Boys Who Ballet

It takes two to tango, and sometimes, to ballet. We’re finally realising that ballet is not a little girl’s hobby class. The Indian world of ballet gives an insight into how men have adapted the dance form, and even excelled in it

- Samreen Tungekar

When Yeh Ballet had a touch-and-go moment on Netflix, there was a chance that it’ll probably do for ballet what Gully Boy did for gully rap. But when it’s not glammed up with silver screen actors, or with promotions that set the country going, it’ll reach those of us who decide to sit up and take notice. Manish and Amir are just two examples. What’s the reality of the art form in India?

At the time of this interview, Yeh Ballet’s Manish Chauhan was locked down in Mumbai with his instructor, Yehuda Ma’or, the man who made Chauhan the flawless dancer we saw in the film. “In my class, there were mostly girls, all so elite, they used to wear ballet shoes, and I had nothing. But I wanted the scholarship, so I did my homework. I was a break dancer, so my advantage was my flexibility,” he recalls.

Manish laughs, “Not many people know much about ballet, so people couldn’t tease me much. I used to tell my friends it’s a cool form, you get to do lifts, etc. I would tell them how we can use the moves in B-boying,” he says.

Even after his film, people asked him how long he can stand in “pointy” shoes. That’s how little knowledge there is, about the role of men in a ballet performance. “We have to wear soft shoes, to do high jumps, and lifts. Girls wear pointe shoes,” he says.

Manish feels like the infrastructure for ballet is missing here. “We don’t have dance companies who come here to perform, so that kids can watch, and aspire to learn it. It’s there for other dance forms, there’s Bollywood, freestyle on TV. If you show people the dance, they’ll want to learn it,” he points out.