The ballet studio has historically had rigid gender-normative standards. But making it a space where artists of all genders feel affirmed and respected in their identities will only enrich the art form. “I think to have an interesting future for ballet requires developing creative humans that can play,” says educator and Ballez founder Katy Pyle. “Can we all imagine a future where we have the most talented dancers onstage and not just the dancers that fit into the archetypes that have been prescribed from history?”
There are concrete steps the people at the front of the room can take to make that happen. Here are a few ways to foster a gender-inclusive studio setting.
Ask for pronouns. Take the time to introduce yourself and give your pronouns, and ask for the same from the dancers. Including pronouns as part of your introduction helps normalize the practice, and removes pressure from queer dancers to have to broach the topic themselves. “It opens the conversation,” says Les Grands Ballets Canadiens soloist Kiara DeNae Felder.
If you mess up, apologize, correct yourself, and move on—without making a fuss. Making a big deal of your mistake might be more othering than simply acknowledging your slip-up and continuing, though you should be prepared to address it with the dancer later if necessary. “I’m never going to be upset with someone who comes in with good intentions,” says Ballet Zurich soloist Max Richter.
Talk to dancers about what movement or roles they are interested in. “Just because you know someone’s pronouns doesn’t mean you know them,” New York City Ballet corps member Ruby Lister says. Rather than concluding that a dancer who has different pronouns than you assumed wants to do the “opposite” role, have a conversation with them.
Mix classes. Allow and encourage all dancers to take pointe or “men’s” classes—without watering them down. “Even if you were just going into one of those binary boxes, exploring something new and getting strong in a different way is very helpful,” Lister says. “It’s like cross-training.”
Remove gendered language from class. When giving different options for combinations, instead of dividing it between “women” and “men,” try referring to those dancing in “pointe shoes” and “soft shoes.” Allow dancers to choose which version of the exercise they want to do. This can also extend to casting notices, rehearsal schedules, and the language used for audition calls. “You draw people in by how you refer to them,” Richter says. “If someone sees a job listing that says, ‘Looking for male and female dancers,’ there’s not really inclusivity in that.”
Update dress codes. At Marymount Manhattan College, where Pyle is on the part-time faculty in ballet, students are given the option of leotard and tights or fitted T-shirt and tights or leggings, without mention of gender. “Dancers can choose how they fulfill those dress codes,” they say.
Work with gender-diverse dancers to make costumes and undergarments something they feel comfortable with. Lister once brought a sports binder—a tight garment designed to flatten the chest during athletic activity—into the NYCB costume shop and got the okay to wear it under a unitard for a performance. “It’d be cool to see costumers work with dancers’ identities when creating in the future,” they say. “So you can be more comfortable and able to just dance, and not have a dysphoric feeling when it’s not needed.”
Disconnect gender presentation in ballet training from dancer identity. Ballet has a unique and particular understanding of how gender is expressed onstage. But in technique class, don’t “shame people for straying outside of perceived gender binaries,” Pyle suggests, such as male-assigned dancers experimenting with softness, or female-assigned dancers moving more forcefully. “Allow people to find who they are in their movement. Be curious about the dancer in front of you. Unless we’re specifically talking about how to perform a role, allow dancers the space to experiment with their expression of what teachers may perceive as gender identity without criticizing it or pushing it in a different direction.”
Provide context for roles that call for specific gender presentation. In variations class or when coaching a specific role, “We can give the historical context of, This is what people thought ‘female’ presentation was, this is what people thought ‘male’ presentation was,” Pyle says. “We can separate that from the person and say, ‘This is the kind of role that this is. You can be anyone, you can have any expression outside of here, but try this on. It’s a costume, not who you are.’ We’re playing parts. Some of them are going to fit really well, and some of them are going to be a stretch, but can we all try stretching who we are? It’s helpful and effective for kids to have possibilities. They’re only going to become better and more fluent artists if they’re given access.”