Top dance school scraps BALLET auditions, labels it ‘elitist white art form’ as wakeful institution plans to ‘decolonize’ curriculum and make it gender neutral
- The Northern School of Contemporary Dance has removed ballet from auditions
- Leeds-based conservatory said ballet is an ‘elitist form’ that requires paid classes
- It said that traditional language divides men and women with different dance roles
- Ballet “is built around certain white European ideas and body shapes,” it added:
A top British dance school has dropped ballet from its auditions because the dance style is centered in “white European ideas” as the institution plans to “decolonize” the curriculum and sex neutral.
The Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) assessed the dance style as part of a broader plan to “decolonize the curriculum” and considered the impact of race and gender on dance.
The Leeds-based school will no longer require ballet as part of its auditions, due to the cost of learning the dance style, the idealization of certain body shapes and gender-divided roles, staff have explained.
It comes when the school works to ‘decolonize’ and work with its education LGBT+ relevant associations.
The NSCD said it is reviewing its content and has removed the dance from audition days “due to its potentially controversial nature.”
The Northern School of Contemporary Dance (pictured) has removed ballet from its auditions because the dance style is centered in ‘white European ideas’
Head of the bachelor’s program at the conservatory, Francesca McCarthy, called ballet an “elitist form.”
“There are issues with body, money, language and exercise vocabulary,” she said The Telegraph.
She said the cost of tuition impacts students who cannot afford to learn the dance, adding that ballet is “based on certain white European ideas and body shapes,” which could put off dancers who don’t meet this “aesthetic.” ideal’.
Ballet’s traditional terminology uses “ballerina” for women and “danseur” for men, with female dancers concentrating on pointe work and lifts and jumps for men.
Ms McCarthy added that the terminology of the dance has “strongly gendered roots”, with most teachers having been trained at a time that focused on a clear distinction between female and male dancers.
“Over time there was a shift towards ladies and gentlemen, but this is still problematic regarding the inclusion of non-binary and trans dancers,” she added.
The head of undergraduate studies added that the NSCD encourages staff to use gender-neutral words, such as “dancers/people/folk/everyone/everyone.”
Staff are also encouraged to use “she” instead of he and she, to “make no assumptions” about student identities.
The Leeds-based school will no longer require ballet as part of its auditions, due to the cost of learning the dance style, the idealization of certain body shapes and gender-divided roles, the staff explained. file image
Ballet will still be taught as part of the curriculum, but teaching methods have been changed to be more ‘inclusive’.
In 2019, conservatory staff began to learn more about “unconscious bias” in dance, in an effort to “decolonize the curriculum.”
This was further prioritized following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
That year, students launched an LGBTQ+ group, which advised on “pronouns and the implications of gender-related movement vocabularies, such as in ballet classes.”
The school is also a member of the Conservatory of Dance and Drama, which launched plans to ditch leotards and tight dancewear to help transgender people feel more at ease.