The topic on ballerinas made me wonder who is the best---and I know "best" is relative---male dancer out there?

My ten year old son is doing Nutcracker this year and he's loving it so much he wants to continue with ballet in spite of an extremely unpleasant teacher. He particularly admires the fellow who plays the Nutcracker in his production because, in Pete's words...

"That guy is so strong he can hold Clara on one arm and throw her across the room! He's cool!"

I'd love to show him some contemporary male dancers who could knock his socks off.

Any suggestions?

My knowledge of contemporary male ballet dancers is ABSOLUTELY NIL, Butterscotch! However, I feel the urge to throw in a plug for Fred Astaire--my favourite male dancer of all time!

Sadly, I don't know of any CONTEMPORARY male dancers, either . . . I thought Nureyev was a talent . . . Peter Martins, too.

Vladimir Malakhov...a must see.

Awesome image for your son's inspiration:


http://www.abt.org/gallery/detail1.asp?Image_ID=163

Angel Corella of American Ballet Theatre is an astounding dancer.

I second Peter Martins - even though he's not all that contemporary. I like that he kept the cleanness (is that a word?) and the precision, he had been taught.

Or maybe I just like him because he's Danish and danced the way I'm used to see as an ideal. ;-)

SandraL you are so right about Angel Corella. There are amazing photos of him on the ABT site listed above, in the gallery of photos.

Joules, what a stunning picture! I gasped when I saw it! Thanks for posting!

Oh yes! Thank you Joules. We looked through all the galleries on the site.
It's a shame that more boys don't realize what ballet can offer as far as strength and sheer physical power are concerned.

Unfortunately I think the high cost of lessons (though most boys can get scholarships or reduced cost classes) and the prevailing pink princess theme of many of the schools puts boys off.

Also the fact that ballet classes tend to be run by women and with quiet, disciplined, obedient little girls in mind can be a barrier to boistrous little boys who, were the realities of "boy nature" accepted and accomodated more readily might turn their strength and vigor to good effect in dance.

Any thoughts?

My only thought on this post is total agreement.

Edward Villella told the following story in his autobiography: His sister had auditioned and had been accepted at Balanchine's School of American Ballet. His mother realized that how convenient it would be if her other child were also enrolled and taking class at the same time. She asked Balanchines if Edward could have an audition. Balanchine replied, "A BOY!? Can he walk?"

Since that time, there are more boys interested in dance, but still not enough. I'm so happy to hear about a boy who is.

That's so wonderful your son loves ballet! Tell him that male ballet dancers have the most awesome bodies in the world, and he will have chicks falling all over him with lust when he's a teenager. :-)

Angel Corella is divine...

Ethan Stieffle ain't too shabby, either...!!

I agree that Mahlinkov is wonderful...such a beautiful line. I feel that he is often overlooked at ABT.

LOL! Yeah, he may have chicks falling all over him when he's a teenager......but he won't have time for them. ;-D

Ohhh, the thought of my little man with a trail of girls after him is tough to get my brain around. Fortunately, at ten, the main things (beside dance) he is interested in are The Legend of Zelda, Army Men, and fencing.

Click below to see one cute guy.
Pete

Aaah, he's very, very sweet! He'll have chicks falling all over him - ballet or not. :-)

Vladimir Malakhov is great, and so is Angel Corella and Herman Cornejo, but there was a soloist I noticed at ABT last year named Danny Tidwell whom I'm nuts about. He's a wonderful dancer had this wonderful Apollonian air about him, and had no trace of vulgarity at all. It's so refreshing to find a dancer who's not in the Nureyev school, which is what all the other male soloists at ABT are in. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but Tidwell stood out for me because he was so different from them. Unfortunately, his status at ABT looks kind of iffy and it looks like he's doing more contemporary stuff, which breaks my heart, because classical ballet needs someone like him.

I also enjoy watching old NYCB footage of Jacques d'Amboise, another god.

I remember a doc I saw on M. I think it was called "Prince Charming " or "Prince Malakhov" theA&E network ran an amazing series on danseurs about 10 years ago...bios on Martins, Barishnikov, the Danish school, Nureyev, Villela(sic?). You may be able to pull videos or dvd's from your library.