Men on pointe? First Soloist Bennet Gartside shares his tips (The Royal Ballet)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- This film features in the Royal Opera House Digital Programme for The Royal Ballet's The Dream/Symphonic Variations/Marguerite and Armand mixed programme: www.roh.org.uk/...
Find out more about the work of the Royal Opera House at www.roh.org.uk
"needing that power, like the ladies have" love that line
V Is that Audrey Hepburn in your profile picture?
Ok
Yes! Roman holiday test footage
same
Instead they need a different kind of power, that will stop them from dropping people on their heads.
Olivia Karina that’s so weird, I read this comment just as u were saying it XD
Just listen to what he says, guys. He's intentionally not going over the box. The role is a donkey, emulating hooves. So he specifically says that full flexibility is not the point (the pointe lol). It's to keep the foot quite straight, more like a lever and pop up and down quickly. Pretty cool actually to skew what would be standard technique to serve a character role.
AlleyBetwixt that sounds really difficult :/
AlleyBetwixt yes like women on point normally extend their ankle but the men are just standing in their toes
AlleyBetwixt I totally get that, BUT holding his ankles and feet like that is one step away from a broken ankle or a broke foot. I get that he's been doing it for years so I hope he's built up some muscle memory but holy shit
AlleyBetwixt thankyou.
AlleyBetwixt are you sure? Lol
Don't people watch the full videos? He clearly says he isn't trying to go over the box as he is playing a donkey and it isn't meant to be graceful
Victor Slabb I wasn’t finish with it. I was more confused
He couldn’t go over the box as proper technique would require because the men don’t receive that kind of training. He can’t dance in pointe and because they want him to look awkward (as a donkey would) and emulate having hooves, they have then dance turned in (which classical ballet really never does). He lacks the strength or technique to dance gracefully en pointe
first rule of youtube... start criticizing BEFORE you watch the entire video.
Victor Slabb
I’ve literally never seen a comment that says he’s not going over the box lol
Exactly
He looks so happy dancing, it’s a pleasure to see!
I feel like every male ballerina should try dancing en pointe at least once in their life. Not only is it just a good muscle builder in the calves and ankles (like he said), but it should give them a lot of respect for female ballerinas (like he said).
I had 1 other guy in ballet growing up and we requested learning pointe for the strength and skill development. That was one of the best things I ever did!
Quote a lot of male dancers go on pointe for strengthening nowadays. It’s amazing to improve strength and precision
1:38 the guys with the black shirt 😍😍😍
He is David Donnelly www.roh.org.uk/people/david-donnelly
thank youu
Someone Special hes cute
Damn... cutee
lol
Absolutely fascinating. It shows how tricky the character roles can be especially with that adorable donkey mask, so realistic. Thank you.
Was slightly confused for a second as to why he was dancing like a horse. Just thought he couldn't get his balance lol
Summer Anne. He dance the roll of the donkey.
Summer Anne z
lmao same
I think him running on pointe was the funniest thing I’ve seen all day. That must take a lot of strength though!
I feel like I didn't notice the pain of starting pointe so much because 1. I was a young teen and teens are obviously invincible, and 2. I had just healed from a series of severe sprained ankles and so the pain of gaining strength and getting bunions was nothing compared to a 3rd degree sprain to me, I was just over the moon to be dancing again. I genuinely think that getting on pointe is harder and hurts more the older you are.
I remember when an adult friend of mine got her first pointe shoes, I sewed up her ribbons and elastics for her, congratulated her and sent her off with a tube of arnica gel thinking "She'll have so much fun!!" but the next few days she just kept texting me the word "Ouch", "Owie", "My calves hurt!!!", "Why was that so not fun"? and "Why did you only warn me that ballet isn't always fun before starting beginner ballet but not before this class?". Which was night and day from me just being ridiculously excited over my rite of passage. She ultimately stuck to ballet though and is doing amazing btw
This is fascinating! I loved watching him perform, but more interesting than that were his comments and explanation about how he does it. Amazing . . . simply amazing! Bravo!
What a tough role! Pointe shoes and a big mask!
2:01 I just love the sound of pointe shoes clanging against the studio floor. It’s weird how oddly satisfying the sound is to me..
