There’s a chapter in my book called “Ballet Runs on Moms.” It’s about the ways in which the labour of ballet parenting falls disproportionately to mothers, in part because all the labour of parenting falls disproportionately to mothers. Moms are the ones who keep the mental notes which colour leotard their daughter needs for this grade and how many pairs of tights currently have runs in them. Moms are the ones who sit — or, before the pandemic, sat — in the lobbies of dance schools with one eye on their dancing child and the other on a wandering toddler, answering work emails on their phones. Moms are the ones who attend the pre-pointe medical screenings and information sessions and take their kids to the ballet store to be fitted for their first pair of pointe shoes. Moms are the ones who do check their daughters’ hair to make sure their buns pass ballet muster or, as one mom told me, who teach daughters to do make up so they won’t go on stage looking like tiny clowns. In my interviews for
Ballet runs on moms
Ballet runs on moms
Ballet runs on moms
There’s a chapter in my book called “Ballet Runs on Moms.” It’s about the ways in which the labour of ballet parenting falls disproportionately to mothers, in part because all the labour of parenting falls disproportionately to mothers. Moms are the ones who keep the mental notes which colour leotard their daughter needs for this grade and how many pairs of tights currently have runs in them. Moms are the ones who sit — or, before the pandemic, sat — in the lobbies of dance schools with one eye on their dancing child and the other on a wandering toddler, answering work emails on their phones. Moms are the ones who attend the pre-pointe medical screenings and information sessions and take their kids to the ballet store to be fitted for their first pair of pointe shoes. Moms are the ones who do check their daughters’ hair to make sure their buns pass ballet muster or, as one mom told me, who teach daughters to do make up so they won’t go on stage looking like tiny clowns. In my interviews for