Sophie Rebecca, the trans ballet dancer – nope
A lot of people have called my attention to this supposed story:
This is a joke and everyone knows it.
Imagine having some little self respect that you pretend it isn’t. https://t.co/fxVphNPHcp
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) April 11, 2023
You can well see that, stories to the contrary, this person is not on any track to become a professional dancer. This person is also in his/her 30s as a beginner, and adult beginners usually are enrolled in adult classes and are allowed to be really really bad at dance. Professional schools generally have children’s classes, which are more serious, and adult classes, which contain a mix of older people who just want to learn a bit of dance as well as ex-dancers in their semi-dotage.
Dance classes almost all include both sexes, except for the professional tracks for younger dancers that often feature special pointe classes for girls, special classes for boys that feature jumps, and partnering classes for both.
In ballet, anatomy is destiny. Female bodies tend to be much more more flexible and male bodies much stronger. Size differentials are important in partnering, too – it helps a great deal if the woman is considerably smaller and lighter than the man. That’s why taller male dancers are often in increased demand for partnering.
And everyone must be very lean, but males are bulkier because of their greater musculature. In order to partner, their upper body strength must be further developed. Many female dancers may only weigh 100 pounds or so, but that’s still a lot of poundage to haul up over your head while looking pleased about it.
What an insult to the profession.
What is it that makes some artists, and people involved with the arts (like academy staff, critics, instructors), enjoy destroying the very artform they work in?
I suppose I’m confused about what’s a joke. Sophie Rebecca appears to be a real person, and appears to have been sponsored by Nike and written up for British Vogue in 2021.
If by “professional” we mean “paid to dance” then it would seem Sophie is well on the way if not already there, whether or not Sophie dances at the level normally expected of professionals.
That’s exactly why Nike’s latest campaign, Own The Floor, showcases that it’s much more than pure entertainment. In short: Nicole is not alone in adhering to a strict training schedule. Sophie Rebecca, who unlike many of her peers got into dance later in life, during her thirties, is currently returning to her pre-pandemic levels of training. “From Monday to Wednesday, I train for four-and-a-half hours a week,” she says. “Pre-pandemic, I was dancing six-and-a-half hours a week with one hour of Pilates on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I have to fit all of this in around my day job, which isn’t as much fun.”
As a female trans ballet dancer, she’s breaking down barriers while encouraging anyone, at any age, to find joy in physical expression. Having started dancing in 2014, she’s since passed several exams and performed on several international stages.
The problem is that, like Babylon Bee stories, if this is a joke, it’s just believable enough, given the current insanity.
My friend going to the Royal Ballet of London is a very talented 17-year-old male dancer — who will dance as a male.
Thank you for giving us additional information and background!
Frederick:
Sophie Rebecca is a joke as a ballet dancer – male OR female – not a joke as a PR stunt and marketing tool.
Neo:
It’s okay to refer to the person in question as “he/him.” Please.
Neo’s description of the transgender dancer as an adult beginner jogged my memory about another adult beginner, namely Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of the Jazz Age novelist F. Scott F. I bought the first paperback edition of Nancy Milford’s biography of Zelda– the published version of Milford’s Columbia Ph.D. dissertation– which came out in the early 1970s. My copy has a painting of Zelda dressed in ballet costume as the cover photo.
A 2017 article in the New Yorker titled “Zelda Fitzgerald’s Ballet Years” is a brief account of Zelda’s fascination with ballet, which began after her marriage to Scott and the birth of their daughter: “A frequently overlooked aspect of Zelda is her passion for ballet. In the summer of 1925, ballet lessons at a studio in Paris became an outlet for her artistry, and swiftly led to an unsustainable fixation. Zelda was twenty-five, a mother and wife—she was five years into her marriage to Scott. Her commitment to dance quickly accelerated, and she decided to become a professional ballerina at the age of twenty-seven. Having trained as a ballet dancer myself, I know that the physical demands of the art form are unforgiving. In a few years, Zelda had danced herself into an obsession, and mental illness erupted through the cracks of her physically exhausted body.”
The author of the article goes on to suggest that Zelda was drawn to ballet because it gave her a field of her own in which she didn’t have to compete for attention with the writers and painters who made up the Fitzgeralds’ social circle during their years in Paris. “Dancing was an achievement that Zelda wanted completely for herself.”
Now of course Zelda Fitzgerald was not transgender, and she came to a very unhappy end– after years of various therapies for mental illness, she died in a 1948 fire that broke out in the hospital in North Carolina where she had been committed (Scott had already died in 1940). She was only 47 when she died. One hopes that Sophie Rebecca will find a way to accept that anatomy– and age– is destiny, at least in ballet, and will have a better outcome than Zelda Fitzgerald.
You can read Meryl Cates’ New Yorker article at the link:
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/zelda-fitzgeralds-ballet-years
The word profession seems to have changed within my life time. It used to mean that you had devoted time to learning your craft to a degree that due to the expertise you exhibited, others recognized you had.
