Details Magazine article

[Dale]

Yes, the writer wrote this, "Balanchine, a devout hockey addict, ostensibly reduced the role of male dancer to towel boy, he was also a notorious womanizer who married no less than four of his company's female leads."

When I read that, I thought "I never knew Balanchine liked hockey?" But now I gather it is some sort of hip euphemism for sex or someting... Silly article. I could see how some of the men might have had their quotes taken out of context. For example, Seth's "Titties.." comment could have been in response to the writer's question put this way, "Henry, if some uptown guys said you are gay because you're a dancer, what would you say to them?" In a certain context, in street language, that might be the way to answer. But I don't want to stereotype Seth or any of the dancers, because I don't know how the question was posed.

Some writers are urged to take a quote and spin it into a story.

[soloistmom]

Again as I mentioned before, I did not waste my money on puchasing and reading trash. However...I do enjoy reading all the posted comments !:eek: lol In the light of things...it is sad that the comments made were in fact made. The entire straight male dancer vs. gay ballet dancer. Who thinks of this?? Do we think of muscians as gay or straight? or any other career? What's the obsession? A male ballet dancer..that is it !! He is strong,attentive,beautiful to watch and easy to fall in love. I think that sums it up...straight or gay.I adore those male ballet dancers!!

[Balanch]

You're absolutely right, SoloistMom!

-Balanch

[dirac]

I saw the article, and while some of it wasn't in the best of taste, to put it mildly, I considered the source publication and didn't see much harm in it. The gist was that, with gay men being a Significant Presence in ballet companies, the ratio of straight men to straight women is highly favorable to the menfolk. This has the virtue of candor, if not much else, and if someone aimed one of those new extra-powerful Magnums at my temples, I'd say I actually prefer it to the euphemistic Dancers Are Just Regular Guys approach as exemplified by the recent PBS special on the manly men of ABT.

soloistmom, while I agree wholeheartedly with your who-cares sentiments with regard to the sexuality of dancers, male or female, the unhappy fact is that these perceptions do matter, not only with respect to who studies ballet but who forks out money to go see it. That's not to say these things ought to matter, but they do to many people. Ask Sandy Koufax.

[Balanch]

I believe it only matters as a source of gossip.

-Balanch

[Mel Johnson]

We're MANLY MEN! Ho ho! We scratch certain areas of our bodies, we make odd noises with various parts of our digestive tracts, we have our chests mowed three times a week, we leave the seat up! Ho ho! We're MANLY MEN!

Oy!

I remember Christopher d'Amboise appearing on a late-night talk show once, and he announced to the audience, cold, that he was the only straight male in the entire NYCB corps. The host gave him a look that said, "Well, thanks for sharing, but who asked YOU?";)

I always wonder about people who volunteer that kind of information, unbidden. That somebody asked here says more about the questioner than it does about the answerer!

[Farrell Fan]

I've been thinking of Chris d'Amboise ever since this subject came up, because his book, Leap Year, published in 1982, was filled with this stuff. But he didn't glory in his masculinity. Rather, he bragged ridiculously about how sensitive he was -- in contrast to those boys in the corps who bragged about their sexual prowess.

"I overheard Bobby and Sebastian talking about the women they had conquered. Neither man ever ranked high with me, and their conversation unredeemingly lowered them in my estimation. Bobby was speaking of a girl he had entertained the previous night. Sebastian asked, 'So did you get her?' At that my stomach twisted. Bobby answered, 'Yeah, I porked her good!' 'Jesus Christ!' I wanted to scream!

"'Porked her!' What an ignoble thing to say. How vile he seemed to me. Like a slimy insect that steals goodies in the dark and rushes back to tell his fellow roach. Oh, men can be the basest of caitiffs! They are so reduced by their weaknesses, and put such importance on status and machismo!"

I don't suppose "caitiff" is a word that has ever appeared in Details. Chris's inflated prose makes "titties" sound rather innocent. I should point out though, that the book has some admirable things in it, including passages about the not always serene relationship between Chris and his father. And it has a foreword by Lincoln Kirstein.

[Mel Johnson]

He just didn't read far enough in the Thesaurus - "clods" would have worked just as well, if not better.;)

There was a nineteenth-century American poet (?) named Thomas Holley Chivers, of whom it was said, "Poe finished the ruin of him that had been begun by Shelley." He apparently found a rhyming dictionary somewhere and wrote the unforgettable "Rosalie Lee" (Apparently Annabelle's sister):

http://www.bartleby.com/100/433.1.html

[soloistmom]

Thankyou Balanch !! This is 2003. We have excellent ballet companies with excellent ballet dancers. Give me a break. I don't need to know one's sexual preferences to observe a ballet performance. And I refuse to believe that being gay or straight makes the dancer. It is the art. It is the soul of the dancer...not if they are gay or straight.

[Alexandra]

I think this discussion has run its course and am closing the thread. The article has been noted, but further discussion gets us too close to the personal lives of dancers.