A New Era of Dance
Gender Identity and Representation Within the Dance World
Dance is an art rooted in tradition. It has long been common to see numerous styles of dance being performed and created focusing on the heterosexuality of the dancers. Males would be the dominant figure in performances while displaying strong and ‘masculine’ movements, whereas females were given lighter, gentler movements that exhibit poise and grace. Times have now changed and the number of LGBTQ+ and gender fluid dancers has grown. There are now female dancers who identify more with portraying strength and independence and males who embrace their feminin side. Some people conform to neither role and prefer to project a neutral identity in their work.
In order to accommodate all dancers, the dance community all over the world has shown significant change and increased inclusivity in how they represent gender. It is evident in their pieces how choreographers approach creating their work with an open concept that does not focus on heterosexual gender norms. As well as choreographers, LGBTQ+ dancers are using their influence to inspire younger generations and to invoke change by example.
Firstly, choreographers all over the world have been utilizing their roles to create choreography that both challenges traditional gender norms, and represents all types of people. They have the privilege to be able to control what story is being told within their pieces, what movements are demonstrated and what message is projected to their audiences. Transgender choreographer Katy Pyle is making waves in New York City with her company ‘Ballez’. According to an article done by Dance Magazine, she focuses on reinventing ballet by spreading her love of the dance all while creating a safe space for queer ballet dancers,
“What if we were all in a ballet and it was actually about us?”
In 2013, Pyle’s first full show titled The Firebird, a retelling of Michel Folkine’s 1910 original, premiered. She took Folkine’s ballet and reworked it to feature queer characters like a ‘tranimal’, a half bird and half prince, that is discovered by a lesbian princess. Pyle has produced several other remakes since then, such as Giselle of Loneliness and Sleeping Beauty and the Beast, all of which aim to influence the normalcy of LGBTQ+ characters and roles in traditional ballet productions.
Similar to Pyle, West African contemporary choreographer, Fatou Cissé, focuses her choreography on celebrating cultural differences and gender equality by using the body to portray gender power relations and self-expression. One notable piece of hers is Le Bal du Cercle, that she created for one of the world’s most important contemporary performing arts events in France, the Festival d’Avignon. The work utilizes sabar, a concept described as,“In terms of bodily movement pattern, its genuine traits are the airy movements of arms and legs, as well as the very risqué and sexually provocative gestures and explicit erotic elements”
Le Bal du Cercle aimed to highlight the individuality and identities of it’s six dancers, which included 5 women and one male performing as a transvestite. Both Katy Pyle and Fatou Cissé use their influence as choreographers to highlight gender differences and to celebrate what makes an individual. They create an open concept in gender representation for ballet and contemporary styles through their performances of which are observed on a large scale all over the world. Both women are influencers of the shift happening in the dance world that has allowed for a more inclusive and welcoming industry for all genders and types of dancers.
Secondly, several non-binary dancers have begun to gain notoriety and have been vehemently staying true to their identities as they go about their dance careers, and therefore have become role models for dancers who do not fit typical female-male gender roles. As well, they have provided their peers a new perspective and opened their minds to changes in tradition like South Korean male pole dancer, Taewon. Taewon is actively combating his home country’s Confucianism-based culture where it is believed men are meant to be the strong, dominant force over women.
After gaining interest in pole dancing, he signed up for a class but was refused entry once it was revealed that he was a man.
Pole dancing is feminin and graceful, not a sport that his culture deems acceptable for a man to participate in.
Unwilling to accept this, Taewon continued searching for studios that would accept him until he finally found one. He later recounted his experience in a research article published by the International Review for the Sociology of Sport: “[He] mentioned that the women taking the same classes initially felt somewhat unfamiliar and uneasy. However, as time passed the participants built friendly relationships with the female members”. After persisting in his goal to pole dance, Taewon ended up changing the perspectives of the women he took class with who in turn became supportive of him and his presence after initially feeling uncomfortable.
A similar result occurred in the American television show, Dancing with the Stars, when LGBTQ+ celebrity, Jojo Siwa and her professional partner, Jenna Johnson Chmerkovisky, became the first same sex pairing to ever compete on the show in 2021. This was a huge step for the show and for Siwa, who had just recently come out as queer earlier that year. Jojo’s decision to partner with a woman sparked the use of more same-sex pairings in their freestyle routine later on in the season. One of the show’s long-time judges, Bruno Tonioli, even told her that
“[He] wished she was around when he was growing up as LGBTQ+ role models were mostly non-existent”.
Dancers such as Taewon and Jojo are breaking traditional gender role boundaries in the dance industry and it is evident that their influence has opened up others to the concept as well.
In conclusion, the dance industry has seen significant change in how gender roles are portrayed in all areas of the world. Choreographers like Katy and Fatou are being more mindful when creating their work and making conscious decisions to challenge gender norms. Additionally, many dancers who do not fit into both male or female stereotypes, dancers like Taewon and Jojo, are making an example for others and encouraging more open mindedness within the dance community. Overall, it is important to continue to experience and embrace these kinds of changes so that future generations know that it is alright to be authentically themselves while pursuing a career in dance.
