5 years after first recorded, we're rereleasing this episode of our first dance flavoured mini series - Ballet for the 21st Century. We've chosen to revisit the last ep in that series, Boys Dance Too, because having just discussed the film Billy Elliot we thought it was worth digging into some themes that came up in more depth.

This episode has been shortened from its original length...

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Why is the bullying of boys who want to take ballet so persistent? Emma Lister seeks to answer this question and why their love of dance is often defended with the usual football comparison/"real men lift women" trope. 

In the final episode of of our mini-series, Ballet for the Twenty-first Century, we'll open up topics such as: body image, casting, role models, gendered ballet technique, The Billy Elliot Effect and homophobia.

Special guests: Denzil Bailey, Richard Bermange, James Forbat, Matthew Paluch and Mark Samaras.

REFERENCES:

M. Paluch. (2019). There's an elephant in the room and it's gay.... Dancing Times. October 2019, p29-31. www.dancing-times.co.uk

This mini-series  has been made possible by a grant  using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.