#BoysDanceToo

There are millions of dancers around the world both male and female. Growing up as a dancer for anyone isn’t easy, but especially for boys. They often get bullied because being a boy dancer isn’t cool. Now on top of that, imagine hearing an adult on live TV making fun of a boy for dancing. For most kids, that would be enough to make them quit.

In August, Lara Spencer of Good Morning America did exactly that.

“Oh, he looks so happy about the ballet class,” Spencer said on the show. “Prince William said Prince George absolutely loves ballet … I have news for you, Prince William, we’ll see how long that lasts.”

Shortly following her comments, professional dancer and choreographer Travis Wall posted a video on Instagram in response.
“Boys dance too,” he said. “Shut out that laughter. (Spencer) The next time you want to laugh at a child for taking a dance class, look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you want to be a bully today” (quote from Instagram video).

Since these comments Spencer has since apologized on both Instagram and a person phone call with Wall. Wall, along with 300 other dancers, showed up in Times Square outside the GMA studio and attended ballet class.

“She knows that there’s a bunch of us, Broadway and a lot of the ballet community here in New York City, we’re going down to Good Morning America on Monday morning and taking ballet class outside,” he continued. “She’s aware of it and she wants to talk to all of us and she wants to set this thing straight and right. The dance community is incredible and yeah, our voices were heard, which is fantastic, so hooray!” (Quote from Fox News).

Since this all went down, Wall has started a movement #BoysDanceToo. Dancers all around the world have supported him. Being a dancer takes a lot of hard work and dedication. It takes as much strength as any sport, and as much talent as any art form. No one should ever be bullied for being a dancer.