Information
This section contains information and links to articles that should be of interest to male ballet students. Please feel free to email in your questions or suggestions for information that could be included.
What do you call a male dancer?
This is one of the most often asked questions about males in ballet. People now that a female ballet dancer is a ballerina and want to know what the male name is. My favourite terms would be "danseur" but the following is the answer from the Ballet-Modern FAQ by Tom Parsons:
"There's no satisfactory answer to this one. Theoretically, even though the Italian "ballerina" means simply "female dancer," only a principal female dancer is supposed to be called a ballerina. If that restriction were universally observed, then the nearest male equivalent would be the French premièr danseur ("first dancer"). But in practice, people use ballerina to refer to any female ballet dancer, and in that case all you can say is "dancer" for the male.
I suppose you could be pedantic and use the Italian masculine form ballerino, but people probably wouldn't understand you and, worse, are likely to mis-hear the word as "ballerina," which could lead to endless confusion."
Articles about male ballet students
Daily Express Article - "The Ballet Boys"
Sunday Times Article - "Boys at the Barre"
Fayetteville Observer Article "Boys and Ballet"
"A day in the life of a dance student"
Times-News Article - "Ballet for boys"
North County Time Article - "Ballet rocks local students"
Metropolitan Ballet Theatre - Article - "Philosophy for Boys' Ballet Class"
The Village Voice Article - "More but not Merrier"
"Stereotypes are often overrated" - Indiana Daily Student
"A new stage" - Indiana Daily Student
"Keeping on their toes" - Indiana Daily Student
"Ballet Boy Not Afraid to Dance" - BBC Nottingham Online
"Only boy in the class? Well, tutu bad" - The Melbourne Age