LI-TTLE CIR-CLE ON YOUR-SELF OMG SOOOO CUTE 💝💝😂
Strangely descriptive
This definitely gives the role a more interesting look!! I love it!
I've been rewatching this video so many times. It'm my favorite thing. "1, 2, 3, 4, Hehawww hehaaawww!" and "Li-tt-le- cir-cle- on- your-self-!" are my favorite things XD
Am I the only one who thought the thumbnail looked weird because they didn't figure out it was the skin around his ankle that had the same colour as the shoe?
Omg i just relaised that 😂😂😂
Alison Pauline Moore
Yes
Thats color of his socks. I had to watch it properly to figure it out what I was watching
Learning things is good for the soul and great for the mind and body is exercise through motion
i really want their to be more majestic male roles in ballets that require pointe
Pour cela il faudrait qu ils soient déjà gracieux, élégant et les
Memes règles imposées aux ballerines soient respectées par ces messieurs
A savoir marcher droit (comme un funambule sur un fil), qu ils sachent passer du pied à plat sur une demie pointe pour arriver sur les pointes, qu ils sachent maintenir une jambe droite et non flechie, et garder une pointe droite et non arquée.
Quand veux faire la même chose tout de suite il faut le faire correctement. Il faudra 6 ou 8 ans à une danseuse pour maîtriser ces bases.
C'est un art résultant de répétition
De sueur, de douleurs car seule l excellence œuvre sur la porte de la réussite.
When I was little I always thought men were on pointe
Honey Sarah same haha!!
I have never seen anyone who appreciates woman this much
Omg, I always go past the royal opera house, and I keep on wandering what happens in there
You should come in and pay us a visit!
Literally this video makes me so happy!!! #MenShouldGoOnPointé
I like the idea, but I think women should stick to Pointe work 😅
@Madison Dowell you don't own ballet sweetie
@@verucasalt5511 I think Karen's should stay in the kitchen
Wow!! So interesting and inspirational!!!!!!😀😀
arktana oh so you are 12
The donkey choreo makes me laugh. It’s my favorite! They really get into the roll!
This class looks very challenging but fun and exciting
Im a male ballet dancer in training, and I honestly dont want to dance the male role, I want to dance Odette, Cinderella, etc... It's probably weird xD
Siriuslygeeky -Batman Do u have pointe shoes, or soon will have, I have and it takes training/practice
Siriuslygeeky -Batman I've been dancing en pointe for 4 years now and I'm a male dancer that trains like a female dancer... it's totally possible
Siriuslygeeky -Batman I don’t think it’s weird those are the lead roles. Didn’t they do an all male version of swan lake? Why not be a male Cinderella or sleeping beauty?
Ballet Trockadero exists for a reason! They're my dream company!
That is because most male characters are stupid princes who are totally annoying, female roles are way more interesting, I always wanted to be Odile
he's not supposed to be over the box!! thats the character!!!
enodia williams he couldn’t dance over the box if he wanted to lol. Yes they want to character to look awkward but he says himself that he can’t even stay up and slips off of pointe often but it’s ok because the character is supposed to be clumsy.
@@t78907 I know, its because pointe shoes are made for biological females, our anatomy is different then mens anatomy.
Jennifer Dutka I think it’s just due tot he fact that men’s feet are naturally less supple and flexible then women’s. Also, exercises to mold, strengthen, and shape your feet are a priority for young women in their ballet training. Most men do not go through that sort of technique training and thus have more difficulty staying on the box
Very interesting. Hands down to these dancers!
Well it's like he says at the beginning of the video, men never really go en pointe, it's totally alien to them. So him not getting over the box is understandable. He is brilliant in this role and I love seeing men dance en pointe, so different and modern.
Not going over the box is intentional, he is portraying a donkey. Men do have the ability to properly go on to the box, but for this role it was better not to, to give the effect of hooves ☺
No No no. Hes being doing it for a long time and has a lot of training in to it. Hes not going over the box because of the role. Its not that modern. He literally said hes been doing it for 15 years
He's a donkey!!! He's supposed to not get over the.box!!!
Yessssss! Loved it.
For God sake, the role was donkey, he doesn't really need to get over the box, seriously.
