Being a boy within the dance world can really feel a bit of isolating at instances. But Bryce Lee, Ryan Lenkey, and Noelle Lee from The Male Dance Connection (TMDC) want to change that. The collective began by providing males’s courses over Zoom throughout lockdown – and rapidly discovered that this on-line neighborhood has been sorely wanted since properly earlier than the pandemic.
TMDC now offers supplemental males’s ballet, up to date, conditioning and even vitamin courses to bop colleges within the U.S., each by means of Zoom and occasional in-person occasions. They particularly cater to smaller studios who don’t have sufficient male college students to supply them with a specialised coaching program.
Even past the coaching, the aim of the initiative is to construct neighborhood. “You’re kind of ostracized as a male student in any form of dance,” notes TMDC Director Bryce Lee. “Without resources, you can get very discouraged. I went through a phase where I didn’t want to dance anymore, but I realized it was just my environment. So we’re trying to create a healthy environment as a bridge for these guys to keep dancing, stay motivated and meet likeminded guys.”
Noelle Lee, TMDC’s administrative director and Bryce’s sister, additionally famous the worth of younger males having male lecturers. “The boys can talk to them. We had a workshop where Bryce and Ryan even covered things like hygiene when it came to pas.”
“A lot of their teachers don’t necessarily want to touch on subjects like how to wear a dance belt, or the importance of a dance belt. Or deodorant.” Bryce provides. Even when these factors are addressed, lecturers can unintentionally make male-specific topics really feel awkward or unwelcome. In so some ways, TMDC lecturers act as older brothers, exhibiting the youthful guys the ropes.
Having function fashions to look as much as – male lecturers who’re additionally skilled dancers – is fairly particular for younger boys in dance. When you’re a child whose world hasn’t expanded past your property studio but, it may be exhausting to conceptualize what’s on the market ready for you. TMDC has created a hyperlink to an business that’s not solely accepting of, however determined for male dancers.
Bryce notes, “One of our goals is to be a transitory system, helping these boys go from a recreational studio to, eventually, if they’re developmentally and financially ready, a pre-professional program that best fits their overarching goals.” And it appears to be working. “As of our current ‘graduating class’ so to speak, these boys are getting offers pretty consistently. Offers from companies that I’ve partly recommended or that they’ve found through an avenue we’d advised them to look into.”
The data and alternatives this program makes accessible to those college students is immeasurable, however some studio house owners have been cautious of exterior involvement. “We are supplemental training. We are not here to scalp students,” explains Bryce. “Our mission is to serve these studios, provide them with our expertise and assistance. We just want to help.” And not simply assist the male college students – assist the studios correct. Before TMDC, Bryce labored in-person at a Colorado studio that had between 9 and 12 boys pre-pandemic. Post-pandemic, that quantity dropped to 2. “There’s been this massive drop off rate, which we’re trying to minimize. Especially in rural communities where there are not many boys or much social opportunity.”
Ballet’s closely gendered traditions have been a subject of debate amongst TMDC’s lecturers. The mission of this system since its inception has been to help boys who really feel underrepresented within the younger years of dance coaching, however that doesn’t imply it’s a closed ecosystem. “We spent time thinking about our name, The Male Dance Connection,” says Bryce, “because we didn’t want to exclude anybody. We still wanted to keep that identity in some regard, but we’re welcoming of each and every person. We do have a few dancers who have transitioned and identify more so as male – we harness that and welcome them with loving arms. We haven’t had a student approach us yet wanting to identify more with traditionally female roles or aesthetics within ballet, but once we get there, that’s welcome, too.”
TMDC teaches methods which can be labelled as male, however attendance to males’s class is open. Ryan Lenkey, affiliate director and head of social media and advertising and marketing, expresses, “Because it is a classical artform, it is still heavily gendered. Men in dance require specific skillsets (like jumps and turns), so that’s the kind of emphasis that we focus on. But we’re here to support; dance is for everybody.”
Not to say the advantages of well-rounded coaching. Noelle provides, “We have at least one student who does pointe at his home studio, which I think is super beneficial. Working in pointe shoes is helpful for learning how to use your feet, especially for jumping. We haven’t had any girls ask about taking classes, but I think it would be so beneficial for them. You need that power in your legs.”
So what does ‘dancing like a man’ imply to The Male Dance Connection? “That conversation has come up a lot with some studios in more rural communities,” says Bryce. “The concept of ‘you don’t dance like a man.’ Whenever I hear that, I think, ‘You don’t have to.’ As long as you’re enjoying it and holding yourself correctly in your technique, that’s okay. We and the dance world need to be careful about the vocabulary that is used in classes.”
As for future targets, TMDC is working towards internet hosting extra in-person courses throughout a broader vary of cities, like their current occasion in Southern California. They’re aiming for 501c3 non-profit standing in order that they’ll present free or partially underwritten courses and privates, and ultimately present scholarships for younger males in dance.
TMDC is impressed by different packages who help younger male dancers, like Petite Oasis Foundation and Boys Dance Too. Initiatives like these show to boys in dance who really feel remoted or excluded that there’s a place for them, and that extra of these communities are being created each day.
Connect with The Male Dance Connection:
Website: www.themaledanceconnection.com
IG: www.instagram.com/themaledanceconnection
FB: www.fb.com/themaledanceconnection
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@themaledanceconnection
By Holly LaRoche of Dance Informa.
