On a spring evening in 2019, a dancer in pointe shoes and a tailored suit took the stage at Brooklyn's Mark Morris Dance Center. The performance—part of Queer the Ballet's inaugural showcase—paired classical technique with a narrative of gender self-determination rarely seen in conservatory training. For audience members accustomed to the rigid gender conventions of ballet's pas de deux tradition, the moment marked something beyond novelty: it suggested a structural alternative.
Queer the Ballet, founded in 2017 by former dancer Christine Sperle, operates at a complex intersection in dance history. Classical ballet has long depended on queer labor—choreographers from Michel Fokine to Justin Peck, designers, and generations of male dancers—while maintaining heteronormative performance conventions. The art form's institutional architecture, from gendered training tracks to the romantic narrative structures of its canonical repertory, has historically required queer participants to compartmentalize their identities.
Sperle, who performed with regional companies in the American Midwest before transitioning to arts administration, established the organization to address what she observed as a persistent gap between ballet's workforce demographics and its representational norms. "We're not just creating a space for LGBTQ+ dancers to perform," Sperle explained in a 2022 interview with Dance Magazine. "We're creating a legacy and a framework for queer artists to determine their own terms of visibility."
Programs and Pedagogy
The organization's programming reflects this dual emphasis on individual development and systemic intervention. Its core offering, the Queer the Ballet Training Program, provides tuition-free intensive study in classical technique, contemporary movement, and choreography to dancers aged 18–30. The curriculum deliberately retains rigorous technical standards while eliminating the gendered division of training—female-identifying students learn allegro work traditionally reserved for men; male-identifying students train en pointe if they choose.
Adult beginner classes operate on a sliding-scale fee structure at studios in New York City and, since 2021, Chicago. The organization also conducts workshops at university dance programs, including recent residencies at SUNY Purchase and Northwestern University, where faculty have integrated Queer the Ballet methodology into existing technique courses.
Performance programming culminates in an annual showcase featuring original choreography by company members and commissioned works. The 2023 season included "Swan Revisited," a deconstruction of Swan Lake's dual-lead structure that eliminated the prince character entirely, and "Tutu Much," a comedic ensemble piece addressing the economic and physical burdens of traditional costuming.
Participant Perspectives
For dancers like Jordan Okonkwo, who joined the training program in 2020 after leaving a conservatory environment, the organization's value lies in its operational assumptions rather than its explicit mission. "I didn't need to come out again," Okonkwo noted. "The question was never 'Are you queer?' but 'What do you need to do your best work?'"
Okonkwo, who uses they/them pronouns and now performs with a contemporary company in Philadelphia, described the transition from Queer the Ballet to professional employment as ongoing negotiation. "The training holds up technically. The harder part is entering spaces that haven't changed. You're still explaining, still adjusting, still sometimes hiding."
This tension—between alternative-space creation and institutional transformation—defines much of Queer the Ballet's current work. The organization has established formal partnerships with two regional ballet companies for dancer placement and cross-programming, and Sperle reports ongoing conversations with larger institutions that she declined to name, citing preliminary status.
Critical Reception and Ongoing Questions
Dance critics have responded to Queer the Ballet's performances with measured enthusiasm. Gia Kourlas, reviewing the 2022 showcase for The New York Times, wrote that the organization's "most significant contribution may be pedagogical rather than choreographic—training dancers who will enter existing companies and demand accommodation." Sarah L. Kaufman, in The Washington Post, offered a contrasting assessment: "The work remains stronger in concept than execution, with choreography that sometimes prioritizes statement over structure."
These evaluations point to a central challenge: creating artistically compelling work while bearing representational responsibilities that mainstream companies have historically avoided. Queer the Ballet's leadership acknowledges the pressure. "We're asked to be everything—technically excellent, politically radical, emotionally accessible, financially sustainable," Sperle said. "No single organization can meet all those demands perfectly."
The Broader Landscape
The organization's emergence coincides with incremental shifts in established ballet institutions. American Ballet Theatre's 2021 appointment of Alexei Ratmansky's Of Love and Rage featured same-sex partnering configurations; New York City Ballet has incorporated gender-neutral casting in select contemporary works. These changes remain limited and contested, with some traditionalist audiences and donors expressing resistance.
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