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Ballet For Your Son?
Girls and ballerinas go hand-in-hand. Even in days of female superheroes, the ballerina dreams of 5 year old girls are still popular. To boys, a ballet dancer is a girl - someone in a pink tutu and ballet shoes.
The strange thing is that although men are not common in the ballet world today, when ballet first began back in the Renaissance period, men were the only ballet dancers. It would be some years before women were allowed to take part in the ballets. Men of that period would dress in tonnelets, a hoop-skirt that came to the knee, and would dance female roles.
Why Little Boys Should Do Ballet
You might think that enrolling your son in a ballet class is a good idea, but it's likely your son won't be quite so eager! You will see the advantages, he will see stereotypes and peer pressure disadvantages. Even as young boys the male of the species have a very strong gender role and wish to be thought of as being macho. Ballet classes don't fit this image. So if you're hoping to put your son into ballet, you're going to have to be very convincing about what he's going to get out of it!
For you to consider this unconventional step, you must already think that your son has an interest in dance. Perhaps he was always eager to join in dance activities at nursery or Pre-K. The best time to enroll your son is as early as possible before the peer pressure builds. There are many ballet schools that have classes for younger children and these would be perfect. The younger you start him, the more likely he's going to be at least a little enthusiastic about going.
How to Convince the Reluctant Male Ballet Dancer
A great way to get your son interested is through movies - Center Stage and Billy Elliot are a wonderful way of introducing male ballet dancers. You can use the movies as a stepping board to talk about other male ballet dancers. TV's "So You Think You Can Dance" is another good platform for showing the diversity of dance and that men do dance!
If you can find a ballet school, or even a class, that's all boys then you'll have an easier time convincing your child that he's not the only boy in the world taking ballet class! He will be part of a group of boys who are all interested in learning how to ballet dance and will give him a network of friends who share his dance interest. Make sure you point out how strong ballet dancers are, and how the flexibility he learns at ballet can help him in other sports.
Once you get him enrolled, you need to keep him enthusiastic. If he's serious about it, he'll find a passion that none of his peers will be able to knock down. Part of his ballet training will allow him to walk tall in a self-assured manner that his classmates will eventually give up trying to break. They may not understand what he does, but as he develops more confidence and strength from his ballet training, they'll be less inclined to mess with him. Until then, you need to keep an eye on what's happening and not allow other kids to stop your child doing what he wants.
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