Calling all ballet dancers, the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) is delighted to announce that it will host three Boys Ballet Masterclasses in London, Edinburgh and Birmingham from Sunday 2nd April 2017. Each two-hour high-tempo class will be led by a male teacher, with live piano accompaniment in a fun boys-only environment.
Designed for boys aged 7+years with basic ballet technique upwards, each masterclass will aim to encourage confidence-building, sociability and creativity whilst developing ballet technique, choreography, core strength, musicality, coordination and presentation.
Former professional ballet dancer Joel Morris, who will be teaching in Edinburgh said: “These boys might often be the only boy in their dance class. Here, they get their own time. They’re not the add-on or the afterthought. It’s really good for them to mix with other boys who dance. Instead of being the minority, they’re with lots of other boys with the same interest. It builds a community.”
Iain Mackay, Principal Dancer at Birmingham Royal Ballet and RAD Male Dance Ambassador will be teaching the London Boys Ballet Masterclass. He said: “It’s so much harder for boys to come to ballet than girls, and it’s a lot easier for them to walk away from it again. But the benefits of fitness, confidence and imagination are just the same. The push is to bridge that gap through programming and teaching methods that draw on and support boys’ wider interests, relating them to ballet and encourages their dance training.”
