Totally random Q about ballet

[ha98ed14]

We are watching the Beatrix Potter tales done by the Royal Ballet. Some of the "male" characters dance on point. Are they played by women or so male dancers dance on point too? I thought it was only women.

[AnnieW625]

No I believe that male dancers also can dance on pointe. I have not seen that production you are talking about, but I'll have to see what the male dancers do in the Long Beach Ballet production of the Nutcracker we are going to next month.

[citymama]

I love that Beatrix Potter ballet! I'm pretty sure there are male dancers as well as female but I don't know about the dancing on point. We're going to the Nutcracker at SF Ballet next month as well - very exciting!

[maestramommy]

No I believe that male dancers also can dance on pointe. I have not seen that production you are talking about, but I'll have to see what the male dancers do in the Long Beach Ballet production of the Nutcracker we are going to next month.

Really? I don't think I've ever seen male dancers on pointe like female dancers. You need special shoes for that, and I *thought* they were worn exclusively by ballerinas.

[TwinFoxes]

What do you mean by en pointe? I've seen male dancers on their toes for short periods of time, but that's not what I think of as en pointe, spending extended amounts of time and steps on the toes. I don't know much about ballet, this is just my obsevation :)

[marie]

There are a few roles that call for men en pointe - Beatrix Potter having one/some of them.

Here is an article on the topic - and it includes a former co-worker of mine - Ian Archer! I knew he went back into ballet and was dancing with an all-male troupe. Cool to see him quoted. . .

http://www.dancespirit.com/articles/1756 (http://www.dancespirit.com/articles/1756)

[ha98ed14]

Nevermind... marie answered it.

[marie]

What do you mean by en pointe? I've seen male dancers on their toes for short periods of time, but that's not what I think of as en pointe, spending extended amounts of time and steps on the toes. I don't know much about ballet, this is just my obsevation :)

En pointe requires special "toe shoes" that allow a dancer to go up onto the tips of the toes. (If you click on the link in my previous post, you will see four men at the ballet barre wearing toe shoes and up on them.)

In classical ballet, men have historically only gone on the balls of their feet in soft ballet shoes.

HTH!

[ha98ed14]

There are a few roles that call for men en pointe - Beatrix Potter having one/some of them.

Here is an article on the topic - and it includes a former co-worker of mine - Ian Archer! I knew he went back into ballet and was dancing with an all-male troupe. Cool to see him quoted. . .

http://www.dancespirit.com/articles/1756 (http://www.dancespirit.com/articles/1756)

Cool. Thanks. I was wondering because some of them had very male looking legs so it looked odd to me.

Do you know the impetus for this production. The costumes and scenes are amazingly well done.

[maestramommy]

There are a few roles that call for men en pointe - Beatrix Potter having one/some of them.

Here is an article on the topic - and it includes a former co-worker of mine - Ian Archer! I knew he went back into ballet and was dancing with an all-male troupe. Cool to see him quoted. . .

http://www.dancespirit.com/articles/1756 (http://www.dancespirit.com/articles/1756)

How cool! And I learned something new!

[marie]

Do you know the impetus for this production. The costumes and scenes are amazingly well done.

no idea! it looks cool - is it available on DVD?

[TwinFoxes]

En pointe requires special "toe shoes" that allow a dancer to go up onto the tips of the toes. (If you click on the link in my previous post, you will see four men at the ballet barre wearing toe shoes and up on them.)

In classical ballet, men have historically only gone on the balls of their feet in soft ballet shoes.

HTH!

I knew about the special shoes, but I didn't know men wore them too! This board teaches me something new all of the time! :)

[citymama]

Do you know the impetus for this production. The costumes and scenes are amazingly well done.

It's a beautiful series performed by the Royal Ballet, based on Beatrix Potter's amazing books. Not sure I understand what you mean by "the impetus for this production" but it is obviously inspired by her amazing stories. We bought the DVD at Beatrix Potter's home in England (which is now a museum)! Unfortunately we didn't take into account the incompatibility with US DVD players, so now we can't watch our DVD. :( But DD and I watch it on youtube - you can do a search. Here's a link:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=beatrix+potter+ballet+&search_type=&aq=o

[jhrabosk]

Here is an article on the topic - and it includes a former co-worker of mine - Ian Archer! I knew he went back into ballet and was dancing with an all-male troupe. Cool to see him quoted. . .

http://www.dancespirit.com/articles/1756 (http://www.dancespirit.com/articles/1756)

Whoa...how do you know Ian Archer? He's a former co-worker of mine as well at NYCB.

I was going to reply that men don't wear pointe shoes, but completely forgotten about Les Ballets Trockadero. Traditionally, in a male role, you wouldn't see a man en pointe. However, a man performing in drag is another story entirely... :)

[marie]

Whoa...how do you know Ian Archer? He's a former co-worker of mine as well at NYCB.

I was going to reply that men don't wear pointe shoes, but completely forgotten about Les Ballets Trockadero. Traditionally, in a male role, you wouldn't see a man en pointe. However, a man performing in drag is another story entirely... :)

Ian and I worked together at Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. He left Longy to move to NYC. I remember hearing about his return to ballet and the subsequent article about him in Dance magazine. He was in a different ballet drag group than Trockadero (funny to think that there is more than one drag ballet troupe out there - ha!). As a result of this thread, i googled him and found his website - a very different Ian than the one schmoozing with the big donors!!

http://www.ianarcherwatters.com/

it is a small world after all!

[maestramommy]

A little OT, but were men on pointe featured in that production of Swan Lake in L.A that featured an all male-cast? I think it was in the late 90s or early 2000s. Was that the same Swan Lake that was shown briefly at the end of "Billy Elliot?"

[jhrabosk]

A little OT, but were men on pointe featured in that production of Swan Lake in L.A that featured an all male-cast? I think it was in the late 90s or early 2000s. Was that the same Swan Lake that was shown briefly at the end of "Billy Elliot?"

I saw that Swan Lake...can't remember whether or not they danced en pointe. It sounds plausible for that particular production.

And, yes, same Swan Lake as in Billly Elliot.

[michellerw]

The role of Bottom in A Midsummer's Night Dream is traditionally danced by a man en pointe. Men's pointe shoes are difficult to find and fit and usually are special make ups by a handful of manufacturers (Freed does them and I think Bloch and Capezio do too).

There are also, as a couple PPs noted, some all male troupes that dance en pointe. This is actually a skill that a number of male dancers cultivate because it makes them more marketable.

[citymama]

Can I just say: I love this thread. Mostly because I've now learned we have professionally trained dancers on these boards, you guys may even know each other and the rest of us learned something very important about dancing en pointe!