Today it’s used to mean “having a job”.
This guy may indeed pick up some change for dancing but “professional”… no. It looks to me as if it’s something to further the image. If there was a fundamental urge for movement, it could easily be accommodated by dancing as a male. That’s how I did it.
Although I enjoy the (can’t think of name) gay men’s group in Ca that does Swan Lake and such on pionte, rumbling across the stage like a herd of elk, I enjoy them precisely because they all recognize and play to the fact it’s hilarious mockery, not serious rendition.
So now this makes the, what, millionth or so transsexual male who wishes to compete against women and to do so, engages in the utter fantasy that he is somehow a she. We used to laugh at this, and rightly so. Now, were we to allow even a suppressed titter to escape, we would be banned, cancelled, ostracized, declared anathema! and banished to the wilderness. By allowing–even encouraging this farcical charade–we are participating in the destruction of our society and by extension, the extinguishing of our own autonomous selves. I am waiting for the time when a transsexual female demands to participate in sport or artistic or athletic endeavor against biological men. One would think that with all the f-to-m “transitioners” out there (if you doubt me just google this and prepare to be amazed and repulsed at the images you find) there would be a lot of these people, yet I can find not even one who winds up on the men’s team or playing in a men’s league. It is as if, whether one goes from female to male or male to female, it always ends with a sort of erasure of masculinity and glorification of the female, even if it is a laughably incompetent version of female that results.
Oligonicella–
I think you mean Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo; here’s “The Dying Swan,”
danced by Ida Nevasayneva (Paul Ghiselin):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcHxW82Eeik&ab_channel=LesBalletsTrockaderodeMonteCarlo
Oligonicella:
“… rumbling across the stage like a herd of elk.” 🙂 🙂
And probably as graceful as an African bull elephant tossing a Cape buffalo (as seen on youtube).
refer to s. sailer re/autogynophillia
I dont know anything about ballet but i dance west coast swing, and i was immediately confused about his timing. The moves rarely seemed to match the music.
Then i saw this and it stood out even more
https://twitter.com/LunarLemonade/status/1645603056938020867/mediaviewer
the whole thing pisses me off.
PA Cat,
That was hilarious! And very well done!!
Thanks for sharing.
So it seems we now live in a world where Gypsy Rose Lee’s mother, rather than being a tragicomic figure, is now the heroine of the story. “I had a dream!”
RTF–
You must admit that the Trocks’ idea of the backstage makeup routine is very different from that of the NYC Ballet. This dancer’s face looked (under the stage lights) like a cross between the face of a drag queen and Dracula.
After watching this particular video, I also understood better why Neo once said that the male foot cannot achieve the same elegant curve en pointe as the (biological) female foot.
You may have noticed that the forced intrusion of homosexuality into our daily lives and the negative consequences it has created–most specifically in young children, was also the same weapon used to destroy the Protestant churches–our system of ethics. Great strategy–it worked to weaken the entire culture as well as the country.
PA Cat:
I remember reading about Zelda and ballet long ago. My recollection is that she actually became a rather good dancer, but not quite good enough. Also, she didn’t begin lessons as an adult – she resumed them, having taken them in childhood.
From the New Yorker article:
Egorova was a highly-thought-of teacher of professional ballet dancers .
Ace tends to go overboard a bit, but this is pretty funny: Transgender Man With Bison-Like Grace Graduates from Highly Prestigious Royal Ballet Academy, Despite Not Having Any Skill or Talent in Ballet
The “joke” is claiming that Rebecca is going to be a professional, rather than wanting to try learning to dance as a hobby.
Another “joke” is stirring up more sentiment and hatred against transgender people for political or other ideological gain.
I’m strongly opposed to the entire trans ideology idiocy, but BOTH SIDES are guilty of it.
I’m transgender myself and I suffer the consequences of the hostility against transgender people that the ideologues on both sides cause.
I guess the next step is that they’ll be gunning for orchestras and choirs.
E.g., “I identify as a violinist”; “I identify as a percussionist”; “I identify as a soprano”; I identify as a person who can carry a tune”….
(Well, we already have, “I identify as a President” and “I identify as an Attorney General”, etc….)
It’s hard being green. But the frog did not imagine he was the queen.
In the end, the emporer was naked.
“There isn’t enough electricity — and won’t be enough electricity, ever — to power their future of universal electric car usage.”
Skills are easy to test for. If someone can dance like a ballet star, they have the skills needed.
If someone don’t, they can’t.
If a trans woman can dance like a ballet star, more power to her. But most of us never will be able to. Doesn’t mean we can’t dream and try. Not that I’m going to try, not my thing, plus I’ve serious balance problems so I’ll never be able to even get close to developing the skills.
