“Dance audiences are ready and hungry for trans voices. It's our dance institutions that are still catching up,” director Sean Dorsey says. - NBCOUT
Both Ledford and Pretto hope for the day when they can attend an audition and be hired without having to explain their gender identity.
Ledford said. “I’ll audition as any other woman. If I get in, then I’ll sit down and talk with them.”“I am not naive, I know I cannot just audition for a major ballet company and join the female corps de ballet,” Pretto said. “But I would love for that to happen for me. It’s the ultimate dream.” Her skepticism is partly based on the experience of her former Trockadero colleague, Chase Johnsey, who is gender fluid. He madein 2018 when he was cast in a female ensemble role in the English National Ballet’s production of “Sleeping Beauty,” though it was not on pointe, and the heavy costume concealed his body. No additional female roles came his way afterward.
Pretto danced a couple of character roles recently with Eglevsky Ballet, a growing ballet ensemble on Long Island, New York. The director, Maurice Brandon Curry, said he would consider Pretto for a female ensemble role next year, because her pointe work is “excellent,” though he wonders how some in the audience will react.
“Casting Alby in a female role would not be about passing as female, but I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge my concern about an audience member who was offended,” Curry said. “But art is not prejudice; it’s about inclusivity and open minds. If someone is not willing to have that experience, they don’t have a legitimate place in our audiences.
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