Reply to S/o ballet class for preschooler boy

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Maryland Youth Ballet in Silver Spring has a good program for older boys.  [/quote]

I don’t understand why a ballet class would be boys only? [/quote]

At higher levels, boys and girls learn different things. Girls begin to dance on pointe, boys don’t. Both learn partnering technique but it’s different— boys learn to lift and girls to be lifted. And boys classes also emphasize different solo skills, as roles designed for boys tend to involve more jumps and leaps, but less fine footwork, than roles designed for girls.

But that’s at a much higher level. You only see segregated classes in pre-professional programs.[/quote]

Sorry but this seems really old fashioned and kinda sexist TBH.[/quote]

There are very engrained gender roles in classical ballet. Even in modern ballet, women still often dance on pointe and men generally do not (there are some notable exceptions but they are not common) -- it is a major difference in how the dancers train. There are also physical differences in that men, being generally the stronger and heavier dancer, do more lifting, while women, usually being lighter and with less brute strength, are lifted. In modern ballet this is not always the case and often all dancers will be engaged in both aspects. And sometimes in modern dance none of the dancers are on pointe. The art form has evolved a lot in the last 150 years.

If the gender roles of classical ballet are not for you, you can train with modern companies and eschew pointe work and classical partnering. But the vast majority of modern dancers will still have a strong basis in classical ballet technique, because the discipline and fundamentals do translate to some degree. So a dancer who wanted to pursue more modern dance could take co-ed classes up until they begin pointe and partnering work, and then move to a studio which focuses more on modern dance, jazz, and other more egalitarian forms. The ballet training will still be valued.[/quote]

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