Josephine Lee, resident pointe shoe expert at The Pointe Shop in California, has found perfect pairs for quite a few men. Are you a male dancer hoping to try pointework? Here are Lee’s tips for your first pointe shoe fitting appointment. Make sure the shank is hard enough. “Men typically weigh more than women, which […]
Like many professional dancers, New York City Ballet’s Gilbert Bolden III is totally used to sharing pics and vids of his dancing on social media. But in the fall of 2018, the corps de ballet member hesitated before posting one particular clip. “I was extremely nervous the first time I posted a video of me […]
As ballet’s gender roles grow increasingly blurred, more men than ever are reaching new heights: the tips of their toes. It’s no longer just Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo and the few pointe-clad male character parts, like in Cinderella or Alexei Ratmansky’s The Bright Stream. Some male dancers are starting to experiment with pointe […]
A lot of ballet men play around a little in pointe shoes—to get a feel for what their partners are experiencing, or just because they’re curious. But Houston Ballet’s Hayden Stark, Derek Dunn, and Daniel Durrett aren’t playing. They’re SLAYING. SO. HARD. Houston Ballet just finished a run of La Bayadère, which is renowned for […]