Shocking the public is undoubtedly one of the fundamental purposes of dancing. Over the course of a month, the site will analyze various dance phenomena that once surprised the bored public. Well, let's start with dancing in heels.
Hip-hop Surprising the public with dancing in heels began in a not too shocking manner; first, a version of dancing in heels among girls was presented to the whole world. It was this version of hip-hop that showed all the beauty of movement in high heels, while giving the generally absolutely feminine phenomenon the drive and energy of this dance direction.
Andye J, one of the founders of hip hop heels, a couple of years ago, in an interview with the website, talked about how she began choreographing for girls in the Hip Hop Heels style, already working at the famous Debbie Reynolds dance school in Los Angeles.
Kazaky This project became sensational in Russia and Ukraine, and a little later abroad. The difference in sensationalism, however, was obvious. In our country, society perceived the four popular dancers-vocalists as an inappropriate option for the conservative and inflamed domestic show business. But in the West everything was completely different. The starting point in increasing popularity in the West was the group’s performance at the Dsquared2 show in Milan.
In this case, it is interesting to observe the reaction of ordinary people in different countries. Comments in Russian are filled with incredible resentment; Russian and Ukrainian users are perplexed: why were gays allowed on the dance floor? At the same time, foreign users do not pay any attention to the sexual orientation of the performers and note a successful idea with excellent execution. And, probably, only they understand that dancing in heels is, in principle, not an indicator of one or another sexual orientation.
read also: watch the video and read the comments:
"Why is everyone surprised that guys started dancing in heels. Millions of guys have been dancing ballroom dancing in heels for decades"
The successful collaboration between the designers and the Kazaky group paid dividends for both parties. The Disquire Brothers got the show, and the Cossacks got star fans and patrons. Another lover of everything new and stylish could not pass by - Madonna invited the group to film her provocative video Girl Gone Wild.
Oleg Zhezhel, a member of the group, a former famous Ukrainian dancer, spoke in an interview about the incredible performance of the singer and everyone who took part in the filming. Madonna, in subsequent interviews, emphasized the hard work and modesty of the guys.
But Kazaky, nevertheless, did not become the heroes of the video. The members of the Ukrainian quartet only appeared in the video, but the main emphasis was placed on four super popular models: Sean O"pry, Jon Kortajarena, Simon Nessman, Rob Evans. However, this is something to be proud of: the Ukrainian group created a global trend, having personally “hooked” on him the world's supermodels and the most famous singer in the world.
Dance schools and dancers Further more. After the hype that Kazaky caused, dancing in heels began to rapidly gain popularity among dance school clients. In the schedule of many large-format dance schools in Moscow and other cities of our country, new lessons appeared, which were called differently, but the name always indicated “heels”. A special highlight was, of course, the male teacher.
On the other hand, world choreographers quickly caught on to the trend. Yanis Marshall has achieved particular success in this, filling video hosting sites with his dance videos in heels. But even this was not enough for him: in the summer of 2013, he showed ordinary bored citizens dancing in heels, so to speak, “offline”. Lucky in this case, the residents of Paris.
Fakes Of course, among domestic male dancers, there are also many who have begun to master the heel style. But, unfortunately, as often happens in our country, there were some fakes. A couple of years ago, at parties and social events, presentations, guys from the group Kazzaky LTD began to appear. The organizers, one after another, for some reason suddenly decided to invite this team (either dance or music) to their events. It looked and sounded not exactly shocking, but rather dull and not entirely attractive. Thus, this group, in pursuit of dubious fame, completely destroyed our public’s already unclear idea of dancing in heels. The final blow to the authority of the trend and the very phenomenon of “men dancing in heels” was the appearance of the group at the Comedy Club:
Now At the moment in our country, the idea of men dancing in heels is very clearly divided: in a narrow dance community this phenomenon is welcomed and used in every way, for the rest of the population it is disgusting and annoying. This means that there is still something to work on and something to strive for.
P.S.: When this article was written and typed up, one of the portal users added Dance Video to the rotation of Dance Television, which perfectly characterizes what was written.
website- The non-standard Ukrainian project “Kazaky” shocked the whole world! Their first video “In the middle” already has 1,500,000 views on YouTube. Their group has everything: shockingness, sexuality, male beauty, plasticity and excellent choreography.
When I first saw them on the Internet, I was shocked to say the least. The same type of thoughts immediately came into my head: “Yes, they are gay!”, “Where is the world going?!”... However, having learned a little more about them, I realized that I was wrong.
Their dances and appearance, I agree, are unusual and overly feminine. But this is precisely what the Kazaky group rubs in everyone else’s nose. I have never seen more beautiful choreography in such high heels. Yes, these guys walk better in stiletto heels than any other girl in Bishkek or wherever!
The whole West is discussing this group, both fan clubs and ill-wishers have already appeared. Well, what did you want, guys?
“Kazaky” have staked their entire “fate” on shockingness: naked sexy bodies, in stiletto heels, with Cossack forelocks, very flexible. Sort of half man, half woman.
The Internet is full of discussions about the members of the Cossacks group. Many people ask the question “are they gay?”, but for some reason I think that they are of normal orientation. It’s just that no one has done this before! They foresaw that this would generate enormous interest in their group.
There are two guises of the Kazaky group. One of them is for “internal use,” that is, for the CIS countries, and the other is for the West. And these guises are completely different, because the group’s audiences are different.
For the CIS, where the majority of the group’s fans are girls, the members of “Kazaky” are simple guys who love women and are even planning to get married.
