By Sheona Burns
It’s not all sugar, spice and everything nice for Philip Ryan.
The twelve-year-old dancer takes lessons in the “Boys Only” program at the School of Dance.
“I really enjoy it,” says Ryan who also has his green belt in karate. “It’s fun, interesting and a really good workout.”
The stereotype of dance as a feminine activity has kept boys out of the dance studio for years, but Ryan is one of a growing number of young boys taking classes at the School of Dance on Crichton Street.
“There’s a feeling that dance is strictly a girl thing,” says the school’s co-director Merrilee Hodgins. “The fact they’re in a room with 16 or 17 other boys makes learning dance a more comfortable experience for them.”
The school’s “Boys Only” program offers specially-designed dance classes for kids ages eight to 13.
“It’s a lot of jumping, running and bashing around,” says boys’ instructor Peter Moir, who designed the program with Hodgins. “A lot of it is just ‘boys stuff’.”
The word “ballet” isn’t used in connection with the program. The beginners in the “Boys Only” classes are taught to exercise their motor skills with an emphasis on creative motion.
“We teach them the principles of movement,” he said. “If the boys want to pursue a more specific form of dance like ballet they can move on to more advanced technique classes.”
The number of male students at the school has doubled since the program was created two years ago.
“We started off with 20 or 25 boys,” says Hodgins. “Now we’ve boomed to nearly 50.
“It so heartening to see so many boys running around the studio.”
Hodgins attributes the recent peak in interest in boys’ dance to the success of the British film Billy Elliot.
The film deals with the prejudice and stereotypes an 11-year-old boy must face while pursuing his passion for ballet.
“We had an instant response in the program because of the success of the film and all the media attention,” says Hodgins. “It helps to change the way boys look at dance.”
Moir hopes the “Boys Only” program will help more males become interested in dancing.
“Society sees ballet as something feminine,” he says. “By exposing boys to dance we can diminish that stereotype.”