Men on Pointe: Bay Area duo shakes up 'traditional' views of ballet
OAKLAND – Just a mention of his beginnings in dance and it doesn't take long for a smile to spread across Roberto Vega Ortiz's face.
"I've always danced. Always, always," said Vega Ortiz, Ballet 22 Artistic Director.
For Vega Ortiz, ballet is life. It's been that way since he was just 14-years-old in a small town in Puerto Rico.
"The beauty of it for sure. But I think also how it made me feel," he told KPIX 5.
But behind the smile and the moves, there's a story that was not always filled with beauty. Roberto also faced some barriers.
"I got bullied for many things and dancing was one of them," Vega Ortiz recalled.
Not only did he want to dance freely. But he also wanted to do it all with a certain type of shoe that was not immediately in his grasp—the pointe ballet shoe.
"I remember someone left and the studio was by itself and I remember I saw a pointe shoe and I was like…really quick," remembered Vega Ortiz. "I went like this [mimics putting on the shoe] and I put pressure and I was like 'Oh my God!' paranoid that someone would come. And I quickly took it off and put it there. And I was like, 'Yup I want to do that.'"
It was something not usually done or universally accepted for boys or men in the ballet world. The "on pointe" technique, or on the tips of the toes, was usually reserved for female dancers. So a teenaged Roberto was forced to train himself.
"By myself, in my room," said Vega Ortiz, "Every single day."
And there was power in that rebellion—placing his entire body weight on his toes in those shoes to dance.
"Once I put weight on the shoe, I was like oh my God. It was like having a taste of a fruit or something you hadn't before," said Vega Ortiz, "You kind of feel invincible because the possibilities are endless."
Fast forward to the present and Roberto is now helping to bring that power to other dancers.
"If we don't change it then who? So how can we change it and make it better and more accessible for everyone that's coming up," said Vega Ortiz.
He's turning his struggles into stages set for acceptance and authenticity with Ballet 22. It's a company that was formed when the pandemic forced us all into lockdown.
And up on their toes went the people as the Zoom video platform became the source of pointe classes for male and non-binary dancers.
"A safe space where people can put on the shoes and try something that normally they wouldn't have been able to do," said Ballet 22 Co-Founder and Executive Director Theresa Knudson.
The space has now grown from online to a studio in Oakland. Knudson said it's all very necessary to help the world grow beyond what's considered the norm.
"Art is an expression of yourself and when you're trying to stay in the classical setting, sometimes you feel like you have to act a certain way, women are in need of rescuing and men are there to take care of their princess and I think all of us are a little tired of that trope," said Knudson.
That new vision is now playing out in Bay Area theaters with their versions or takes on everything from "Swan Lake" to "Romeo and Juliet," re-imagined as "Romeo and Julio." Their mission—pushing the boundaries of what is possible in ballet.
"To be able to feel that feeling of slickness and elevation and to be able to express in that way without any comedy or being in a box is very beautiful," said Knudson.
"I really wish I had a Ballet 22 growing up and I wish that times like this existed when I was growing up," said Vega Ortiz.
A 14-year-old Roberto could have never envisioned all this coming to be. Still, he wouldn't change one single thing about his path to what he calls freedom and joy while performing.
"Yeah, but then again, it's not about myself anymore. Of course, it was in the beginning," Vega Ortiz said. "Yes, I love dancing. But coaching I think fulfills me even more and seeing what can be made and what can be accomplished, being inspired."
He believes that was the point of it all.
People from all over the world and of all genders, shapes and sizes now practice and perform with Ballet 22. They're busy preparing for their next live performance of "Juntos" on July 29th and 30th at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture in San Francisco.
Tickets and information can be found by visiting www.ballet22.com/events.
