Bald danseurs

[cubanmiamiboy]

I hadn't seen Tyler Angle in a while....and I see he's bald now. Have to say, his baldness, onstage was distracting to me. The only bald dancer I had ever seen was Renato Planteado at MCB, but he would wear a neat hairpiece for his classical roles, and sporadically would go natural for his contemporary ones.

Are you used to bald danseurs...?

Gotta say it was not s good look for Angle.

Thoughts...?

[abatt]

Could not agree MORE cubanmiamiboy.  The baldness is a complete distraction in classical roles.  It didn't bother me in modern roles.    The baldness destroys the illusion of chivalrous noble danseur in these tutu ballet.   He looks like one of the goon squad from Prodigal Son accidentally dropped into a tutu ballet for a visit. 

[matilda]

I try to be openminded about baldness because there's not much a man can do about it and it shouldn't necessarily ruin his performing career. If a male dancer is bald but still dancing spectacularly and is in amazing shape, it's less of a problem even in prince roles. Having light skin unfortunately makes the issue more glaring IMO. 

[cubanmiamiboy]

5 hours ago, matilda said:

I try to be openminded about baldness because there's not much a man can do about it and it shouldn't necessarily ruin his performing career. If a male dancer is bald but still dancing spectacularly and is in amazing shape, it's less of a problem even in prince roles. Having light skin unfortunately makes the issue more glaring IMO. 

Not only that...but he's obviously heavier, and probably towards the end of his career. A spectacular one for sure-( as a partner even more). But wigs and head pieces have been a recurrent complement of the art form. Not that much nowadays, but still something that should be still retained when in need. Perhaps it is that this is the very first time in all my years as a balletomanne that I see a classical piece -( and one SO important like Ballet Imperial)- danced by a bald danseur.

But perhaps others are more used to it than me. Maybe it has happened more than what I think....?

6 hours ago, abatt said:

Could not agree MORE cubanmiamiboy.  The baldness is a complete distraction in classical roles.  It didn't bother me in modern roles.    The baldness destroys the illusion of chivalrous noble danseur in these tutu ballet.   He looks like one of the goon squad from Prodigal Son accidentally dropped into a tutu ballet for a visit. 

You're going to hell for this. 😂

See you there.😎

[Dale]

I think it's just something one gets used to seeing. I'm used to seeing Tyler with this look and so after the first nod of recognition Wednesday night, it blended in for me. I really liked him in Tschaik Piano Ct No. 2. ETA: people used to say the same thing about skin color or large hair, short hair. My feeling is, the more you see it, the more it just blends into everybody else. For example, one of the male dancers in La Sonnambula had naturally relaxed hair. There's a movement now to be more culturally sensitive on the issues of hair and tights etc... It wasn't a problem for me. But I think maybe 20 years ago or earlier, people would have complained. Same with tattoos. Used to be, those were always covered up. Now people are leaving them (mostly in modern roles). There have been male dancers at NYCB that wore hair pieces or bald spot coverups and I'm OK with people embracing how they are now. As long as they're fit to dance and are neat, clean etc...

[cubanmiamiboy]

21 hours ago, Dale said:

As long as-(....)-they're-(...)- neat...

That's probably it. Perhaps I see not the baldness itself, but the lack of effort to conceal it, as an indifference about not being neat.

[Helene]

To answer the original question, no, not in the slightest.  Since the topic was raised in a thread in the NYCB forum about Tyler Angle, if I were a ballerina, I would be thanking my lucky stars if he were my partner.

[On Pointe]

What is neater than a cleanly shaved bald head?  Some men are more handsome bald than they are with hair.  No one ever referred to Stanley Tucci as "sexy" until he went bald.  Yul Brynner had a full head of hair,  but after shaving his head for The King and I on Broadway,  he decided the bald head enhanced his looks and kept doing it.  It could be distracting in classical roles like the Nutcracker Cavalier,  and it's inappropriate for young characters like Romeo.  But for most of the Balanchine,  Robbins and Justin Peck rep,  a bald head would work out fine. It does take confidence and a bit of swagger to pull it off.

[cubanmiamiboy]

6 hours ago, On Pointe said:

What is neater than a cleanly shaved bald head?  Some men are more handsome bald than they are with hair.  

I suppose this is, again, a totally subjective topic. I found his baldness too distracting both in Ballet Imperial and Le Palais de Cristal. So this is probably yet another case of having to "agree to disagree".

 

9 hours ago, Helene said:

To answer the original question, no, not in the slightest.  Since the topic was raised in a thread in the NYCB forum about Tyler Angle, if I were a ballerina, I would be thanking my lucky stars if he were my partner.

Oh....there's no question about his partnering abilities. He's certainly superb. But yesterday, while watching Prodigal's goons, they reminded me of him.😶

Edited October 8, 2023 by cubanmiamiboy

[Jayne]

Wigs are tools for the theatrical experience.  If Balanchine intends for his ballerinas to wear the high rolled bun, then dancers with short hair (or no hair) don wigs to create the intended look.  For the danseurs, sometimes Mr. B wanted the brill cream slicked back hair look, and at other times he wanted a more natural, 19th century look.  
 

IMHO, the dancers should follow Mr.B’s intention.   The theatrical tools are there to be utilized.  

[cubanmiamiboy]

On 10/9/2023 at 6:25 PM, Jayne said:

Wigs are tools for the theatrical experience.  If Balanchine intends for his ballerinas to wear the high rolled bun, then dancers with short hair (or no hair) don wigs to create the intended look.  For the danseurs, sometimes Mr. B wanted the brill cream slicked back hair look, and at other times he wanted a more natural, 19th century look.  
 

IMHO, the dancers should follow Mr.B’s intention.   The theatrical tools are there to be utilized.  

Amen.

Which makes me wonder....what would had been his reaction to Angle's choice, would he had been faced with it 

[Jayne]

Mr B was always fighting himself for the new vs traditional.  I suspect for his leotard ballets, he would be more open to bald danseurs.  But he would expect full hair for romantic ballets.