Douglas Stenhouse

THEY DANCE TO ESCAPE

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The hashtag #boysdancetoo is popular in the dance world's social media. Although its meaning is a good one, it can also suggest that it is seen as unusual for boys to dance, that a boy dancing should be special not the norm. 

In western countries, especially the United Kingdom, boys who dance are still seen as enigmas, they are subject to horrendous abuse, homophobia and bullying at school. Yet somehow they persevere, somehow their love of dane outweighs all the negativity they find with their friends and peers. The insults can come from adults too as one young dancer's football-mad father found his work friends labelling his 7-year-old dancing son "a fairy". 

In 2023, a young male dancer was denied a scholarship at a private school because his mother was told that they don't encourage boys to dance. It's as if boy dancers are not seen as equal to their ball-playing peers. Yet boy dancers train much harder and for many more hours than kids who play for the local football or rugby team. I played football from a young age and we met up once or twice a week before playing a game on the weekend. 

A boy who regularly attends dance classes can train up to 13 hours a week with even more hours of work leading up toa major competition. The training itself can be tortuous with stamina, stretching and technique classes being the norm. Every dance teacher uses that dreaded four-word phrase "just one more time" and will repeat it again and again until the move or position is perfected. 

In my project, They Dance To Escape, I highlight 14 young boy dancers from age 7 to 23 who dance in the world of competitive Freestyle dance, who each have a story and reason to dance which far outweighs the negativity and abuse they can and do suffer growing up, just because they choose to dance. We also hear from people close to the boys who see what they go through and how they cope. 

It's a story of fortitude, of strength, of mental application that can also be a life full of reward and adventure, it is also a story of friendship, camaraderie and support from their amazing parents and teachers. A story to hopefully inspire a future generation of young people and to help normalise the fact that boys dance.