Achievements
Recent efforts have been made to ameliorate discrepancies between the treatment of gender in the world of professional dance and the rest of modern society. Although these achievements are great, we have a long way to go.
Chase Johnsey, English National Ballet
June 6th, 2018, Chase Johnsey became the first man in modern ballet history to perform as a part of the female ensemble at an international ballet company. Johnsey is an American ballet dancer with the English National Ballet who identifies as gender fluid but uses male pronouns.
This was a particularly bold move for ENB to make, as father of modern ballet himself George Balanchine famously proclaimed "ballet is woman" (Sulcas). Historically, male ballet dancers are seen as feminine beyond social acceptability. A 2003 sociological study found that negative characterizations male ballet dancers have been repeatedly exposed to include: "feminine, homosexual, wimp, spoiled, gay, dainty, fragile, weak, fluffy, woosy, prissy, artsy and sissy" (Fisher).
To combat these negative associations, the ballet world has embraced the idea of making male dancers overtly macho. However, through making ballet seem athletically masculine and resolutely heterosexual, the profession has polarized communities that do not fit into that box.
Johnsey did not feel able to fully express his artistic vulnerability in this new male dance identity: "I want to be seen as a ballerina...My hair is up, I wear makeup, female attire. I am able to do female roles and look the part, so that is artistically what I do" (Sulcas).
The summer of 2018, Johnsey's dream was realized. In the English National Ballet's production of The Sleeping Beauty, he was cast as a part of the female corps de ballet. It was not an easy path to this small victory, however. In the professional ballet world, the beauty of the human body is on full display. Female ballet dancers are held to a high physical standard, including extreme thinness and ideas about harmonious proportions. In order to comply with these admittedly dated aesthetic norms, Johnsey lost 20 pounds over the course of just four months: "I am a small, petite guy, but I am a man...my shoulders are wider, my calves are bigger, the textures of my muscles are different. I had to cannibalize my body, make it run on energy from muscles and figure out how to lose muscle mass without losing strength" (Sulcas).
While this event has changed the future of typecasting men as masculine roles on the stage, it is too soon to tell the ramifications this movement will have on women in dance. Wendy Whelan, former principal dancer with New York City Ballet, has her concerns: "I don’t care what the body parts are, as long as artistically the dancer makes the choreography shine. If he is the best girl for the job, then great.” However, this could be just another hurdle for women in the field, as she states that "living the life of a woman in ballet means not having access to the privileges that come with the patriarchy" (Sulcas). Unless women can also be cast in traditionally male roles as well, this achievement is no more than another example of the favor shown towards men in the world of professional ballet.
This was a particularly bold move for ENB to make, as father of modern ballet himself George Balanchine famously proclaimed "ballet is woman" (Sulcas). Historically, male ballet dancers are seen as feminine beyond social acceptability. A 2003 sociological study found that negative characterizations male ballet dancers have been repeatedly exposed to include: "feminine, homosexual, wimp, spoiled, gay, dainty, fragile, weak, fluffy, woosy, prissy, artsy and sissy" (Fisher).
To combat these negative associations, the ballet world has embraced the idea of making male dancers overtly macho. However, through making ballet seem athletically masculine and resolutely heterosexual, the profession has polarized communities that do not fit into that box.
Johnsey did not feel able to fully express his artistic vulnerability in this new male dance identity: "I want to be seen as a ballerina...My hair is up, I wear makeup, female attire. I am able to do female roles and look the part, so that is artistically what I do" (Sulcas).
The summer of 2018, Johnsey's dream was realized. In the English National Ballet's production of The Sleeping Beauty, he was cast as a part of the female corps de ballet. It was not an easy path to this small victory, however. In the professional ballet world, the beauty of the human body is on full display. Female ballet dancers are held to a high physical standard, including extreme thinness and ideas about harmonious proportions. In order to comply with these admittedly dated aesthetic norms, Johnsey lost 20 pounds over the course of just four months: "I am a small, petite guy, but I am a man...my shoulders are wider, my calves are bigger, the textures of my muscles are different. I had to cannibalize my body, make it run on energy from muscles and figure out how to lose muscle mass without losing strength" (Sulcas).
