English National Ballet's First Gender Fluid Ballerina

Justin Peck started a social media discussion when he created two gender neutral roles for his ballet, The Times Are Racing. The first role was originally performed by Robert Fairchild and then was given to Ashly Isaacs (a soloist with NYCB). She pulled off a lot of technical steps that are usually exclusively reserved for men with just as much, if not more energy and efficiency. 

The second role was was just as revolutionary. Taylor Stanley (male principal dancer) stepped into Tiler Peck's (female principal dancer with no relation to Justin Peck) role and danced the third movement pas de deux with Daniel Applebaum. This featured male duet was a first for New York City Ballet and sparked a social media discussion.

This discussion about gender roles in ballet immediately became a hot topic. Even Alexei Ratmansky put his two cents in. He stirred the pot by claiming there is, "no such thing as equality in ballet."

This did not go over well, especially during the beginnings of the 'Times Up' movement. The uproar surrounding his tone deaf comments lead to him clarifying his remarks by explaining that believes some rules in ballet were made to be broken, but that he prefers to work within the gender roles defined by the tradition of the art form. 

Luckily, some directors and choreographers feel differently than Ratmansky. People like Justin Peck and now Tamara Rojo are influential people paving the way to a more inclusive and diverse art form. 

In March, Tamara Rojo hired Chase Johnsey (pictured below)   as a first artist with the English National Ballet with a trial contract. Short term contracts aren't completely out of the norm, but Mr. Johnsey is. Chase identifies as gender fluid and uses male pronouns, but wants to be seen as a ballerina.  

Chase Johnsey

He has completely transformed his body so that he could meet the demands associated with the ideal ballerina image. Chase had facial surgery to feminize his features, lost 20 pounds while working with a nutritionist, and also worked with a physical therapist and ballet mistress to reshape his body to look more feminine. 

Mr. Johnsey's goal is to one day dance as one of the swans in Swan Lake or as one of the wilis in Giselle. This requires blending in with the female corps de ballet, which is an extremely difficult job on its own. 

So far, he is well on his way. Chase has already performed with English National Ballet in their production of Sleeping Beauty as a female courtier (pictured below). 

Chase Johnsey in Sleeping Beauty with ENB

Judging from the photo above, I believe that one day he will be able to dance in line with the swans. Ms. Rojo believes the same. When asked by the New York Times if one day Mr. Johnsey could be a swan or a wili Tamara Rojo replied, "I don't see why not." 

This is a huge step for the ballet world, a traditionally highbrow exclusive art form. However, these small steps leave me hopeful that this art form will reflect the world that we live in today.