But outside the CIS, the main audience of the Kazaky group are people of “non-traditional orientation”. And for the West, the members of Kazaky are gays, dancing the “horizontal mamba” with each other (interview for “Fab” magazine) And “Kazaks” are completely satisfied with this.
Kazaky - In The Middle
The appearance of men in heels in a dance show on Russian television caused surprise not only among viewers, but also among professional judges. At the same time, in the West, fashion in traditionally female dance styles today is largely set by men in heels.
Anton Lushichev came to the audition for the television project “Dancing on TNT” in high heels. Entering the stage, he immediately aroused surprise not only among the audience, but also among the judges, most of whom were professional choreographers:
-Strip?
- Come on?!
The dance direction called strip or strip plastic, so often chosen for audition by those who want to take part in the TNT project, has become something familiar over the course of four seasons. But not when this style is performed by a man.
"I like that I stand out"
At the audition, Anton had to not only dance, but also answer questions that were never asked to the female contestants who came to the show with the same style:
- Why did you choose this style? Why do you like him?
- I like that the strip can be different. I like that I'm in heels. I like that I stand out.
After the dance, the judges began to discuss not so much the dancer's performance as the appropriateness of the man choosing this direction. At the same time, all the judges noted that Anton danced excellently.
“You came in heels and danced very well. It’s cool. But I want to see a man even dancing. I’m uncomfortable watching such a performance in a man’s guise,” said TV presenter Olga Buzova, who was sitting on the jury.
Anton admits that being a man and dancing in heels in Russia is difficult:
"When I just started dancing, when I just bought myself heels and went to my first St. Petersburg championship, half the people in the hall simply did not understand what was happening. And the reaction was very negative. Now they have become softer, but initially it was trash. You you walk down the corridor and everyone looks at you with huge eyes."
Versatile dancer
Anton is not the only man who came to audition for the dance project in heels.
Igor Kotov’s performance also surprised the judges, while all jury members admitted that he also danced the strip choreography perfectly, performing complex stunts and acrobatic elements.
If for Anton dancing in high heels is a provocation, an opportunity to stand out and express himself, then for Igor it is a skill that will make him a universal dancer.
"I started dancing classical dances as a child, then I switched to modern choreography, hip-hop, jazz-funk. I am a universal dancer, I also dance the strip. Initially, the strip was created for girls. And there is an absolutely erroneous opinion that this is about , how to spin on poles and undress, although this is not at all like that. This is the same style of dance as hip-hop. Only it has its own characteristics. A real dancer must dance both female and male choreography. I have nothing wrong with that I see,” Igor said on the TV show.
Igor, like Anton, admits that high-heeled dancers face discrimination in Russia:
"We have very few boys who dance the strip. Not everyone dares to do it. Those who succumb to social pressure immediately give up this style."
Strip for everyone
In Russia, strip plastic performed by men causes mixed feelings even among those choreographers who work in this area.
The founder of the Frame Up Strip style, Anastasia Yurasova, told the BBC Russian Service:
"How do I feel about guys doing strip dances in heels? Personally, I don't really like it. And I think every man should be a man. I'm not a fan of that."
At the same time, she noted that there are dancers who deserve to dance in heels:
“If we’re talking about dancers like Igor and Anton, then to me they don’t look feminine. Despite the fact that they wear heels, they have masculine energy and what they do doesn’t look vulgar. They have great technique execution," says Anastasia Yurasova.
In her opinion, the audience in Russia is not ready to accept a male dancer in heels.
Moreover, many users questioned why a woman who dances well in a masculine style in Russia will always receive public approval, when a man with a style that is traditionally considered feminine will most often be ridiculed.
"I like that I stand out." Men dancing in heels on Russian TV
Better than a woman's performance?
A man dancing in heels is unlikely to raise eyebrows among choreographers in the US and Europe.
“Today this is truly one of the trends in dance culture. We are seeing more and more men among students and teachers of dance styles that were previously considered feminine,” says Tamara Kramer, director of the Studio 68 dance school in London.
Male dancers in the West not only perform choreography in high heels, they create it.
One of the most famous dancers in this direction is the American Jonte.
“When he first came out, it was a real explosion in dance. Everyone was asking, God, who is he, how does he do it, everyone wanted to copy him and still do,” says Kramer.
According to her, Jonte's solo performances in high heels are an inspiration for dancers around the world.
After graduating from ballet school in Oregon and working as a dancer for Janet Jackson, Jonte began collaborating with stars as a choreographer. He directed Beyoncé's The Beyonce Experience tour and many of her music videos, including the popular Freakum Dress video.
Another famous high heel dancer is Frenchman Yanis Marchal.
In 2014, he became a finalist in the television competition Britain's Got Talent.
“Janis became a prominent figure in dance back in 2010, but his participation in this TV project opened up heel dancers to a wider audience in the UK and in many ways changed the perception of them - heel dancers began to be taken seriously,” says British choreographer Richard Marcel.
"It was ten times better than any woman who has walked on that stage today. Fantastic!" - the judges told him after his first performance at the competition.
In 2015, Janis choreographed for Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. According to viewers, this was perhaps the sexiest performance on the show in its entire history.
“To say that a man cannot dance in heels is to discriminate against dancers. If you like to dance in heels, why should you stop yourself?” says Tamara Kramer.
According to her, dancing in high heels performed by men and women differs in many ways:
“These are different approaches even in teaching. When a man teaches choreography in high heels, he most often draws students’ attention to the fact that this is a show and shocking. When a woman teaches dancing in heels, she talks about self-confidence and sexuality.”
“At the same time, we should not forget that a man in heels must, of course, work a little harder than a woman. Maintaining balance can be more difficult for them. And people who do not dance and criticize this simply do not understand how difficult it is.”