While this event has changed the future of typecasting men as masculine roles on the stage, it is too soon to tell the ramifications this movement will have on women in dance. Wendy Whelan, former principal dancer with New York City Ballet, has her concerns: "I don’t care what the body parts are, as long as artistically the dancer makes the choreography shine. If he is the best girl for the job, then great.” However, this could be just another hurdle for women in the field, as she states that "living the life of a woman in ballet means not having access to the privileges that come with the patriarchy" (Sulcas). Unless women can also be cast in traditionally male roles as well, this achievement is no more than another example of the favor shown towards men in the world of professional ballet.
Justin Peck, New York City Ballet
In October of 2017, resident choreographer Justin Peck of the New York City Ballet paved the way for a restructuring of the traditional ballet pas de deux. A type of duet including a man and a women, a pas de deux often centers around romance between the partners.
Peck's choreographic piece entitled "The Times Are Racing" was originally cast with a man and woman performing as the central, romantic couple. In an effort to bring ballet into the 21st century, Peck made a casting change unlike ever before. Not only did he replace a female lead with a man, he still envisioned the pas de deux to be danced romantically.
Taylor Stanley and Daniel Applebaum debuted the ballet last fall. Both Stanley and Applebaum are gay, but have spent countless years dancing roles that require them to fall in love with their female partners. In the rehearsal process, Peck remarked: "Somehow it feels more romantic to me...at one of the early rehearsals, Daniel said, ‘It’s so nice to get to step into a role where I feel I could actually potentially fall in love with the person I’m dancing with, as opposed to pretending to be a prince falling in love with a princess’” (Kourlas).
Peck's bold choice was revolutionary in two ways. The first, removing gender as a barrier to the casting process. In rehearsing a production, roles are automatically given a female or male association based on the character and choreography. Immediately, the number of roles open to a performer are cut down to those that align with their sex, limiting the ability to widen their range of performance experience. By casting a man in a role that was originally created on a woman, Peck has opened a wide world of roles without associated gender.
Peck has also explored the concept of non-heteronormative relationships on stage. Traditional ballet solely portrays romance between men and women. Peck has effectively removed sexual orientation as an aspect of the performance that must be acted. He has freed his dancers to naturally portray their feelings, opening the way for far more authentic performances.
Peck's choreographic piece entitled "The Times Are Racing" was originally cast with a man and woman performing as the central, romantic couple. In an effort to bring ballet into the 21st century, Peck made a casting change unlike ever before. Not only did he replace a female lead with a man, he still envisioned the pas de deux to be danced romantically.
Taylor Stanley and Daniel Applebaum debuted the ballet last fall. Both Stanley and Applebaum are gay, but have spent countless years dancing roles that require them to fall in love with their female partners. In the rehearsal process, Peck remarked: "Somehow it feels more romantic to me...at one of the early rehearsals, Daniel said, ‘It’s so nice to get to step into a role where I feel I could actually potentially fall in love with the person I’m dancing with, as opposed to pretending to be a prince falling in love with a princess’” (Kourlas).
Peck's bold choice was revolutionary in two ways. The first, removing gender as a barrier to the casting process. In rehearsing a production, roles are automatically given a female or male association based on the character and choreography. Immediately, the number of roles open to a performer are cut down to those that align with their sex, limiting the ability to widen their range of performance experience. By casting a man in a role that was originally created on a woman, Peck has opened a wide world of roles without associated gender.
Peck has also explored the concept of non-heteronormative relationships on stage. Traditional ballet solely portrays romance between men and women. Peck has effectively removed sexual orientation as an aspect of the performance that must be acted. He has freed his dancers to naturally portray their feelings, opening the way for far more authentic performances.