@JTW
Ah, you again. Have you said apologies to anybody here for alleging they want you dead?
Agreed, and the kicker I think is that if American Idol and its ilk are any indication, people actually sympathize with an underdog. You don’t need to be particularly good at something if you come at it positively and try hard, at least in many things like amateur dance or the like. And there are a fair number of jobs around for mediocre but spirited dancers willing to embarrass themselves in order to give others a good time and some joy.
It’s a hard truth to swallow but it’s a lot less bitter than many truths one has to, including if one believes that they were born in the wrong kind of body and will face suspicion and hostility from others.
I’ve heard that joke. It’s not funny. Much like accusing others on this blog of wanting to kill you is a monumentally unfunny joke.
Also: there is nothing wrong with stirring up hatred against a given transgender person, so long as it isn’t because they are transgender. I can think of maybe half a dozen hateful idiots who got on the Chris-Chan hate train specifically because they came out as transgender. True equality means being treated for one’s merits as a human being.
The corollary to that means that there are going to be transgender people who have the soul of fecal matter wrapped in human skin and who are attractive targets for hate and ire, much like people from other genders, intersex states, and what have you.
I don’t know the first thing about Rebecca and I sure as hell am not going to hate them like I do Chris Chan, the fashion thief in Biden’s cabinet, the Naked Mole Rat in the Kremlin, Shrillary, oe a host of other people. I say she deserves the benefit of the doubt, which is why I do feel sad given the inherent anatomical issues Neo pointed out (and which aren’t limited to transpeople by any stretch of the imagination), but that doesn’t mean they can’t be a spirited amateur with their own success in spite of failure. And I wish them luck.
Fair, and while we have had our differences (and I am still justifiably bitter at what I believe was your smearing of other blog readers as wanting you dead), you have my sympathies there.
Reminds of the classic Muppets’ production “Swine Lake”.
Today victimhood ranks much higher than achievement.
Well Sophia Rebecca has managed to one of the places where a larger beefier physique is NOT an advantage unlike in swimming, track or basketball or soccer/football. Ms Rebecca has demonstrated this failure admirably. I now await a similar demonstration of this failure in women’s gymnastics particularly the uneven parallel bars. A trans male who has not undergone “bottom” surgery should provide hours of amusement trying to attempt that feat, presuming they don’t break the apparatus
tregonsee314 –
Your wait is over. And you would be surprised. Women Olympic athletes were as well. “How is a man even doing this?!??”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvz3F4HP170
@tregonsee314 @Rick T.
I mean, like I said before there can be nobility in giving it one’s all even when fated to not be able to compete with the best, and I don’t have an issue with that. Much like how I enjoyed horse riding the very few times I did it (though I imagine the horse did not, which is one reason I didn’t) in spite of being too towering and heavy to be a good jockey. And let’s face it: Most dancing isn’t world-class, and most niches for it aren’t world class. So there’s a lot of room for earnest, well-meaning performers who can handle appearing somewhat ludicrous in public without losing their (psychological) grace and doing “better than I could do.”
Gymnastics are less so given that, but there are plenty of Country League teams and shows to appeal to to the public and there’s a lot the spirit of competition can do.
Dianna Moon Glampers, Handicapper General of The United States, smiles from the pages of Harrison Bergeron. How did Vonnegut Know. Did He read Orwell and Huxley??
“THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal
before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter
than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was
stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the
211th, 212th, and 213 th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing
vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.”
“Some things about living still weren’t quite right, though. April for
instance, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in
that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron’s fourteen- year-old son, Harrison, away.”
“It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn’t think about it very
hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t
think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his
intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his
ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a
government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would
send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair
advantage of their brains.”
George and Hazel were watching television. There were tears on Hazel’s
cheeks, but she’d forgotten for the moment what they were about.
On the television screen were ballerinas.
A buzzer sounded in George’s head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits
from a burglar alarm.
“That was a real pretty dance, that dance they just did,” said Hazel.
“Huh” said George.
“That dance-it was nice,” said Hazel.
“Yup, ” said George. He tried to think a little about the ballerinas. They
weren’t really very good-no better than anybody else would have been, anyway.
They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces
were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty
face, would feel like something the cat drug in. George was toying with the
vague notion that maybe dancers shouldn’t be handicapped. But he didn’t get
very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his
thoughts .
George winced. So did two out of the eight ballerinas. ”
———
Read the whole thing.
Inmates running the asylum.
Could be he read Nietzsche on “The Last Man”: https://youtu.be/O4amBEGwVXs
How did Vonnegut Know? –Richard G.
Vonnegut was your standard-issue 50s/60s artistic liberal, bewailing society’s ongoing efforts to Stamp Out the Individual.
–“The Prisoner”, “I’m not a number, I’m a free man” (1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Cs-VIDKSY
Though you wouldn’t believe it today, once upon a time liberals upheld freedom and creativity.