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"Male Voices, featuring the boys of the Gold School"

Title of Resource: "Male Voices, featuring the Boys of Gold School" Video -- Episode 1: Confessions (Powerful Truthful Sincere)

 

Target Audience: Anyone

 

Description of Resource: This video resource addresses many of the issues that male dancers face today.  Rhee Gold, the producer of the six-part mini-series, Male Voices states, “As a young dancer, I dealt with the teasing and bullying that so many of the young male dancers deal with today.  It took me years before I was able to speak about it because the hurt was too much to revisit.  Male Voices, brings viewers into the world that so many male dancers live.”  

The Men that you meet throughout the video include:

Jules Joseph

Kyle Scanlan

Jacob Guzman

David Guzman

Max Fineman

Eoin Robinson

Matthew Gilmore

Ross LeClair

Tim Stickney

 

These boys talk about how they got into dance, some who got into dance at a very young age, and some who started much later.  The boys talk about being bullied in school from fellow peers and how they have dealt with it.  They also discuss situations they have been in with other people and how they have dealt with people not understanding why they want to do because dancing is a “girly thing”.  The name-calling they describe is unbearable and I think that it is incredibly important for students to be aware of.  Examples of some of the names they have been called include: “fairy”, “gay”, “flamboyant”.

 

Appropriateness for High School Students: The boys in this mini-series are high school age, some are newly entering high school and others are graduating high school.  I think that the high school students in my classes will be able to connect with the students in the video because they are roughly the same age.  I specifically chose this video because of the important message for high school students but also because of the close range in age that creates an even more realistic scenario.  I think for all students and parents, this resource is important for them to see.  

 

Use of Resource in Classroom/Ways to Implement this Resource in my Classroom: So often, male dancers shy away from dance for the very reasons that this video addresses.  The bullying, name-calling, harassment and horrific events that the students in the video experience just for being a dancer are, in my opinion, unacceptable!  It is important for students to listen to and hear from students their age talk about the hurt and pain that they have experienced because they are male dancers.  My hope would be to have a class discussion after this video that addresses both male and female stereotypes in dance.  Ultimately, I would like for students to make a pledge to not judge, harass or criticize any dancers they come across in their lifetime.  I would specifically address dancers because in other classes and other school events revolve around bullying in other scenarios but I would like to focus specifically on dance because I think it's a beast in of itself.

 

Strengths of Resource as a Teaching Tool (Purpose, Value, Uniqueness, Positive Aspects):  I think that this video has a strong potential for opening up a solid conversation about gender norms in society as well as in the dance studio.   This video brings to the surface, the taboo topics about male dancers that students are usually uncomfortable talking about in front of teachers because they don't want to get into trouble.  

 

Possible Modifications to Resource (Weaknesses, Limitations, Supplemental Resources): I do think one of the limitations with this lesson activity is that; it solely focuses on male dancers.  It would be nice if there was a supplemental resource that was the equivalent talking about female dancers as there are many stereotypes about them as well.  With that being said I do think that showing this video about male dancers is incredibly important because often, they are the ones who are beat up in the locker room and bullied in school.

 

Resource Citation:

Gold, R.Male voices, episode #2 acceptance featuring the boys of the gold school. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/5_cybabR0MY

 

Gold, R.Male voices, episode #3 tights and more featuring the boys of the gold school. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/wNvqaWsF-BU

 

Gold, R.Male voices, featuring the boys of the gold school by DanceLifeTV. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/fOIWk46L2w8

 

Additional Information:

Male Voices, featuring the boys of the Gold School

Episode #2: "Acceptance"

 

I have included this video as an additional resource for parents specifically.  In this video, the students discuss the importance and benefits of parental support and how without the foundation, they may not have been strong enough to stand up to the bullying they were experiencing.  I also believe that high school students would benefit from watching this video as well because sometimes as adolescents we forget and/or don't fully grasp how important relationships with our families can be.  I think this video allows the opportunity for a discussion to be had between a student and their family.

 

Video URL: http://youtu.be/5_cybabR0MY

Male Voices, featuring the boys of the Gold School

Episode #3: "Tights and More"

 

I have included this video as an additional resource for students to watch, especially male students.  Although some might say this is a stereotypical comment, many male students shy away from dance because of their fear of having to wear tights.  I think that this video opens up the discussion about tights in a variety of ways.  This video talks about wearing tights and how it's NOT that big of a deal, as well as, how often the boys do not have to wear tights as it depends on the dance style however many of them prefer tights.

 

Video URL: http://youtu.be/wNvqaWsF-BU

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