About judith booth
Here I will look at men in dance and male dancers and their history and roles.
MEN DANCING - I am an avid ballet-goer and watcher -- but I am somewhat unique in that I do not pick my dance occasions based on the ballerina but rather on who is dancing the male(s) role(s). This has been so for a long time and the realization of it crystallized for me quite recently.
Today there are many fine roles and variations that cater to men, But in the long ago and far away men were considered props to hold up the ballerina. In the time of August Vestris men were technically quite good. However in Petipas' time the ballerina became more important. Just look at the roles -- Swan Lake (1895) and Sleeping Beauty (1890) Petipa emphasized the girl whereas in Sylphide (1832) and Giselle (1841) there were good male roles. Given all these changes, in most classical ballets males roles are tiny (50 sec of solo out of a 2 hour ballet), and that needs to change.
Channel Galaxy