Seeing men en pointe is just as beautiful as women!
A midsummer nights dream?
My feet are cramping, just watching that!
Watching him dance this role with the video at double speed is kind of terrifying.
There are a few videos of Nikolai Tsiskaridze on point on YT that are hilarious. He makes it look so easy and graceful.
I think it’s real cool to have men on point ✌🏽✌🏽
Not to deminish the ladies' accomplishments, but as a male dancer, you have to consider that the women are probably half you weight and are shorter, with shorter feet, which changes the lenghth of the lever and the mechanics. That means, the pain and the required strenghth is double, if not exponential, for you. So, I think you can give yourself more credit in comparisonto them than you perhaps do.
I always wondered why men don't do pointe like women...it's so beautiful
this was so fascinating
this needs more views
I want to be able to be at this place with my pointe when I am older 😍😍😍
Great video! Do you have a harder shank in your pointe shoes?
It’d be cool if someone did something like Priscilla as a ballet or something like the rocky horror show to have men in drag on pointe. I’m not sure how to explain it
Hayley Dell-Clooney look into Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. It's comedic ballet, men in drag, and a total hoot.
As a lover of musicals and a ballet dancer myself, i must say... I WOULD ABSOLUTELY WATCH THIS, ALL MY FRIENDS WOULD WATCH THIS, THIS IS AN AMAZING IDEA YES PLSSSSSS! hahaha
It's a cool idea, however I'm not sure that it would work thematically as almost all modern music is in the wrong time signature. It wouldn't be impossible to choreograph in the correct time signature of the music, however it would be almost impossible to actually complete each figure and have it looking finished.
Perhaps if they also incorporated the Bournonville style, but outside of Denmark nobody actually learns it.
Trockadero, already exists
At first I was freaking out because he wasn’t going over his box then I realized he’s not supposed to be.
Did they consult with Les Ballets Trockadero de Montecarlo? Those gentlemen have pointe down.
... Someones incapable of listening.. Hes been doing it for fifteen years and has had specialist one on one training.
when Frederick Ashton first choreographerd the Piece the Trocks were a twinkle in someone's eye
Incredible
Unlike the classic ballet, In Ossetia there is a dance called Honga in whice men keep dancing on points .
YES I LOVE THIS
lovely
Is this a mid summer night dream?
I remember being told when I did ballet back in the 90s that men didn't dance pointe because they had narrower hips and their center of gravity wasn't oriented down on the hips as much as women (their center of gravity was more in the upper body instead). Sounds like that was just an old wives tale. I did look up some more videos of male dancers on pointe that were doing it more gracefully and on full pointe. But with a stronger, more muscular male build it truly did not look as lithe and ethereal as a female dancer. The other videos were trying to say that you can totally remove the male/female-ness in the moves and physique of the dancers, but I don't think you can do this entirely. I also noticed that the men attempting to do feminine movements on pointe did it with more forceful, jerky, and muscular motions than the women do (even though they were attempting to be fully feminine, even dressing feminine).
I Stan a king on pointe!
This is weird never seen boys on Pointe love it
Stopped dancing ballet because of studies T^T. It's no longer my style anymore tho lolz. Kudos to ballet dancers. Good on you.
wow you did prety good !
I love That!
Why am I jealous of this man's feet?
This probably isn't the best role to feature when talking about male dancers going en pointe. It is a comedic role and it is meant to be clumsy, it doesn't showcase the possibilities of en pointe dancing for men.
That said, pointe dancing is just a ballet skill and like all ballet skills it can be learned.
I don't see why male dancers shouldn't include it in their early training. It's just a cultural thing, we are used to think that pointe is for women.
Choreography will probably need to be slightly different, considering how different the bodies of male and female ballet dancers are, but that's just about it.
the donkey head is so nice? its so well made
My male friend does Pointe in his cosplay for a fawn
Mimi Shoshani Cosplayers are dedicated in their passion, both in their costumes and in the
characters they become, guys en pointe as a fawn sounds awesome. If possible please pass along my contact info to him,
tjhalama2016@gmail.com
I remember when our class was doing a variation with partners on point and it was during summer intensive and my friend was the only guy in the class and he had no other classes to go to so we were partners and i remember him complaining about how hard it was on his feet and i was like broski u aren´t even wearing point shoes and all of us are and we´re all fine and i was so confused but yea they don´t work on foot articulation much at all so it is hard on them
Fun fact:Michael Jackson was inspired to incorporate toe standing into his choreography after watch a ballet performance.
awh i just did a mid summers night dream
What ballet is this? I'd like to watch it.
