s Eisenhower. In ballet, it’s woman. Women are lighter, more flexible. They move more beautifully. He is not the King, but she’s the Queen.”
Suzanne Farrell and George Balanchine dancing in a segment of “Don Quixote” at New York State Theater, 1965. Photo by Orlando Fernandez, World Telegram staff photographer
Is that really true? I think not.
Now, let me back-pedal a bit. I do think that to Balanchine—and for his ballets, this was true. He found inspiration in women. But much as Mickey Mantle is no longer the representative for sports, and Eisenhower is not the first name that springs to mind when politics come up, men no longer take the back seat in ballet. And it’s about time that it is changing.
Although some choreographers still use men as a foil for women on stage, this is not true across the board. Men are being showcased more often in their own right. They are being allowed to explore different ways of moving and being on stage. When I was coming up in the ballet world, the man was your partner, and he got a chance to showcase his skills somewhere in the ballet, but other than that, his job was to make you look beautiful. It was such a narrow view of what men are capable of, and a disappointing one, really.
Photo by Blaine Covert; The Portland Ballet alumni, Skye Stouber and Caroline MacDonald, performing ‘Sleeping Beauty, Act III Pas de Deux and Coda’
I have always hated gender roles in ballet. When I was dancing, I yearned to do some type of solo in technique shoes that wasn’t just “pretty.” I wanted to be able to show off the power and athleticism of ballet as a woman—to leap and to spin without being restricted by pointe shoes. I always wondered why women didn’t rebel against this narrow view of their talents. But now I realize that we, too, were stereotyped.
The very thing that elevated women to Balanchine’s coveted status also kept us from exploring our own possibilities. We were just as trapped as men under this system. We just didn’t realize it.
I have to again say that I love Balanchine. I do. His ballets are amazing and his choreography fascinates me. There is little doubt that there was pure genius operating there. Magic, really. Yet I love that there has been more exploration since then, more challenges to these long-held gender roles in dance. And I hope that it will continue.
My wish for both men and women in dance is that they have the freedom and the opportunity to explore both strength and softness. I hope the choreography will be dictated by the music and not some pre-conceived notion of what either sex is “supposed” to do. I see a future where we can take the stage as true partners, and bring out the best in one another—whatever that may be.
Photo credit: Sascha Vaughn; Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo, arguably the leader in gender-defying roles and equality in excellence
There will always be a place for Balanchine in my heart and in ballet, but rather than looking back, I choose instead to look forward. We are all capable of so much more.
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Original post found here at My Son Can Dance blog. Thanks so much to Catherine and Nina for allowing us to re-post! Dancers, parents, audience members: what do you think? Do you feel limited in classical roles? Or do you feel the opposite? Let us know!
February 22nd, 2013 at 4:56 pm
Thanks so much for republishing this wonderful guest blog post from Catherine L. Tully.
I’ve often heard–even from my son, Julian Amir Lacey–that men serve just as the barre for women in ballet. In other words, the men are there to support the women and make them look beautiful. I take such offense to that.
To me, men are the black pearls of ballet. They offer so much to the performance. They are special, unique. Personally, I wait for them to perform. That’s when the audience gasps…when they jump and leap and lift the women. But I suppose I’m prejudiced since I have a son who dances. But without the men, the performance would be so different.
Yes, it’s time to give male ballet dancers the recognition they are due and to allow them to shine as brightly as the women. Indeed, they do shine…so brightly. And they pay a high price to get into the spotlight, I can tell you.