Lauren Lovette created this lush pas de deux for Taylor Stanley and Preston Chamblee in her sweeping, romantic ballet “Not Our Fate,” and the effect was startling and wonderful. A pas de deux — a dance for two — is usually about love and usually between a man and a woman. But here were two men, not incidentally men of color, in a tender, athletic display of desire.
5 comments:
Ballet has been stuck for a long time but it is so encouraging to watch it open itself to more and more types of people. I never would have thought as a small child that I would ever read an article that mentioned protest ballet and ballet dancers of color at the same time. The truth of it is all art can have something to say about politics and all art can be used as resistance even if the theme isn't exactly resistance. Even just being an out and proud member of the LGBT community is resistance in the current political climate of the US so it naturally follows that putting two men on stage to partner dance together in a romantic way in such a public space is resistance to the intolerance that is currently running rampant in our country.
It's also just a generally beautiful message: that two men can feel love in this incredibly strong and romantic way. It's a look into that life and a look into the intimacy that we so often fear in gay couples. It is important to test why we are afraid of this intimacy and we aren't afraid of straight intimacy. I hope that the audience members who may leave feeling uncomfortable question that in themselves and are able to find answers.
Ballet is incredibly, uncomfortably heteronormative. Many of the reasons are pointed out in the article: the point shoes, the purpose of males onstage, the anticipated interactions between male and female dancers. I think choreographer Alexei Ratmaksky's point about tradition, and the fundamental principles of ballet being lost if dance persists in defying gender roles and norms is a dead one. Ballet is fighting to stay relevant these days. It must adapt to modern ideals, which include gender neutrality and parity. And I think the roots of ballet are in no danger of being forgotten; it is rather time for us to grow up from these roots, changing and adapting within the modern frame of today's society. I think the emphasis some of the choreographers featured in the article place on the qualities of a dancer, rather than their gender, is the the right way to advance in terms of dance culture. We should be casting people, not men and women. Dance, as an art form steeped in tradition, is one of the most critical mediums to reinvent, and the time for this change is now.
As a gay man I think its just absolutely beautiful to see the kind of love I strive for to be represented in an art form that is already so beautiful. It's unfortunate that this hasn't happen on the ballet stage sooner. I have seen modern ballet videos but never a reimagined ballet classic performed. I would be interested to see 1) more ballet, but also ballet that relates to an everyday person. I think the TV show So You Think You Can Dance has done a great job of bringing into an everyday persons lives. I wish and hope this idea of both racial and sexual reimagining in ballet will help bring a younger audience to the theatre. I personally would love to see the line between ballet and theatre and see even more elaborate ballets with large sets and stories as well as diversity.
I find this article fascinating because while it is biased, the author does represent both sides of the argument. Ballet in particular provides an interesting focal point around which to talk about art over time. Obviously, ballet has changed, but I think of it as much more static than theater or visual art. The fact that creators are just now breaking boundaries with same sex love, shows how taboo the subject matter is. Due to ballet’s fairly wooden gender roles, I like that same sex romance stories are placing more emphasis on men. In terms of numbers, ballet is female dominates, so I hope that more male based stories could change that. The gender roles in ballet, come from the most rudimentary constructs, women are delicate and men are strong, that I am actually surprised they haven’t been pushed more. Outside of this article, I want to know more about how ballet is changing. because often in art there is a fine balance between convention and innovation.
Reading this article was the first time I had seen societal standards in ballet not only mentioned, but also challenged by an artist. It has long since been time for ballet and classical dance to acknowledge the fact that forcing gender roles, racism, heteronormativity, and body shaming is not acceptable. Ballet is an art form that practices exclusivity and teaches that there is a single way we must be to be considered beautiful, and, it is not to say that it is time for ballet itself to fade into the background, but maybe for us all to realize we can preserve the integrity of the art without practicing archaic standards. It is time for us all to realize that people can be together and practice a healthy and epic love, even if their path to it is different from our own; love should not be invalidated just because it looks different. What counts is the content.
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