Chicago Tribune: When Victor Alexander was preparing for the next phase of his career, gradually reducing his stage time as a performer in Hedwig Dances and dabbling with choreography, he never imagined he would be running a dance school a few years later.
But since Alexander’s appointment as director of the Ruth Page School of Dance in 2013, he said he’s fallen in love with the place, and is committed to expanding on the visions and mission of Larry Long and Dolores Lipinski Long, who founded the school 46 years ago.
5 comments:
As a society, we don't really think about how men are impacted by female dominated industries and this article sheds light on a different side of gender imbalance. While dance seems to be an extreme example, almost all professions suffer from some sort of gender imbalance. The article highlighted the power of a shared experience, and that helped his argument as to why having more male dancers is important.
As a society, we don't really think about how men are impacted by female dominated industries and this article sheds light on a different side of gender imbalance. While dance seems to be an extreme example, almost all professions suffer from some sort of gender imbalance. The article highlighted the power of a shared experience, and that helped his argument as to why having more male dancers is important.
I agree with Rosie that society doesn't think about how some professions are female dominated though I don't think it is something that needs to change. I agree with Alexander's interesting point that more male dancers would create a "level playing field" but in a world dominated by cis white males, I think it is good to have a profession surrounded by females. I understand that less male dancers mean less female dancers can be paired with male dancers but this indirectly this should give female dancers more opportunities to do all female pieces. I understand that this can create stereotypical gender roles between who can be a dancer or not but I think less male dancers may also lead to a highlight of female dancers, which is good because so many other professions are male dominated. I think Alexander and Warnecke bring up a valid point for a need for more male dancers but I don't necessarily see a need for the dance field to change.
This article addresses an issue I honestly have not thought about for awhile; boys in dance. Here at CMU SOD, we have a pretty even divide between men and women enrolled in acting and musical theatre, but that is not to say that the auditions were not severely outnumbered by women. I have known several male dancers throughout my life and I have to say that this article hits the nail on the head when it comes to the lack of support systems often given to young boys and men when they choose a dance class over a sports team. Often do the boys and young men find themselves constantly surrounded by girls and young women and then eventually begin to feel like the odd one out, discouraging them from continuing dance. Some dance schools, like the article mentions, don’t even have men’s technique classes after a certain point, adding even more obstacles to the careers of male dancers.
I was not aware that the gender gap in dance was so large. I recognize that the paucity of men in dance is in part due to the lack of support systems, I believe the root of the problem lies in our culture. Dancing, despite the rigorous physical aspects of the art, is thought of as a highly feminine activity. Like theater, young men who engage in these arts are mocked or discouraged by those around them, even family members. I remember my cousin expressed an interest in dance at a young age. My Aunt and Uncle immediately signed him up for football instead for fear that too many feminine activities for him would cause him to be gay when he grew up. These issues are tied up in our societal understanding of and prejudices concerning sex, gender, and sexuality. No matter how many scholarships are set up, this divide will not disappear until we fix the cultural roots of the problem.
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