Gender Roles In Ballet

When most people think of dance, they do not always think of it as a form of art. However, it just happens to be one of the most expressive forms of art in the world. There are many different types of dance, coming from many different cultures internationally; ballet, hip hop, jazz, Bulgarian Folk, Flamenco, and many more. As an audience, it is expected to watch a dance and only observe the basics like movement, music, facial expressions, costumes, and sometimes the story behind the piece. How many individuals stop to notice the patterns of gender roles? What types of dances or cultures show gender roles? The ballet technique emerged from the courts of Louis XIV, in the ancient dance is the balance of gender, men being the strong ones supporting the light, dainty fragile-like women. A concept far from that of which we try to live in the world today. There is a new trend in modern society that now pushes the strength and individuality of females, but what about males? The views from a society and culture resistant to male ballet dancers are very dangerous not only to the male dancers, but to the cultural development of ballet itself.

In today’s American culture, we are conditioned to believe, most boys like team sports and girls prefer creative activities like dance, art, and music. The public performance of dance is now regarded as a feminine activity, leaving men who dance drowning in a sea of stereotypes. Ballet is now a feminine occupation and is turning into a creative form of dance that is choreographed using steps, body movements and gestures. In the historical line of art, ballet was originally created to be masculine “One of the ruling classes sought out ways of defining and describing their powers” (Lihs, 38). Male ballet dancers must show strength and brilliance. High, intense jumps, and quick turns are excepted of a great male performer. A muscular yet elegant figure is also extremely crucial to their total body image. A male dancer must symbolize a masculine character while balancing his main role as a ballerina to show a stark contrast to the audience. On stage, people’s preconceived ideas of male dancers are far from the reality. Choreographer Robert Binet shares, “I think that above all the many things [ballet] is – it’s a language. It’s a language that is both spoken and interpreted entirely through the body”(How Gender Roles). Binet believes it is important to find a way to portray modern relationships between modern men and women through technique which can often pull dance back to historical power dynamics. Like any language, ballet evolves with time. There are words that were not discovered five years ago that are now known because words were needed for new things that emerged into life. Ballet was created to tell new stories about different experiences, different people, and different ways of life. The language used in these interoperative stories must be forced to adapt and develop.

Stereotypes are being defied daily in studios everywhere, as ballet dancers’ question why their gender should determine the way they are expected to dance. Women are starting to jump higher and successfully complete more turns than they ever could before, which are skills traditionally associated with traditional male ballet dancers. While men are training tirelessly to incorporate these stretches and tact that has long been standard for female dancers. Now male dancers are encompassing ideas about their physical capabilities. Keith Roberts, a ballet master at Ballet Theater, has started insisting that men improve their split while jumping in variations like those in “Swan Lake.” And it has also “become standard that men’s feet are just as arched and beautiful as women’s, sometimes better,” Mr. Roberts said, “They have to be more refined than ever before” (Radetsky). All dancers undergo tireless training from a very young age, and constantly wrestle with various forms of complicated injuries. However, male dancers must possess a special type of determination and resilience if they are to become professionals. Modern men in ballet are expected to fight through the current of heavily veiled disapproval that much of society harbors for their chosen path. In many cultures, girls are encouraged to take ballet; boys unfortunately do not receive the same confirmation, except from ballet teachers or exceptionally supportive parents. A boy who perseveres in dance must have a genuine hunger for it, must be uniquely motivated and dedicated, and must develop a truly thick skin.

Ballet remains an extremely sexist form of art, one that tends to favor woman, but on terms that let her shine only by doing what a man cannot. Hopefully as ballet continues to evolve, so shall all the rules and roles. As society bases their ideas of masculinity on not only what men’s bodies look like, but how they utilize them; it is important to remember masculinity is associated with strength, dominance and aggression – ideas that alienate one’s relationship with one’s body. Our ideology, and perception of masculinity, especially in the world of ballet, must be altered dramatically. Being aware of what has happened in the past will hopefully allow our society to realize its major misconceptions and prepare for change for a better and more encouraging future in ballet.