Boys' Ballet Dancing: United States


Figure 1.--This group was probably photographed in 1999. It is a New York dance school called "Ballet Tech".

Ballet is a virtual rite of passage for the American girl. Large numbers of girls take ballet and other dancing lessons. Such is not the case for boys. Ballet has been less popular in America than Europe. There was a stigma among many boys attached to dancing, especially ballet. Some boys are interested, but too shy to participate fearing what their friends might say. There are, however, some boys that are enchanted by ballet. Often they participate secretly, embarassed by what their friends might say. Some boys have written books about their experiences. One boy wrote a photo essay in 1982. Another boy in 1998 wrote a book about his experiences. Others begin at an early age, but report tremenndous pressure from their piers in pree-teen and early teen years. Many see it as not worth the hassle and drop out. The ballet stigma is not as strong today, but does still exist.

Costumes

Boys' ballet costumes for practice have varied widely. Some dance schools are very strict about how the girls shpuld dress, but to help attract boys are much morevvery flexible about how the boys should dress. Other schools have struct rules for both the boys and girls. A reader writes, "While out visiting this past weekend my neice who takes ballet was showing a group of her ballet photos a few of which show this boy in the class. I had generaly thought that boys commonly wear a 'T' shirt over tights when in class but apparently there are many different different conventions." Of course there are also costumes for actual performances.

Individual American Schools

We do not have a lot of information on American ballet schools, but have found some references. These are some of the major schools I think. There are also alarge number of private dance schools all over the country that may have a few boys taking lessons.

Jacques D'Amboise

Famed teacher and choreographer Jacques D'Amboise was born in 1934 at Dedham, Mass. He became a soloist with the New York City Ballet in 1953. He is best known for American-theme works, e.g., Filling Station, Western Symphony, films, e.g., Carousel (1956), and his own ballets, e.g., Irish Fantasy (1964). D'Amboise founded the National Dance Institute in 1976 to bring the teaching of dance into the New York city public schools. He conducted classes in New York during the 1970s and 1980s and continues to promote dance education.

Ballet Tech

Ballet Tech is a New York school, but no information is available at this time. We do have the 1999 image here from the school (figure 1).

School of American Ballet

The School of American Ballet is located on on West 65th St. in Manhattan. They have a program for boys beginning I think at age 7 years. One photo shows the younger boys appear to be part of a group who have just won places by competitive audition. These boys are aged from about 7 to 12 years old. Another photo shows a group of teenage boys (aged about 14 to 18) rehearsing at the bar with their teacher, Mr. Martins. Both photos were taken I think in 2006. Standard rehearsal clothes for boys at this school include black tights, white tee shirts, and the standard ballet slippers with ties across the instep.

Other schools

HBC has not yet been able to pursue this subject.

Events

A reader tells us that the American Ballet Competition and Youth America Grand Prix are important events in the ballet world. Some of the winners have gone onto prestigious ballet companies.

Teaching Trends

Although ballet is very strenuous and athletic, boys often resist taking ballet lessons because the predominance of girls makes them feel marginalized or are scared away because ballet and dance in general is considered a girlish activity. Some of the major ballet schools are therefore attempting to have classes for boys only so that the boys don't feel feminized or exposed to ridicule by the prejudice that ballet is mainly a girl's activity. In Russia, where ballet is such a highly respected art, boys don't feel this prejudice and take great pride in being good enough to make the cut.

Personal Accounts

Some personal accounts are available:

1982 Account

Anthony Thomas Jones was a 10 years old ballet enthusiast. More than anything else in the world, he loves to dance. Tony studied ballet at the Minnesota Dance Theater, The Children's Theater Company, and the Children's Dance Theater Workshop in Minneapolis. He performed with local theater groups and delighted in his neighborhood with the performances he stages in his own backyard.

1998 Account

Another boy in 1998 wrote a book about his experiences. Others begin at an early age, but report tremendous pressure from their piers in pree-teen and early teen years. Many see it as not worth the hassle and drop out.

1999 Account

One journalistic account provides details about the experiences of boys at a Connecticut ballet school. One of the boys, an 11-year old keen on dancing, has been chosen to play the part of the prince in the Nutcracker. His friends don't think much of his interest in ballet.






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Created: December 29, 1999
Last updated: 8:42 AM 8/27/2010