During the best of times, social pressure can make it hard for a young boy dancer to pursue dancing; it is even more challenging to maintain this commitment during the pandemic.
The teachers at Rising Tide Academy in Nova Scotia saw that one of their dancers, 10-year-old Jack, was starting to resist practicing at home, especially practicing the slip jig. He was starting to push back and question things being for girls versus boys. Normally TCs Becky Chapman and Laura Hopper would have just had a chat with Jack off to the side during class, but because classes were being held over Zoom during COVID-19, this was not viable.
Becky shared that “Jack's a terrific young dancer and he really, really loves it. This was our first glimpse of that love being tested because of girl-versus-boy-beliefs and we wanted to make sure we acted so he could keep on loving it and being the great dancer he is.” After much thought they decided to see if others could help them deliver the message. Thinking that hearing from male dancers would be exciting for Jack and might provide the needed motivation & confidence, “We went out on a whim and essentially sent some cold call direct messages to male dancers and teachers. Some were people we knew and others we asked our champ dancers for recommendations on,” Becky explained.
The response was stunning. Ronan Kelly, Noel Spillane, Macaulay Selwood, Casey Costello, Robert McAleese, Patrick Grant, David Geaney, Lochlan Howard, Jamie Hodges, Scott Doherty, Michael and Matthew Gardiner, and our Rising Tide’s coach, Connor Russell all pitched in with incredible messages for young Jack.
