It is estimated that 3.5 million children are learning to dance in America at any one time and yet only 10% of these children are male. However, when it comes to professional careers in dance, the gender imbalance seems to be significantly less prominent. As of 2017, only one of the top ten highest earning artistic directors were female. How come in a profession which is so overwhelmingly male at the highest levels, men are often not associated with dance in relation to performances?
Perhaps it is this stigma alone which is causing less boys to enrol in dance classes at a young age, however surely in a field where it is vital to have both female and male dancers this must be addressed. Perhaps it is this stigma which is preventing boys from even considering a future in dance as their career path and hence preventing them from achieving their potential.
I feel the primary issue does not lie within the opportunities available to male dancers but once again with a common view held amongst society that to be a dancer is somehow emasculating. Whilst in more traditional ballets, male dancers role was to ‘show off’ the female dancers, in more recent years male dancers have been given more opportunities to take on leading roles within performances. In an interview for ‘The Culture Show’, Carlos Acosta said “Thanks to Nijinsky and then later on Nureyev and Baryshnikov we are given a role that is equal. We now have the opportunity to show off just like the ballerina’. These opportunities are vital for encouraging more men to pursue a career in dance.
It is necessary to remove any remaining stigmas surrounding male dancers by increasing exposure of men in dance particularly amongst the younger generation so that moving forward boys are able to consider a career in dance without fear of judgement.
