They made the decision to disregard gender restrictions in ballet-come what may-and trained themself to dance en pointe.Īfter six months, they approached Boal to request formal on pointe training at the school. But the shutdown also afforded them a moment of self-reflection. Ever the dedicated learner, Edwards continued to train. īy 2020, Edwards had become an advanced student at PNB, the same year that COVID forced the theater to temporarily close its doors. “There are dancers that you just look at them, and they have their own special spotlight,” Boal told DS. At sixteen, they auditioned for a summer intensive at the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) company, where they were noticed by director Peter Boal. They spent twelve years at the Flint School of Performing Arts, and by the time they turned eleven, they started pursuing their craft even more seriously, seeking training out-of-state during the off months of school. Photo © Angela Sterling.Įdwards persisted in their dance education in spite of these challenges.
“We have no choice but to be the best if we want to be treated equally.” Pacific Northwest Ballet company dancers Ashton Edwards and Luther DeMyer in Justin Peck’s The Times Are Racing. “I’ve had to be 12 times better than everyone else my whole life,” Ashton told Dance Spirit last June. Gender is far from the only concern in ballet: Ashton is also a person of color, often going up against a legion of white dancers for scarce roles. And it didn’t exist,” they told The New York Times. “I would search and search for footage of ‘Swan Lake’ with Baryshnikov as the swan. There are even certain maneuvers that are restricted by gender-for instance, cis men traditionally do not dance on pointe (on their tiptoes with reinforced shoes) and cis women traditionally do not perform lifts.įor a nonbinary dancer like Edwards, this revelation was devastating. Male and female dancers are often set off one another in implied romances on stage. At the same time, barriers intrinsic to the art of ballet were also becoming apparent.įor one, ballet is a highly gendered art form, especially in the case of classical productions based on fairy tales. Their dancing showed promise right away, with teachers praising their serious dedication to the craft. And if the gender-blind standards that have followed from their efforts are anything to go by, they’re already succeeding at shifting the landscape.Įdwards grew up in Flint, Michigan, where they first enrolled in Flint School of Performing Arts at the age of four, shortly after watching a production of The Nutcracker.
#Pacific northwest ballet ashton edwards professional#
In so doing, they’ve challenged gender roles at the professional level as a proud, nonbinary performer.
As a lifelong ballet dancer, Ashton Edwards has always strived to give audiences the best version of themselves.
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