11-year-old Dante Gonzalez from Jacksonville, Florida, first fell in love with ballet when he was 3 years old.
He told WJCT, “The music just captures you and your body takes over. I love the aspect of it. I love every single day I dance.”
Now his passion and skill are carrying him to London to study at the prestigious Royal Ballet School for the summer. At this rate, Dante’s destined to become a principal dancer for one of the leading ballet companies in the world.
But the path has not always been easy. Growing up, young Dante has continuously been taunted for pursuing a dance form that is considered feminine.
He’s regularly called “girly” and “gay” and the perception that he’s different causes him to be ostracized.
This abuse is the consequence of a culture that enforces strict gender norms, that almost from birth outlines what boys are supposed to be and what girls are supposed to be.
From a very early age children absorb how gendered categories define what’s acceptable. Girls get delicate dolls and boys get toy guns. Over time this repeated symbolism hardens into identity.
So when a boy or a girl defies one of these categories and goes against expectations, it confuses kids who aren’t really able to process the complexity of what’s happening. And it’s this confusion, along with memories of gender being enforced in other ways, that can lead to bullying.
Far too often, this bullying is effective and the ridicule accomplishes its goal of crushing difference. But Dante is resilient and his passion has developed into something untouchable by bullies.
Part of this strength comes from his strong support network.
Maybe without this type of love, open-mindedness and encouragement, Dante’s dreams would have fizzled out after getting ridiculed again and again.
As Irma makes clear, Dante’s parents have nurtured and protected his love of ballet. Even though he’s still just a kid, he’s become a source of inspiration for other young boys in his ballet classes.
They see his confidence and skill and are inspired to keep going.
As these boys will find out, the path ahead will be difficult as well. As they age, the bullying and meanness will probably continue as the demands of ballet become more challenging. For many young men, this combination leads them to do something else.
Male ballerinas are rare not because men are incapable of dancing ballet. They’re rare because the path is so strewn with obstacles.
For every man that perseveres, the path becomes a little less difficult and gender expectations become a little less constricting. It's the same for every female trailblazer who courageously breaks down barriers.
By the time Dante is dancing across stages around the world, maybe ballet will be as popular as football or basketball.
After all, ballet requires just as much--if not more--strength and athleticism.