Ballet is for boys

New program helps change attitudes

By Barbara Woolsey
The Leader-Post
January 24, 2012

As a little kid, Richard Zimich went to soccer practice with not just his sneakers, but ballet slippers. After the game, he couldn’t hang out – he would always say he had to go “cut the grass.”

“I’m sure my teammates thought, ‘Wow, that guy is cutting the grass an awful lot,’ ” laughed Zimich, who is now the artistic director of Youth Ballet & Contemporary Dance of Saskatchewan (YBCDS). “But it’s because I was actually on my way to dance class.”

Sometimes young male dancers are shy about their passion, said Zimich. But that is something YBCDS is trying to change. The studio now employs four male dance teachers – Zimich, Glen Curtis, Chancz Perry and William Siguenz – which is the most it’s ever had. When Zimich came to Regina four years ago, there hadn’t been one in two decades.

A growing number of boys are also taking lessons – right now there are about 15 of 400 total students, he said. In bigger cities, a better ratio of guys to girls is more commonplace, which makes it easier.

So in September, Zimich had the idea of starting a program just for the boys. It’s been a huge hit. “It’s not easy being in a class sometimes when you’re the only guy,” he said. “When the girls are getting instruction, sometimes the guys can feel like they are an aside. They’re role (in dance) is totally different. So this program brings them to grow and train together.”

“I was definitely the Billy Elliot of Saskatoon,” laughed Curtis, YBCDS’ newest male teacher. “I really liked dancing, I was just the only boy in the school. If there was a boys program, I wouldn’t have kept my mouth shut.”

In class, the guys do all types of movement from hiphop and jazz to martial arts. It is great exercise and builds endurance, balance and physical strength.

“The parents are so happy to see their kids going to dancing and getting pumped before they even go,” he said. “The boys are so motivated to come. They’re giving me high-fives in the hallway and I can see they’re really proud of what they’re doing.”

Lessons are twice a week, but Zimich said that may expand this year. A lot of boys are bringing their friends to come check out the class – and the friends end up staying.

“They have that support. If you get bugged or teased at school, it doesn’t even really matter because you’re around people that know better,” said Zimich. “There’s still a pressure, but it’s starting to get better.”\

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

 

More boys are following in the footsteps of Billy Elliot

Channel Nine
September 18, 2011

 

 

Watch Video:  http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/ballet-boys/xo7hrq4

 

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Dance studio offers free classes to boys

By Kristie Rearick
Glouster County Times
Photographs by Cathy Cramer
September 11, 2011

  

Inside an unassuming ranch-style home, Kimberly Chapman, co-artistic director and co-owner of Maxine’s Studio of Dance, holds up a photograph of a group of boys taken in 2007. “That first year I got nine boys. This year, I got 30,” she said as she pointed to another picture sitting on her desk.

Drive past the home on the corner of Garden Road and East Avenue in Vineland, and you may not realize what’s hidden inside. It’s a dance studio, where young students learn to plié and pirouette from Juilliard-trained dance instructors — Kimberly being one of them.

Today, the students — girls and boys — are getting a special treat. A guest instructor, James Ihde, a soloist with the Pennsylvania Ballet Co., is leading the young dancers through their steps. Classical music plays in the background while the class listens to Ihde’s instructions.

“Finish bold — two, three, four — and finish,” he said.

“He’s counting the steps for them,” said Maxine, studio owner and Kimberly’s mother.

There are two boys dancing among a sea of girls in this class. And in a room to the left of the studio space — a small “break room” — five boys are laughing, talking and having a quick snack before it’s their turn to practice some moves.

This year, 30 boys have taken advantage of the free lessons that Kimberly and Maxine started four years ago. Back in 2003, when Kimberly moved back to Vineland, she noticed that boys were scarce at the studio.

“I said, ‘OK, we’ve got to fill this void,’” she said. “It helps us as a studio to have both boys and girls. It’s so much more fun that way.”

The class is free for one year, but after the year is up, “if they want to continue, they are on half scholarship,” Kimberly said, meaning they can take dance lessons for half the regular price. It’s an incentive that is difficult to say no to.

“After their first year free, they are kind of stuck. Because they like it,” she said.

One student who definitely can say he liked it is 13-year-old Spencer Wetherington of Upper Deerfield. He is a mentor to the other boys, Kimberly said.

“I started dancing when I was 4. My mom asked me if I’d like to try soccer or ballet and I said, ‘Why don’t we try both?’” Spencer said. After a few years of splitting his time between the two, Spencer decided to leave soccer behind and take up dance full time.

