Men and ballet?????

Well, my friend and I were just discussing this the other day. My friend thinks like ALL ballet guys are gay but I don't think so. I know it doesn't seem to be the most manly thing with all the toe pointing, twirling, and tights but still, it takes a lot of strength and I don't think they all are. So what's your opinion? Can you give me statistics or something?

Thanks!

Men and ballet?????opera mini

What uneducated answers thus far.

I do not have any statistics, just general information. Of course not all male dancers are not gay. Many premier danseurs fall for their prima ballerinas and vice versa! The movie Ballet Russes has lots of this!

Male ballet dancers are made of muscle and must spend a lot of time working out. Their muscles develop long as opposed to those horrible, round (imho) body builder muscles. They must be strong enough to carry all those women, which ya know isn't a bad thing!

In romantic ballets, strong male charaters play heroes and villains, hardly a "girly' role!

When ballet first started there were NO women at all in it!

The "toe pointing" is a foundation of ballet, taught from day one, don't just dismiss it as feminine. Male specific ballet steps are difficult and require a wealth of experience, strength and fitness.

Hope I can puncture some all male dancers are gay myths.

Men and ballet?????passions soap opera opera theater

HECK NO there was this guy that took everything at my dance school tap jazz hiphop ballet everything and he was not gay tell you friend to stop sterotyping
That's a stupid judgment,

like saying women hockey players are lesbians, a common judgment.

Some probably are gay, and some probably aren't. I don't think people walk around to men dancers and ask their sexuality, so there aren't any statistics. 2 boys that danced at my company were not gay, both had girlfriends.
male ballet dancers are FIT!! tell your friend that she really shouldn't stereo-type people like that because she obviously doesn't have a clue.

it's just like saying policemen are gay, obviously some are and some aren't. durr
I don't think there are statistics... but I know male dancers... And they aren't gay. It's not like men wear tutus on stage... It requires so much strength to do those lifts... They're really masculine. Not gay at all.
Men are just as important in a ballet as the women! Just think about it, without any men, there would be no lifts and the atmosphere of the story telling would be ruined. Think about Swan Lake, one of the greatest ballets in the world. The handsome prince who falls in love with Edette, how would you perform that without any male dancers? The male dancers have superb endurance, stamina, strength and agility and have trained extensivley for years! Ask your friend if she thinks men who dance hip hop or street or dance along side perfromers on stage are gay?? I bet she would be no and just because ballet is danced to classical music, involves traditional costume and is associated with femininity doesnt mean that men who are talented enough to become a ballet dancer are gay! Peoples sexuality is a personal preference and isnt dependent upon their profession!
not all of us are gay. some are some are not. i find that some ballet dancers that are male get into dancing because they do like the costumes,tights, etc. Some dancers got into dancing because they have a passion for it. I fall into the first catergory. I love the entire world of ballet including the costumes. It's a tough sport, nd even though some gay guys do dance, they have to be in shape.

hope this helped
i think its their choice how they dance but it DEFF. does not make him gay. and without the men then their would be nobody to catch the girls when they leap. hahaha=]]
Not all of them are gay. I know a guy who's in Ballet West (SLC, UT) who's about as straight as they come. I actually think it takes a lot of man to get up there in tights and dance. However, it is pretty common for them to be gay.

Just a side-note, many professional football players take ballet during the off-season in order to gain and retain their strength.
Of course they aren't! I do ballet and we have a guy in our class. He plays football, watches Nascar, and does tons of other "manly" stuff. Your friend doesn't need to stero-type people (even though I can totally understand why she would think that)
Why is male dancers' sexuality an issue would be my question. Your answer is that the vast majority of male ballet dancers (danseurs) are straight. The % that are gay may be little higher than the general population, but not by much. I also have a son - former danseur, now a United States Marine that would like to have a chat with your "friend".... and maybe persuade him/her that not all danseurs are gay
Like most everybody said, not all of them are gay. I mean, a few are, but honestly it's not awkward or anything- if their hands slip you at least know it's not on purpose! Seriously though, you get a lot of guys who aren't gay at all and just love to dance, which is pretty cool.

P.S. You don't stereotype. It's actually a really good question.
Well some of the bests ballet dancers were men.

ex.Fernando Bujones, Michael Smuin

I hate it when people call them gay
it's just so gay and they're gay.