Home » Chase Johnsey: the male ballerina

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Chase Johnsey: the male ballerina — 12 Comments

  1. Young males used to play females in stage shows, so I guess it isn’t much of a stretch this would happen in the world of dance. May Mr. Johnsey prosper.

  2. I’d rather watch men play baseball; some players have an almost balletic grace.

  3. PA Cat:

    Agreed. See this and this. From the latter:

    I noticed once again how handsome baseball players are, and how graceful in their movements. Of all the team sports I know, baseball is the one where the athletes most resemble dancers in their combination of enormous strength, agility, flexibility, and fluidity. It seems that the best way to deliver a ball as fast as possible from third base to first tends in nearly all cases to be the most graceful way as well. Funny thing, that.

  4. I used to think of my windup as a kind of dance, and worked on it for a few years until it was entirely comfortable and felt from the inside that it made sense. I went from being a high school pitcher with bad control who could throw hard to one who threw harder with much better control. The repetitions were pleasureable.

  5. I watched the Johnsey clip first, and, believe it or not, kept thinking, very nice, but his feet remind me of clogs. Well, then I watched the Holden clip, hahaha!

  6. As a former tennis player and enthusiastic fan of the sport, I often noted the gracefulness of some of the players, myself not included. Evonne Goolagong was a joy to watch as was Bjorn Borg. Especially on clay courts, the possibility of sliding, stretching for the ball and a full followthrough provides the opportunity for beautiful, graceful shots, then the scamper back to ready for the next. Lovely game.

  7. neo:

    The Bookwormroom has a post today that includes men dancing as ballerinas, and of course males competing in women’s sports. The males in female sports would seem to destroy the Title IX regulations? Probably not, the goal after all is to burn it all down….

    http://www.bookwormroom.com/

  8. > Stanley Holden

    After watching that clip (again), I went on to watch some other performers in the role. None seemed anywhere near as good, they tended to be too “balletic” and didn’t capture that uniquely English take on men playing women. Holden ruined the role for everyone else by being too good in it.

  9. Chuck:

    I agree completely.

    Holden was of a different era, and he was very familiar with music hall dance and popular dance. He didn’t even train in ballet until his mid-teens, if I’m not mistaken. He was a great guy–funny, friendly, exuberant. Unflagging energy. He was very short–sort of like a jockey–and very wonderful.

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