Drought of boys in ballet creates problems for budding ballerinas

The number of boys enrolled at Australian ballet schools has plunged since the pandemic, threatening the entire art form and prompting Queensland Ballet’s academy to offer free lessons to lure them back.

The Brisbane-based academy has suffered a 36 per cent drop in male enrolments across all its classes since 2020, according to director Christian Tatchev. The shortage is especially acute in the pre-professional program from which Queensland Ballet selects many of its corps de ballet, with just five of the 20 dancers in this year’s class being men – down from 12 of 28 in 2021.