We need more men on pointe so they can feel whath female dancers do
At the dance company I learn under, all the men learn pointe. They don't use it in shows and don't practice in them for 5 hrs like the girls do but it's good to learn anyways.
Why don’t male ballet dancers train from the beginning to be on pointe as the female ballet dancers do? Is it aesthetics? Are male dancers generally too big and heavy to dance on pointe throughout their dancing career?
The lighter, the better for point. Very hard on the knees.
this is art....men swinging their arms around and dancing on their tip-toes XD
Love it
And how the tables have turned!
Challenge. Great.
makes sense, I get it. Perfect for animal roles.
Am I the only the only male ballerina that is going towards pointe and was absolutely terrified that his foot was gonna snap because he was not pointing his feet inside the shoe (obviously he knows what he’s doing but I’m just cringing from my experience)
Where have I seen him before? Swanlake? ....
It's good to see gender barriers broken. There is nothing "female" or "male" about ballet techniques.
WOW, it only took you 2 sentences to contradict yourself. I'm pretty sure that's achievement, even if it's not necessarily one that you should be proud of.
How is an example of gender barriers being broken? In this example the men on pointe aren’t taught proper pointe technique and it is used for a comical character....
Amen 😍
Anna Pavlova used wood in her pointe shoes and Vaslav Nijinsky could do it which made him unique in the Ballet world but I think the only other time I have seen men doing this is the Drag Ballet Troupes
Is this Midsummer Night’s dream??
anyone else wondering about ribbons/elastic? and those shoes looked out of the box, like not even broken in
Ribbions are mostly for show and not necessary. They were quite broken in actually
He isn't trying to go over the box
He had black Criss cross elastic.
i know that he isn’t supposed to go over the box but it still feels weird
0:06 He’s leaning on his pinky toes and not on his big toes where they are supposed to be. If he continues leaning on the wrong toe, he is going to have ankle problems sooner or later.
He's done pointe for 15 years and definitely knows what he's doing. His awkward position stems from his having to play a donkey.
Ugh its part of the character he is playing. He’s not suppose to go over the box.
Not trying to hate, (it's my future, tragic), but it is jarring to see pointe shoes coupled with a bald spot
hello
genial!
Maybe he could do a secondment to the Trocks?
I so very strongly believe that all men have to do point work because then they can see what the women have to go through everyday and also for their own strength in both their ankles and legs
All i can think of is how incredibly painful that must be.
Pink Wings he probably didn't do the feet numbing warmup that is recommend
There is a point to dancing on pointe. Generally speaking, classical ballet demands beautiful harmonious lines of the dancer's body and the limbs in particular. The arms can be very accommodating. The hands are a different matter. We cannot imagine a female dancer with her fingers wide open. No, the fingers have to look like they are holding a feather. The wrist plays a part in this delicacy. Dancing on point elongates the leg obviously. Otherwise, what is to be done with the foot? The foot at right angles to the rest of the leg is hardly elegant. So the leg is elongated by dancing on pointe. This comes at a price. The training is painful and rigorous. It is different with a lot of modern choreography where ungainly silhouettes are acceptable.
As for men dancing on pointe. I believe there is a difference between men and women and what their bodies can, or can not, do. For obvious reasons women can do extreme splits but men are made differently and they cannot. With female dancers, the lengthening of the legs by dancing on point so the shape looks weightless and elegant is understandable. In my opinion, male
dancers look silly enough dancing on their toes(not on pointe). This seems acceptable in classical ballets where, although the characters do fall in love and do what lovers are meant to do, the male lead has to look elegantly asexual. A male dancer with the build of a Spartacus would look out of place in a ballet like Swan Lake. The prince in Giselle too has to appear romantic, the faithful type till death us do part sort of thing. With the classics, the characters are practically de-sexualised. The male character can not be overly masculine as this would destroy the fairy-tale fantasy of two people in love. The guy is there to lift her up, make her spin, and, to show his masculinity, he does the famous leaps around the stage. Other than that, they may as well both be females.
