Behind the Curtain: Gender Stereotyping in the Ballet World
While engaging in the storyline of a ballet or marveling at the technique of the dancers onstage, one may not realize that something just as important as the creation of art is occurring. Due to the visual rhetoric of ballet, subliminal messages perpetuating gender roles are communicated to audiences through costuming and even the choreography itself. Thus the ballet, while most certainly a credible art form, produces a culture of narrowly defined gender roles. One of the biggest effects of these roles is the discouragement of men from pursuing a ballet career due to a fear of being typecast as “gay,” “effeminate,” and thus “weak.” This is ironic considering that men used to play all women’s roles in ancient theatre. In fact, ballet was developed by a male, none other than Louis XIV. As the art evolved, however, women began to take over the stage, causing ballet to grow feminine in the eyes of society and lending massive truth to choreographer George Balanchine’s famous statement: “ballet is woman.” While women took center stage as delicate heroines, audiences looked to men to act as their knights in shining armor, thus sharply defining gender roles in ballet. Similar parallels continue to be dealt with today as women are confined to traditional female jobs and men face undue pressure to engage solely in “manly” pursuits. Much like the ballet world, society suggests the need for balance in gender roles, yet these idealized views on what men and women are “supposed to do” limit our choices not only as artists, but as people.
Many men are unfairly discouraged from pursuing dance as a result of societal criticism, which hinders the creation of art and many male’s careers. Often, male dancers are categorized as “gay” due to the feminized nature of ballet. Although one may think this belief stems entirely from a societal sense of homophobia, it origins lie deep in dance history. The article, “The Travesty Dancer” claims that the nineteenth-century emergence of travesty dancers (women who played men’s parts in ballets) in city centers is the cause of ballet’s focus on the female (Garafola). One would assume that putting on men’s clothing as a form of rhetoric would associate women with more powerful roles, yet the practice merely contributed to the feminization of ballet as more females took the stage. Further irony exists in the fact that while females broke a societal mold by donning menswear, their breakthrough caused an obstacle for the opposite sex. This causes one to ponder events that would ensue if societal molds were more flexible or no bounds were to exist at all— both audiences and performers alike would be able to partake in more varieties of art and cultural presentations. Today, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, an all-male ballet company that puts on comedic performances of classical ballets drag-style in tutus and pointe shoes, uses visual rhetoric to take the “gay” stereotype at face value. These performances seem humorous as drag and ballet is an unexpected pair, yet the talent of these dancers often go unacknowledged. A reporter’s review of a Trockadero performance highlights this when it says,
The corps de ballet’s pratfalls and sight gags are timely. Underneath, though, you recognize the lineaments of ballet itself – the symbols, the style, the struggles of performance and personalities [...] The rest of the programme is less comic, but often more impressive (Roy).
The essence of this review is that it shows men have the ability to be both manly and vulnerable. However, audiences’ underlying prejudices often discourage men from exploring different sides of their personalities. This serves as an obstacle in many males’ careers as it discourages them from pursuing their passions. The technique underlying their flamboyant performances demonstrates that male dancers can be taken seriously. Audiences must realize that male dancers appear more feminine as a result of an uncommon grace and finesse to their movement that should be admired. Overall, the Trocks’ performances highlight how gender stereotyping fosters the negative stigma attached to being gay, which is an unexpected struggle of its own in the dance world.
While gay men are common in the dance world, the “gay” stereotype may harm homosexual men even more than straight men in ballet. The strong heteronormativity of ballet is inherently difficult for homosexual males to confront as they live unconventional lives that challenge rigid societal heterocentrism. “Rehearsing Heterosexuality” reflects that
“Male teens in dance are participating in an activity that immediately casts doubt on their masculinity and heterosexuality. […] mustering the courage to study dance is rarely accompanied by the bravery needed to openly identify as gay. This kind of environment is stressful and often threatening.”
Dance researcher Risner’s theory of heterocentrism in dance is extremely useful because it sheds insight on the difficult problem of heteronormativity in dance education. The author illustrates an unfortunate paradox that while dance serves as an escape from societal criticism dealt with outside the studio, it also serves to further isolate many homosexual males. This isolation often occurs when teachers assume everyone in the studio is straight and completely gloss over the subjects of sexuality and discrimination. Accordingly, the rhetoric used by many dance educators advocating for more men to join ballet is often unknowingly derogatory toward gays. Statements like “we need more straight guys in ballet” are focused on eliminating or balancing the gay-straight male dancer population, and discourage males of all sexualities from freely pursuing their passions. To combat this, Risner offers forms of rhetoric to create more inclusive studio environments, such as inviting a homosexual dancer to speak. Dancers can adopt this rhetoric to become advocates for spreading awareness about harmful gender stereotyping, and inclusive studios can become prototypes for other administrations such as schools and workplaces. The struggles of gay men in dance are ironic as homosexual males are some of ballet’s biggest contributors and thus should be treated with more understanding and respect. Also making large contributions to the dance world are women, who similarly face unfair gender stereotyping in the ballet world.