“As an artist, you feel like you have to do it,” said Kimberly. “You get to say something artistically with your body.”

Maxine’s Studio of Dance, home of the Vineland Regional Dance Co., got its start in 1971. Kimberly began dancing at her mom’s studio and was a soloist with the Vineland Regional Dance Co. from 1979 to 1985. She continued her training at the School of Pennsylvania Ballet and graduated from Juilliard in 1988 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance.

Her passion for dance — and for her students — is obvious.

It’s the boys’ turn to go through their steps and Kim switches on the CD player. Classical music can be heard as three boys — she splits the boys into two groups, Spencer is in the first — take to the dance floor.

After they go through the number, Kimberly gives the boys some suggestions. “Know where you’re going to finish — you can’t change your mind halfway through,” she said.

The boys practice their jumps as they look into the long mirror that covers the wall in front of them.

“Take your heads up. Up, up. When you jump, your heads should be gone out of that mirror,” she tells the next group.

“Did your heads go away?” Kimberly asked.

The boys usually start out taking ballet lessons, but they also learn hip-hop, jazz and tap dances. It helps the boys improve their sports. From football to basketball, baseball to soccer, wrestling and track and field, dancing can help, Kimberly said.

“We had a whole wrestling team in here once,” Kimberly said. “Dance teaches kids body awareness, self-esteem and discipline — as well as creativity,” she said.

The free class is for boys only. Ages 4 to 7 meet on Thursday from 4 to 4:45 p.m.; ages 8 to 12 meet on Thursday, 4:45 to 5:30 p.m. If you are interested in signing your child up for this class, please call Maxine’s Studio of Dance at 856-691-6059. The studio is located at 2388 N. East Ave., Vineland.

 

© 2011 New Jersey On-Line LLC

Related Article: Vineland studio allows boys to dance for free

More boys want to follow in Billy Elliot’s steps

Mark Russell
The Age
Photographs by Craig Sillitoe
July 3, 2011

THERE were pirouettes aplenty, but not a pointe shoe in sight, when a group of aspiring dancers took to the State Theatre stage yesterday as part of the Australian Ballet’s Boys’ Day.

The 29 boys, aged 8 to 14, travelled from around Australia to participate in the special program aimed at encouraging them to pursue their dreams of becoming the stars of the future.

Melbourne Ballet principal artist Robert Curran, who put his charges through their paces for 2½ hours, said the day was a wonderful way for boys to see that their interest in dance could lead to a career.

”When I was growing up I knew I wanted to be a dancer but there wasn’t much around to inspire me, to give me some kind of goal,” he said. ”For these boys to get the chance to do classes on the State Theatre stage gives them the drive to stay committed. It gives them perspective and the understanding that being a male dancer is a very strong and athletic and powerful activity. It’s not at all pink tulle and pointe shoes.”

One of the boys, Liam Kafka-Sweeney, 9, of Bentleigh, spends more than three hours a week at ballet classes. His mother, Rachel, said he was inspired to be a dancer after seeing a performance of Billy Elliot, The Musical, in 2008.

”He said, ‘Right, that’s what I want to do’,” she said. ”I thought his interest might wane over the holidays but he kept asking me, ‘Have you booked me in, have you booked me in?’ So he went to a class and it was all girls. I thought he was going to say, ‘Right, that’s it, I want to go home’, but he loved it.”

Ms Kafka-Sweeney said the Boys’ Day was good for her son because it showed him there were other boys who shared his interest in ballet.

Mr Curran said interest in the annual program was growing. A total of 142 boys had signed up this year, compared with 123 last year. He said films such as Billy Elliot and the television show So You Think You Can Dance had helped to break down stereotypes about ballet dancers.
 

 

Copyright © 2011 Fairfax Media

 

 
 

 

Inspiration for the male dancer

By Connor Holloway, Boston Ballet School Student
Footnotes The Blog of the Boston Ballet
Photo by VAM Productions
April 13, 2011

 

After attending the Boys’ Night Event this past Saturday (where all the BBS boys had the opportunity to see George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream), I was amazed by how many young men share the same passion I do for the art of ballet. Read the rest of the article

Articles about Connor Holloway:

Nutcracker ballet launches boys toward careers in dance

Connor Holloway’s ballet dream may take him places

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Boys leap into ballet

ABC News, Australia
March 19, 2011

 

The growing popularity of male dance leads to another sell-out education program organized by the Australian Ballet.

View Video

 

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