Gay male dancers

There’s no doubt that dance is a female-dominated sport, but this is perhaps not a symptom of girls simply preferring dance. It’s easy to say that boys should just ‘get over’ comments like these, which are often passed off as childhood banter, but these remarks underlie the toxic, often-heterocentric culture that surrounds dance.

Doug Risner, a Professor of Dance at Wayne State University in Detroit, explored these ideas in his essay on ‘What We Know about Boys Who Dance’ in which he said that, from a young age, males in the dance world are forced to either hide their passion for dance from others, or break the ‘Boy Code’, a set of unwritten expectations which define what it means to ‘be a boy’.

However, this temporary thrill was soon beset by more negative quips and comments, particularly at school. And though, often, the focus is on male ballet dancers, the problem permeates through the wider dance world too – including Latin and Ballroom.

It was in 2019, and I remember seeing on social media that Lara Spencer, a breakfast TV host in the US, had mocked a report that revealed Prince George’s love for ballet

Growing up around dance and spending countless hours a week training, I’ve often joked about how I’m so used to ‘being around girls’ – usually I’ve been the only male in my formation dance teams.

I instantly fell in love with the world of Latin and Ballroom, and thirteen years later, I’m still dancing, even now at university, where I’m the current Team Captain for Warwick Latin and Ballroom.

Although I’ve been extremely lucky to have made so many memories across over a decade on the dancefloor, including becoming World Cup formation champion and fulfilling a lifelong dream to dance in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, I’ve also been faced with the less glamorous side of dance, the side that isn’t what others may see when they see an episode of Strictly Come Dancing and watch the professionals (and their celebrity partners) in awe.

It was in 2019, and I remember seeing on social media that Lara Spencer, a breakfast TV host in the US, had mocked a report that revealed Prince George’s love for ballet, quipping that “Prince William says George absolutely loves ballet.

Indeed, the age-old comment that ‘dance isn’t a sport’ somewhat underpins the whole idea that men shouldn’t dance, as they should instead be doing a ‘real sport’.

Despite my family’s unwavering support, I’ve still not been immune from the culture of name-calling or teasing that surrounds dance, and lots of my favourite memories of dance are tainted or shrouded by more negative moments.

Things which would be seen as totally normal for female dancers are almost estranged for men – a prime example of this is the make-up and spray tan culture in Latin and Ballroom, which I have been driven to hate – possibly more than anything else in dance – over the years.

I would then have some pubgoers shouting ‘have you been to a circus?’ at me, outside a venue where I’d just finished a dance competition

Stepping onto a large dancefloor is a thrilling experience for any dancer, but the need for a spray tan is made all too clear under the bright ballroom lights.

Being stared and sniggered at as I walked down the school corridor, constantly being told I looked like Donald Trump or an Oompa-Loompa, feeling like I had to hide my peeling tan in the PE changing room. A love for any sport shouldn’t make people feel like they have to hide or be someone they are not – and I hope that one day, we live in a society where males can dance without fear of prejudice, bullying or abuse.