![]() ![]() ![]() who grew up in Tacoma and went on to become Pacific Northwest Ballets. Those shoes "have their challenges," he said, but it's all worth it: "Once you're up and once you start dancing, you're floating, and it feels like flying I think. At just 18-years-old, Ashton Edwards is pushing for more inclusivity as a gender-fluid pointe dancer, a technique usually reserved for female dancers.Read mo. In the show, dancers Ashton Edwards (obligatory New York Times profile link drop). (Other Black members of the company include corps de ballet members Ashton Edwards and Zsilas Michael Hughes, and. He started studying classical ballet at 4, and after. Edwards, 18, is a member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Professional Division in Seattle. Ashton Edwards’s ballet dreams were dashed at age 6. Ashton Edwards, 19, said as a child they wanted to be one of those beautiful, ethereal people on pointe. Peter Boal, artistic director for the Pacific Northwest Ballet, told NPR "ballet can be a little slow," and when Edwards asked to study en pointe, "we said, 'Why not? Lead us and we will work with you.'" It usually takes several years of training before a dancer can put on their en pointe shoes, but after just six months, Edwards had the strength and technique necessary. Pacific Northwest Ballet is looking more like our society these days. Ashton Edwards is changing ballet for the better. Ashton Edwards, an apprentice at Pacific Northwest Ballet, is part of a rising generation of gender nonconforming dancers questioning ballet’s rigid gender roles. So I decided to explore." Because ballet has such clear divisions between male and female roles, Edwards didn't know if his school would be open to him dancing en pointe, and was thrilled when they were "open and accepting." "But I think my goals in life and in my career and who I saw myself as a person were much bigger than just one small box I was put in. "It took a lot of searching within myself," Edwards told NPR. Ashton Edwards, originally from Flint, Michigan, has studied dance since the age of four years old at the Flint. He started studying classical ballet at 4, and after years of performing traditional male roles, Edwards became intrigued by the idea of trying something that is traditionally for women: dancing en pointe. Ashton is currently a Professional Division student with Pacific Northwest Ballet, and is one of the first dancers to be allowed to train in both male and female classes: breaking down barriers in an industry that. Ashton Edwards is changing ballet for the better.Įdwards, 18, is a member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Professional Division in Seattle. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |