I went to my sister's ballet performance tonight. Actually, my sister doesn't do ballet, but jazz dance. The performance consisted of two classical parts, and one 'modern' part, the latter being the one my sister was in. The show was great.
I know, from previous performances, that the audience reacts to one choreography in particular. It's the piece where the youngest girls dance. They look cute, make funny mistakes while dancing, and always seem to steal the show with their disarming youth. Yet, this year, things went slighty differently. All of a sudden, a boy of approximately 8 years old entered the stage. He was clothed similarly to the girls, of course, but seemed obviously more boyish than the rest. His appearance was accompagnied by a low key mumbling amongst the people watching, not sure if he was in fact a boy, because he had long blonde hair, just like most of the girls, the only difference being that his hair was hanging loose. And he was wearing pants. I think the pants did the trick.
At the show's finale, I applauded even harder when the boy entered the stage for the curtain call. I applauded for his performance. He was a better dancer than most other girls on the stage. I applauded for his parents, who let him do what he wanted to do, for not saying "Ballet isn't for boys, why don't you go play soccer, like the rest of your friends?" But most of all, I applauded for his courage. Try dancing at an age when every other boy in your class dreams of becoming a n° 1 soccer player, not to mention the high risk of getting bullied.
Dude, whatever your name is, you rock!
x, L.
I know, from previous performances, that the audience reacts to one choreography in particular. It's the piece where the youngest girls dance. They look cute, make funny mistakes while dancing, and always seem to steal the show with their disarming youth. Yet, this year, things went slighty differently. All of a sudden, a boy of approximately 8 years old entered the stage. He was clothed similarly to the girls, of course, but seemed obviously more boyish than the rest. His appearance was accompagnied by a low key mumbling amongst the people watching, not sure if he was in fact a boy, because he had long blonde hair, just like most of the girls, the only difference being that his hair was hanging loose. And he was wearing pants. I think the pants did the trick.
At the show's finale, I applauded even harder when the boy entered the stage for the curtain call. I applauded for his performance. He was a better dancer than most other girls on the stage. I applauded for his parents, who let him do what he wanted to do, for not saying "Ballet isn't for boys, why don't you go play soccer, like the rest of your friends?" But most of all, I applauded for his courage. Try dancing at an age when every other boy in your class dreams of becoming a n° 1 soccer player, not to mention the high risk of getting bullied.
Dude, whatever your name is, you rock!
x, L.
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