Ballet - is it a girl's thing?

Ballet may be brimming with girls and leotards, but is it solely exclusive to them? Behind the frolics of dance and role-play, there is more than meets the eye...

The word “ballet” stings the mind with chauvinistic illusions of feminine presence. The reason is simple. In many countries, like Singapore, there is a highly unbalanced ratio of female to male practitioners. The accompanying video speaks for itself; it is axiomatic that a muscular and rugged persona would be less attuned to ballet.

Charis, a ballet specialist who has been dancing since 2009 and teaching it for a year, takes the liberty to give me and my friends some elementary lessons. Along with Jasmine, another seasoned ballerina, she ingrains excruciating footwork and drills into us. She has even sacrificed time from the previous day to research and select music suitable to a beginner's class.

We start with pliés (squats by the barre) for warm-up, stepping up to relevé, grande battement, développement croisé (development cross), before we can advance to the more dynamic skills. The killer move is, of course, the petit allegro, which makes our legs wobble like soggy noodles. Charis's stamina is amazing, shouting instructions while hopping profusely with us. Admittedly, I got an influx of dizzy spells trying to execute the pirouette en dedan (spinning) without tripping over my own feet or confusing them.

Ballet is not easy, having undergone conscription and a couple of ballet lessons; I would not hesitate to say it is as physically exerting a practice as military training. Often, guys assume the role of
supporting girls in ballet, holding them up and catching them in mid-air. Just their physiques and diets could put them on par with body builders.

Plot-wise, ballet tends to engage in romanticism, usually set in the medieval times or the characteristics of fairy tales. Love, faith, heartbreak are real life chapters we can look forward to. If guys can naturally pursue them, there is nothing “overly” effeminate about ballet, when it is an expression, a profession and an aesthetic sight for contemporary lifestyles.

In the performance at Fort Canning Park, the lead male seems to outshine the female – playing Giselle. My own biases against ballet notwithstanding, I favour the male performer for his agility and form. For that matter, it is general consensus of the group I tagged along with.

Although I still cannot bring myself to don tights, it does not change the fact that ballet is, all at the same time, underrated, desirably vigorous and beautifully mystifying.