Nonbinary dancers blur lines of gender and classical roles in Pacific Northwest Ballet
NEW YORK -- Throughout Pride Month, we are sharing stories of people who help break down barriers.
Friday, CBS2's Dana Tyler introduced us to two dancers who are blurring the lines of gender and using their art and talent to defy classical roles.
Watching the Pacific Northwest Ballet rehearse for an upcoming performance at Lincoln Center, we see an absolute freedom of movement and stunning artistic expression.
Getting there takes a mastery of skills, often within traditional roles for men and women. But watching Ashton Edwards on pointe, on the tip of their toes (usually done by female ballerinas), the notion of gender dissipates and what you see is simply a dancer and an artist.
"I feel all young, queer people kind of just like at some point in their life, put on a point shoe and just dreamed of that ballerina feeling," Edwards said.
Edwards is living it, along with the support and like-mindedness of their friend and company member Zsilas Michael Hughes.
"There definitely are moments where I feel like I have to withhold parts of myself in order to successfully execute whatever I'm doing. But in that challenge, I become stronger and greater," Hughes said.
Edwards and Hughes are both 19 years old and identify as nonbinary. They said they always dreamed of being dancers.
Ballet today, however, usually means men lift women on pointe. But that is certainly changing within this company and hopefully, they said, more broadly for young dancers coming up.
"It takes the schools being more open and training our dancers in the full capacity of ballet," Edwards said.
They add there has been some pushback from ballet purists in blurring traditional roles, but are in no way deterred.
"We walk around the studio and we see the younger kids looking at us, and we hear what they have to say and it's positive feedback," Hughes said.
Both said they're excited for the barriers they are breaking as dancers and people of color.
"So many generations before us, we haven't been allowed in the room. So the fact that we're now in the room and we get to thrive within it, that's the destiny that we manifested for ourselves," Hughes said.
"I'm excited for the day brown ballerinas and brown pointe shoes is just a ballerina," Edwards said.
The Pacific Northwest Ballet, presented by the Joyce Theater, is at the Koch Theater at Lincoln Center through Sunday, June 26.
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