Watching the On Stage Dance Festival in Humboldt this weekend, it was very encouraging to see all the male dancers.
Now looking for statistics on the number of men who are performers, dancers, or singers, Statistics Canada only has the Information, culture and recreation category which is very misleading.
Looking at the numbers, there is still more men than women in this sector.
But watching Dance Fest boys who dance in Saskatchewan are a pleasant rarity.
I saw a number of things during the festival.
A few young boys who were dancing, who loved it, and who were not ashamed or embarrassed to talk about their love of dancing.
Talking to these young boys, they were also teased and bullied because they dance.
The whole competition had around 30 young men dancing, some of which are older dancers who had been dancing for a long time, especially a particular young Humboldt man.
Dawson Keller started dancing when he was two years old with his mom, Dayna Keller, at DK Dance Visions.
When asked if he ever got teased for dancing, his response was, “all the time.”
“I was bullied all throughout middle school through to high school,” he says. “It’s subsided now but I still get the odd comment.”
When asked what people have told him about his dancing, Dawson focuses on the positive things people say about his dancing. The negative comments just do not matter to him.
I was happy to hear that Dawson never thought to quit dance because of being bullied.
“I always think I do what I do and they do what they do and dance is what I love to do. Why stop doing it because of that?”
Dawson says he is proud of both himself and the other boys for being some of the few male dancers who come out. He knows what male dancers go through to get where they are.
To all the boys out there, Dawson says keep on dancing.
Strasbourg had a handful of young men dancing, including one older student who has a similar story and message to Dawson’s.
Austin Mayor started dancing through his mom, Angela Mayor, at her dance studio, Angela’s Dance Academy in Strasbourg.
His message was if your friends are teasing you because you dance, they are not your friends.
Austin has surrounded himself by positive people and people who support him. Watching him dance, anyone could see how much he loved it.
Dawson and Austin did not let the negativity stop them but I look at the younger boys who are currently dancing and wonder what their future is as a dancer.
Taran Schmidt, who now teaches and dances with Extravadance Studios in Canora, is also one of those older dancers who did not quit because people were teasing him.
Unfortunately, he seriously considered it around 14. The stress was becoming a bit much but thankfully dance is what helped Taran get through it and express himself.
Taran saw a lot of other boys in the Yorkton area quit dance because they were being teased.
“They just couldn’t take the ridicule,” says Taran.
Matthew Schermann is also from Angela’s in Strasbourg and dances because it makes him feel safe. He sometimes gets teased by his friends who play hockey, he says.
It used to make him want to quit dance but now he says he doesn’t care what they say.
Kayden Senner, whose has been dancing for a year, and Blake Cassell, who has been dancing for nine years, are both from Angela’s Dance Academy. Both have loved dancing at weddings and parties and decided to give dancing at a studio a try.
They were also teased for being male dancers but they do not let it phase them.
Kayden was teased because people did not see a future for dancing coming from Saskatchewan. Kayden now proudly tells them that he has gotten a scholarship to Los Angeles.
He says that the teasing drives him to be a better dancer.
“They try to put me down but I just try to do better next time.”
Blake says he was teased at first for being a dancer but he does not care anymore.
These amazing young men and their love of dance is the message I want all young kids to understand.
Do not let people who do not support you bother you.
Like Austin, surround yourself with people who support you.
Like Dawson, don’t pay attention to the negative.
Like Taran, Matthew, Kayden, and Blake, don’t quit because people are teasing you.
I equate this to the same thing that happened last year when I went to the Ducks Unlimited Greenwing Days.
There were plenty of girls learning how to shoot guns and water hoses. Plenty of girls who were walking in the water looking for leeches and fish. Plenty of girls building bird houses.
Yet there were still boys saying that girls did not belong there.
Dancing is just as non-gender specific as hunting and fishing and building things.
If you are a boy who wants to dance, please just dance, no matter who tells you not to.
Let us break the stereotypes of boy and girl activities and let kids do what makes them passionate.
Dance on, fine sirs. Dance on.
To Dawson, Austin, Taran, Kayden, Blake, and Matthew, keep being amazing role models for other boys who want to dance.
Update: Kayden has been dancing for a year, while Blake has been dancing for nine years. In previous version, I had them reversed.
