Boys in ballet - really fucking annoyed

[Boyscandoballettoo]

Please excuse the ranty tone of this thread - I have just had enough! Took my male toddler to a ballet class, and the number of negative comments or comments laughing about it from so-called family and friends has been overwhelming.

Please can people tell me AIBU to think it’s a bloody unisex sport?!? There have always been male ballet dancers! I do NOT understand the ignorance over it and even if it were a female sport traditionally, how dare people be so bloody sexist and make fun of a boy for joining in.

I don’t know why but it’s really pushing my buttons!

DuMondeB my DD did RAD ballet but ISTD for other dance genres and I always disliked the ISTD uniforms - too much shiny lycra and bright colours for my taste! I don't know if it has changed now though.

Maybe now it will? Lots of people have given clear and valid reasons why dance can be considered a sport yet i've not heard a single reasonable reason why it shouldn't be considered one

Hmmn no, still not seeing ballet as a sport, despite top ballet dancers having to be very fit. It is dance. Isn't that enough?

The way I see it is that a sport is usually competitive and individuals or teams compete against one another to see who is the winner. And nobody much cares what they look like while they are doing it.

It isn't usually done on stage in a theatre to musical accompaniment, in costume & portraying a character, all the while making extreme physical strength and exertion look effortless. That's what makes ballet a performing art.

Annoys me especially since boys, if good, are more likely to get to practice professional ballet than girls as there tends to be fewer of them rising through the ranks.

He's a bit young at the moment but Len Goodman said that dance was brilliant for straight guys, what with loads of girls and all falling over each other to dance with you! 😁

My son did ballet and he's now a stage manager fear not.

trewser I'm not specifically talking about ballet. More forms of dance that are competitive.

unbaffled
Then my form of dance is definitely a sport. We compete as individuals and as teams. We are judged in technical ability, stamina and strength. Although we perform to music we are not being judged on our interpretation of the music, more our technical ability to keep in time. We are not telling a story or portraying a character.
We have costumes but there are rules about these and we aren't judged on how we look.
We compete locally, nationally and internationally. We are judged against a set of criteria and there are strict rules and regulations around the competitions and we have a regulating body which regulates the running of competitions,the teachers and adjudicators.

What bit of that doesn't sound like a sport?

What bit of that doesn't sound like a sport? is it called a sport?

Yes

Well then, what's the issue?

A quick Google will show you that Irish dancing is considered a sport for all the reasons I've just outlined

I get a little annoyed when people refuse to see it as a sport. That argument has been used to belittle what I do on many occasions.
People on here have argued that dance cannot be considered a sport. I've simply tried to explain why that's wrong

I don't think anyone is going to bother to Google because it's fairly irrelevant. I don't think of it as a sport, and if its as prescriptive as you say and needs judging, then I dont think of it as an art form either (unlikely to ever see it anyway tbh) but why would you care about that? If it's officially described as a sport isn't that enough for you?

I don't think I've ever given Irish dancing a second thought until yesterday 🤣

Both my grandsons go to dance lessons and no one has ever said anything negative. People who do are just ridiculous and sexist.
Dancing is a great exercise and good fun too. Just ignore these stupid people

When you're passionate about something and you've pretty much dedicated your entire life to it you can get pretty pissed off when people who know nothing about it claim to know more.
I've found that if something is considered a sport then it's taken more seriously.
I have dancers who need time out of school to compete at the world championships. I've had instances where schools have refused to authorise absences yet will do for football, rugby and netball. Sometimes it's important.

but they are athletes and it’s an exceptionally physically demanding activity.
I couldn't agree more, in fact I think ballet dancers are probably much fitterand stronger than footballers!
Also agree that ballets without male dancers would be less enjoyable. One of my favourite productions is Matthew.Bournes Swan Lake which would be impossible without the men!
I too am angry and sad that in 2020 people feel they have to say such things.

How is it a sport when you can’t compete and there aren’t fixed rules for how you score points and beat someone else?
There are dance competitions, and dance does have very set rules and yes people can score points.

The All Blacks did some ballet training as part of one of their fitness regimes, a wee while back.

Apparently before they did it, they thought it was a bit of a joke. Apparently afterwards, they were sadder, and wiser (and possibly a bit more flexible once the pain wore off) men. . .

I just wanted to say to everyone who posted the “take me to church video”, that DS is now obsessed and watched it several
Times this morning and is trying to mimic the actions whilst shouting BAALLLLEEEETTTTT.

Make me smile anyway 😁😁😁😁

Top league American football teams do ballet to improve their game!

Ballet is a sport. My friends daughter does dance including ballet as well as teaches it and has done for most her life. It is insanely difficult, demanding and requires a huge amount of self control and fitness. I personally think it's a wonderful sport and if your son enjoys it then he most definitely should do it!

Ignore or tell other people to sod off if they have a issue with it.

As people have mentioned most ballet productions/dance/theatre productions would be impossible without males, even more so when often there physical strength is utilised for parts of productions that would be impossible otherwise.

LittleDragonGirl ballerinas can easily lift each other. Productions would be different without males, but not impossible. As it would be vis versa.

It was so sad to hear that Helen Beauchamp has committed suicide after her son, James, had done so. Apparently some of his bullying, was to do with him being a ballet dancer.

It’s not a sport, it’s an art.