Males in Ballet, Jazz, & Tap...

Stereotypes:

Males in Ballet, Jazz, and Tap

Written by: Ryan Coleman-Ferebee

I was fortunate enough to participate in a few dance workshops at the John C. Anderson Cultural Center in Philadelphia, PA in my early teenage years. Through instruction from members of the Philadanco Dance Company, I was exposed to the basic movements of traditional ballet, tap, and modern dance. At that time, I was the only boy in the class and I loved it. I loved that I got to move to music, run across the room, and lift all the females in the room because there was no other male option. I never gave a thought to the perception of what my peers would think about me being in this class, running around in tight pants or shoes that clicked when I walked. When word started to get out in the Center that I was in the class, the other boys started to tease me and I could not figure out why. I remember telling them they were silly boys for not wanting to hang out with the physically fit girls who wanted to dance. I never associated dancing with being neither a male nor a female activity. In my mind, dance has always needed two elements: a male and female to complete the set of partners exchanging call and response type movements across the dance floor. Thankfully, I was independent in my thought process and did not let the sentiment of others get in my way.

On the surface, it would appear that African-American culture frowns upon male participation in most forms of dance with the prevailing notion that dancing is a soft art form that almost certainly defines a man as “gay” simply by association. Is there a correlation between using your body as an artistic form of expression and ones sexuality? Is a gay man more open minded to the arts than a straight man for this reason? If the typical male bravado is interested in females, isn’t dancing a vertical form of sexual expression that may lend itself to assist one in attracting a female? Conversely, when I think of our White counterparts, the two male figures that come to mind are both straight: Baryshnikov and Patrick Swayze. I do not think of White male dances as being gay. Why is that? Unfortunately for me, this topic lends itself to more questions than answers.

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http://www.etmmagazine.info/freeyourmind/2009/05/2009_05_stereotypes.html