Trans Dancer vs Dancer who is Trans

This a topic which is hard to broach without there being some kind of implication of hierarchy...  Add in the complication of the overlay of unrequited/repressed passions of youth that manifest in transgender people who dance (even those who have danced professionally pre-transition).

It might sound like a matter of  semantics or  like one of the endless shit-storms over 'identity first ' vs 'person first' descriptions of  people with particular  characteristics,  but it isn't - hence my description above of  the risk of implying a hierarchy ...

In would they be interested... I sort of broach this topic a little bit, how much of my story as a dancer is interesting if it wasn't intertwined with my transition tale and of course the denouement we saw in One Year Ago... How many cisgender  people start taking class in their late 30s (or later)... it seems quite a few do...

This might sound crazy or a little off beam, some people might  even think it arrogant, but i don't want to be seen as a trans dancer, I want to be seen as a dancer who happens to be trans...

Some people
 will knock that, they'll turn round and throw the following at me, even disregarding my gender identity;

- You were 39 when you first took class.
- You are taller than the majority of female professionals in ballet and contemporary dance.
- En pointe you'll tower over the majority of guys in dance.
- You are twice the weight of some professionals (I was 107 kg in June 2018 and I'd all ready started to address my diet by then - I managed to drop 10 and bit kg over the next 6 months)

These points are all true, but  what  does it matter... I'm not seeking a professional career in a 'Big Five' or 'Next Five' company... (Indeed my contemporaries in age in those companies are now looking at their move to teaching / ballet staff / management ) I'm not necessarily seeking 'being a dance artist' being my job...  but if someone comes along and offers me paid work that doesn't compromise my moral and ethical position it'd be pretty  foolish to turn it down...

So back to the original premise of this post what is the difference between a 'trans dancer' and a 'dancer who is trans'...

The trans dancer defines themselves because they are trans; If they seek out  performance opportunities or a company it will be one which is explictly queer / LGBTQ+ ... the dancer who is trans wishes to be seen in relation to dance practice as a dance artist and their being trans is just part of their story...  if they  seek out performance opportunities or a company to be part of , yes they'll generally be looking for an inclusive opportunity - especially if  they are not 'stealth'...but it  will not the sole or main criteria to  seek out an opportunity - and as above if someone wants  me because of my background then fab ... 

Comments

Popular Posts