It’s not just girls learning their moves for the ‘Nutcracker’
Nov 29, 2008
The “Nutcracker” ballet may be a holiday tradition, but one thing is different at the Oregon Ballet Academy’s production this year.
“There are 20 boys doing the Russian Trepak this year,” said 12-year-old dancer Simon Longnight. “There’s never been more than three before.”
Classes at Oregon Ballet Academy are coed, but tend to be dominated by female dancers.
“We always have just a handful of boys,” said John Grensback, the program’s director. To draw more young male dancers, Grensback sought funding from the Oregon Ballet Foundation and the Lane Arts Council and set up a tuition-free Wednesday class for male dancers only.
The class attracted two dozen dancers ages 9 to 22 with all levels of experience.
“It was a mixed bag of shells,” Grensback said.
As boys improve, they can start taking more advanced ballet classes, but many opt to stay in the all-boys’ lessons as well.
Thirteen-year-old Mayim Stiller has been taking ballet for three years, and he said the all-boys’ class is different from his other lessons. “It’s like working out at the gym,” he said. “We get to do a lot of big jumps.”
The boys also practice lifting, catching and carrying a partner — important for dances such as the expressive “Nutcracker” pas de deux.
“In ballet, we say the men are there to make the women look pretty,” said Ellis Hoffmeister, 18.
To pull off that goal, the boys’ practice includes push-ups and pulls-ups. “We have to be strong to lift the girls,” Stiller said.
Longnight said he does extra push-ups during TV commercials at home.
“Ballet is harder than any other sport,” he said. “You have to withstand pain in your feet without showing it on your face.”
Grensback also spoke to the dedication required to be a successful dancer. “It’s a real strength,” he said. “It opens doors.”
Stiller said he sometimes gets teased for taking ballet, but he had some advice for other boys interested in dance. “You should try it, and not get discouraged by people who say it’s stupid and dumb,” he said. “It’s really fun.”
For more information, go to http://www.oregonballetacademy.com
Copyright © 2008 — The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA
Boys and Ballet 
2 Comments
This is absolutely awesome. My son is also taking free classes at his school. There’s an all-boy (with a male teacher) class on Tuesday nights, and then he goes to co-ed class on Saturdays. Everything is free including the intensive classes this summer (twice per week, 2 hours each). I bet that the boys’ dance in the Nutcracker this coming November will be filled with actual boys!
I do ballet; I’m a 12 years old boy. I have been teased several times but now everybody wants to be me because girl ask for me and it is pretty good. As you have mention ballet is one of the hardest sports and painful sometimes but it doesnt matters it is art and I love it. It is the best sensation being on stage dancing. I am glad to say im edward I’m 12, I’m a ballet dancer and a boy.
2 Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[…] just found this article on Boys and Ballet about the Oregon Ballet Company. They offered a free class for […]
[…] Boys jump at dance […]
Comments are closed.