Would a male dance on pointe in a modern ballet? Wouldn't it look silly?
No, it wouldn't, Linda. Or rather, it doesn't. Your dissertation may at first glance sound common sense ; it's commonplace instead. If my thirty year experience in ballet teaching has taught me something, it's that differences about strength, elegance, physical possibilities or ungainliness are individual, and have nothing to do with gender. I'm perfectly aware that challenges well-rooted clichés (women=flexibility, daintiness, men=strength, etc), but I know that for a fact. And drop the " fairy-tale fantasy of two people in love", please, that sounds juvenile; it's about two lovers, period. Far from de-sexualised, romantic and classical ballet emphasized those sexual differences, if in a low-keyed fashion. You yourself asses it, in their very different stance and function on stage. I can't but agree, guys would look weird on pointe in Giselle, because of that period conceptions about masculinity/femininity, but as we've dropped those since, no aesthetic or physical consideration prevents them from pulling this off in modern ballet; some guys in my classes did wonders on pointe, and could had made it to the stage, had only they desired it. Theoretical conceptions VS facts= Facts wins.
Toby lx By fairy-tale fantasy of two people in love I mean Cinderalla and her Prince. Partly because he was a prince and partly because Cinderella would be a delicate little think (the down-trodden maid-servant reviled by her family, etc.)......such a setup would hardly see a very butch 'prince'. Of necessity, in fantasy(as on stage, speaking of this particular choreographed story)the prince has to be as delicate as the female and anything else would not work. A guy dancing in Spartacus has to be different from a dancing prince on pointe. The fantasy works because it has to in order to remain a fantasy. ....And they lived happily ever after. Really. Two diaphanous creatures may well live happily ever after because they are not really sexual. But a very masculine, muscled and tattooed male lead living happily ever after with anybody? I don't think so. The guys who you say dance on point(or is it just on their toes like us mere mortals do) - this is now acceptable in modern dance but wouldn't have been in the classics. The guys in your class did wonders on pointe and could have made to the stage had they wanted to. Why didn't they?
Because prejudice is still strong and new ideas are much too often considered as agressif "avant-garde" to many in the ballet world, by nature traditionalist. But to be perfectly honest, most of them didn't see much interest into something that added to their hard training to no avail whatsoever when searching for a place in a ballet company. I get your point, and it's sensible, but only in classical and romantic repertoire. Even in those ones, I've personally seen modern stagings with more "terre-à-terre" princes. I really don't know where the future lies, and the evolution of dance..When it comes to modern ballet, nothing prevents a male dancer to have far more freedom, and portray their rôles in a more realistic way.
Toby lx I must admit I prefer watching female dancers rather than male. Modern dance is a welcome evolution like anything else if nothing else, because it is inevitable. I have watched some modern ballet and I've noticed that often certain extensions of thje lower limbs in particular would be unacceptable in classical ballet which is about perfect physical balance and harmony. I would need to see males dancing on pointe in the modern dance and then I could form an opinion.
You will always be very welcomed, and no doubt you'll have some good surprises, but those things are often hard to appreciate at first glance. Check "Lost in motion" to begin with, it's a good start and not too overly "modern"
I think it’s cool he’s on point but wouldn’t it be difficult if he was doing lifts? If he can manage that then damn he’s good.
I laughed all the way through lmaaaoo 😂😂😂
How old is he?
He is handsome
I know he isn’t supposed to go over the box, but when I’m looking at the ladies, I’m thinking *doesnt that hurttt omg I would be dying* I do pointe myself and I HAVE To get over my box or else it hurts too bad
For me girls should stick with the pointe work since most of the variations and pieces are supposed to make them look light and airy with long lines while the men's pieces are more jumping or turns and are lifting and are supposed to be more grounded. However it is cool to see this piece. I am worried for his feet though like I get that he's supposed to be a donkey but all the sickling is really gonna hurt later on 😳
❤️
I have friends who think Ballet is easy. I hit them every time 😂 dumbasses. I love them though.
I thought pointe shoes came in black to?
cool
Pass!