Skip to main content

Article: Free Dance Classes To Incentivise Boys to Dance - Queensland Ballet



This month Queensland Ballet launched The Ballet Boys Project, a series of initiatives designed to explore and address the decline of boys in ballet and dance.

Since 2020, Queensland Ballet Academy has seen a 36% decline in male enrolments, a downward trend that Christian Tàtchev, Director of Queensland Ballet Academy, observes is evident across the professional training industry globally.

Queensland Ballet Executive Director Dilshani Weerasinghe said the company is taking the decline seriously by taking a market leading stand and addressing what is potentially a sustainability issue for the artform.

“As such, we are encouraging the dance and broader community to join this movement with us to ensure the tradition of ballet – although ever evolving, lives on with strong participation from male dancers,” Mrs Weerasinghe said.

The company has established a The Boys in Ballet Committee to identifying the roadblocks and take action to address the issue.

As the first initiative of The Ballet Boys Project, Queensland Ballet is offering free weekly classes to boys aged 11 – 14, at the homes of Queensland Ballet (West End) and Queensland Ballet Academy (Kelvin Grove).  

“Our hope is that this new initiative will give male students the opportunity to forge new friends, enjoy a safe and encouraging environment and be inspired by other boys and men pursuing their love of dance in our incredible facilities. 
 
Head of Academy Operations Gabrielle Johnston said the initiative was launched mid-July and has already been well received. 

“This initiative aims to remove barriers for boys wanting to take ballet classes by fully subsidising classes at no cost, with no uniform requirements, and no audition required. 

“We’ve had boys coming to these classes which are focussed on male-specific ballet technique, from Coffs Harbour, the Gold and Sunshine Coasts and even Yeppoon.

“We aim to foster a unique opportunity to bring together boys who are enjoying ballet in the community sector, sometimes as the only boy in their class and learn from leading professional male teachers. 

Students will enjoy the following benefits: 

  • forging friendships with other boys who dance   
  • focusing on male-specific ballet technique   
  • classes and mentoring by leading professional male teachers   
  • building a support network of likeminded peers    
  • dancing in purpose-built, professional dance studios
  • enjoying a safe and encouraging environment   
  • being inspired by witnessing older boys and men pursuing their love of ballet in our facilities   

 

To celebrate the launch, male dancers within the company were asked what inspired them to start dancing.

Company Artist Callum Mackie said he didn’t have a sport when he was younger and was inspired after watching his sister at her ballet concert.  “I didn’t have a chosen sport, and thought, I could give that a go. So, I tried out contemporary, tap, jazz, hip hop, musical theatre, classical and kept things rolling from there. I really enjoyed it.”

For Jette Parker Young Artist Joseph Moss, his mother’s dance studio was part of day-to-day life. “I grew up with it around me, and so it inevitably became part of my life.”

Company Artist Lewis Formby’s parents were looking for a way to channel their son’s exuberant energy. “I did it because my sisters did it. I’m still here 20 years later,” he said. 

And Jette Parker Young Artist Jack Jones was literally banging down the door to join the classes when he was just 2 ½. “It was just my thing. My friends went to footy or something else and I went to ballet instead.”

Students can register for the Ballet Boys classes here.

This year all funds raised at the annual giving day will go towards the Queensland Ballet Academy and supporting the next generation of artists. Giving day is hosted on 8th of August, 2024. All donations on the day will be quadrupled, thanks to the generous support of visionary match donors.



Photo by David Kelley
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Article: 37 // Queensland Theatre

Queensland Theatre's newest productions is stunning audiences with its powerhouse story full of all things footy, bringing community spirit, thrilling energy and intense physicality to the stage in 37, playing at the Bille Brown Theatre until 4 May. Penned by twice-named Tasmanian Aboriginal Artist of the Year, Nathan Maynard, and directed by renowned Australian director and proud Noongar man, Isaac Drandic, the co-production with Melbourne Theatre Company brings together an ensemble of 10 men to portray a local footy team’s struggle from the bottom of the ladder. Named after the immortalised number Adam Goodes wore on his AFL jersey and set within the era of his famous war-cry, 37 follows the fictional Cutting Cove Currawongs in their fight for premiership glory, which playwright Nathan Maynard described as a story many can relate to. “I won’t go into the themes I touch on in the work because that’s why I wrote the play, for both the audience and I t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Scenes From a Yellow Perril - The Reaction Theory & Queensland Theatre Door 3

Written by Grace Wilson The best kind of theatre is theatre that makes people question, reflect and consider how uncomfortable questions encourage people to act and change. There are not many theatre pieces out there that can make an audience consider whether to laugh or cringe, smile or grimace. However, The Reaction Theory’s ‘Scenes From a Yellow Peril’, as a part of Queensland Theatre’s Door 3 program, masterfully manipulates the uncomfortable with the comedic, the angry with the heartfelt, and asks the audience if uncomfortable questions are worth the discoveries that come with them. ‘Scenes From A Yellow Peril’ by Chinese-New Zealand writer and poet, Nathan Joe, can truly be described as poetry on stage, a turbulent experience of communication and heightened emotions. The audience is exposed to complexities and challenges of BIPOC communities across the world in a way that does not fit the traditional theatre mould. There is no way to predict what Joe writes next; each scene chops...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Norman Mailer Anecdote - Queensland Theatre (Door 3)

Written by Grace Wilson The Norman Mailer Anecdote, produced by Big Scary Animal kicked off Queensland Theatre’s Door 3 program with hard-hitting questions, complex narratives, and well-rounded performances. The Door 3 program, new to Queensland Theatre in 2024, gives space for emerging artists to create and perform pitched work with support and space contributed by Queensland Theatre. For a premiere program of this size, it was a waiting game to see how high the bar would be set, and Big Scary Animal set the precedent for Door 3 works to come.  The Norman Mailer Anecdote by Anthony Mullins explores ideas of sexual assault and the relationships that come apart in times of crisis. The work itself was confronting - it tackled these ideas through a lens of upper middle-class Australia, specifically Brisbane, and used both the lens of legal terminology and creative writing to create a wide scope when approaching the program.  The cast itself was intimate and connected - standout p...
Post a Comment
Read more