The iconic ballerina image, although glorified onstage, portrays female dancers as mere pretty things to look at, rather than respectable athletes and artists. Although seemingly antiqued, this view on women’s roles has stood the test of time in the classical ballet world. This can be seen through a video of Sleeping Beauty, choreographed in 1890, when Prince Désiré kisses Princess Aurora to awaken her. (“Bolshoi Ballet Sleeping Beauty”). This ballet perpetuates the man’s role as the noble protector of the damsel in distress as David Hallberg enters in a display of impressive jumps and physical bravura. Svetlana Zarkharova embodies femininity with her graceful movements as well as her shining tutu and pointe shoes. Although she is clearly the star of the show, the man appears stronger because he is always the one lifting the female, who rarely receives a chance to show off her own power and athleticism. Man and woman are clearly defined and serve integral roles in this ballet, yet the ballet perpetuates preconceived ideas concerning the respective roles of males and females. While more modern, plotless works attempt to banish these ideas with gender neutral costuming and choreography, classical story ballets form the backbone of ballet and their impact on gender roles is permanent. George Balanchine, the father of American ballet, seems to be partially responsible for perpetuating female dancer stereotypes into the modern day. The article, “The Balanchine Woman” expresses Balanchine’s opinion that “‘Everything is man […] And woman accepts this. It is her business to accept. [...] Everywhere else man is first. But in ballet, it's the woman.” This view was reflected in Balanchine’s choreography, in which “‘you see the boy totally controlling the girl,’ […] ‘The boy should appear then to be strumming-playing-some sort of harp or cello. The girl is like an instrument’" (Daly). Through the visual rhetoric of his choreography, Balanchine created his ballerinas to appear as subservient symbols of beauty, an image which became a counterproductive American icon. Although Balanchine’s views partially glorified women, when examined through a feminist lens his choreography portrayed them as mostly objects for men to look at, pursue, and manipulate. Thus Balanchine’s work is regressive, and although one may argue that man’s manipulation of women is essential in pas de deux, there is no reason for women to be portrayed as man’s instrument. This is not a call for the rejection of the classics. Rather, it is a call for the ability to critically examine classical works for antiquated views on the sexes and use them to inform more inclusive artistic choices in the future.
Balanchine and his “baby ballerinas,” 1931.
Unfortunately, Balanchine’s rhetoric extends to the working world, where women are unfairly limited from becoming leaders due to gender stereotyping. Dance education is again a huge contributor to this issue due to its antiquated views on women’s roles. A ballerina and choreographer from the Royal Danish Ballet attributes the lack of female leadership in ballet to the rhetoric used by dance teachers in the studio “which stresses […] how you look and what your body can do […] you had to be a good girl, and being a good girl meant performing, not creating” (Meglin and Brooks). While men and women each have unique qualities and areas of expertise as a result of their gender, people tend to use these as a means of division and see the two sexes as living in different worlds. Women, naturally inclined to a softer temperament, have always been associated with more obsequious roles such as a corps dancer. In contrast, men have always been viewed as “masters of the house” and therefore tend to occupy positions of power and artistic inquiry, which explains why most dance companies are dominated by male leaders. However, an article by dance researcher Fisher recognizes that ballet may be seen as retrogressive from a feminist standpoint, but chooses to focus on the empowering aspects of ballet. It seeks to determine how much of the stereotypes accompanying the ballerina image women internalize by surveying diverse groups of women. Unexpectedly, the women saw a ballet career as an empowering way to pursue their own ambitions and engage in art and community. While this is certainly true as dancers must be mentally strong to succeed in dance, Fisher overlooks the “boy’s club” attitudes faced by female directors at meetings, the expectation to be a passive “good girl,” and the patriarchal foundations of choreography that females in the ballet world encounter daily are certainly not empowering.
As the ballet world strives to mimic the real world through onstage productions, it has certainly met its goal in paralleling the gender stereotypes in society today. The lack of female choreographers can be compared to the scarcity of female scientists, while the gracious ballerina embodies a typical housewife. Accordingly, societal punishment for a deficiency of “manliness” is not limited to male dancers; it is faced by stay-at-home dads, male nurses, and the like. The roles of males and females are arguably needed for the ballet world and society to continue to function. However, this gender categorizing often leads to oppressive pigeonholing that leaves no room for men and women to explore unconventional paths for fear of judgement. Thus, this toxic cycle must be stopped. Only those who are able to explore make new discoveries, and if society continues to hold narrow views regarding what men and women can accomplish, it will never advance.
Works Cited
"Bolshoi Ballet Sleeping Beauty Act 2 Awakening of Aurora." YouTube. YouTube, 17 Dec. 2014. Web. 29 Dec. 2015.
Daly, Ann. "The Balanchine Woman: Of Hummingbirds and Channel Swimmers." The Drama Review: TDR Spring 1987 31.1 (1987): 8-21. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 31 Oct. 2018.
Fisher, Jennifer. "Tulle as Tool: Embracing the Conflict of the Ballerina as Powerhouse." Dance Research Journal Summer 2007 39.1 (n.d.): 2-24. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 31 Oct. 2016. Garafola, Lynn. “The Travesty Dancer in Nineteenth-Century Ballet.” Dance Research Journal, 17/18, 1985, pp. 35–40.
Meglin, Joellen A., and Lynn Matluck Brooks. "Dance Chronicle." Dance Chronicle 38.3 (2015): 1. Philippine Commission on Women Digital Library. 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 31 Oct.2016.
Risner, Doug. "Rehearsing Heterosexuality: "Unspoken" Truths in Dance Education." Dance Research Journal Winter 2002 34.2 (2002): 63-78. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 1 Nov. 2016.
Roy, Sanjoy. "Reviews." Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo. N.p., 27 Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
