Quinn Wharton

How were you first introduced to ballet?

“I can't remember a time before dance was a part of my life. I started dancing when I was six years old, at a local, small studio…doing hip hop, swing, jazz, and creative movement…and I remember that I was always excited about moving to music…[but] it was Dance Chance, 100%, that introduced me to ballet, specifically.”

How did DanceChance impact your life?

“In every possible way. I don't think I would have ended up in ballet if it hadn't been for DanceChance. If I didn't have the exposure that [DanceChance] gave me, I wouldn't have ended up where I am today.”At least from my experience, I was the only boy who continued with ballet after DanceChance. Was it the same for you?

“As far as I know, yes. From my generation, I think there's only two of us who ended up continuing on and dancing in major companies.”

“It would be super interesting to follow up with people who didn't continue on to see what value they kept with them from it. Because if you're measuring a program's worth by who is entering the profession, that might be limiting. If you're measuring the program's worth by who is affected in a positive way, that might be a better lens to view it from.”

What was that like being a male ballet dancer in Hawai’i?

“I was the only male ballet dancer on the island, so there was that. I was also labeled the weird, outcast, white kid—the three defining characteristics that make you the ‘other’...I got threatened to get beat up a lot. No one ever actually followed through on it, but there was a lot of talk about it. Some of that is probably magnified in my mind and memory, just from my own insecurities, but it was still intense.”

“Within the dance community that I had, I was very well accepted and very appreciated for sure. In my bubble, I was totally fine. But within the broader environment, I was like, 'Well, I don't exactly fit in here, and I probably need to go somewhere else,' which is why I ended up going to North Carolina…When I joined the North Carolina School of the Arts, this was probably where the biggest shift happened for me, because the whole school is structured and designed around being an artist—you're not made fun of for being an artist because everyone is an artist there.”

How did not having any other male ballet dancers in Hawai'i affect your desire to pursue ballet?

“I think not having any male teachers—the perspective, the input—was hard...It was isolating, not having anyone else to look up to.”

Did the pressure from the outside community ever deter you from doing ballet or make you doubt your decision to continue with dance?

“Not that I remember. I had so much support from my parents that I didn't let it get to me…My grandmother was a ballet teacher, so there was some knowledge in my family that dance was something that you could pursue. My father is rather countercultural as well. He was never a dancer, but he liked the fact that I was interested in something that wasn't traditional.”

How did your parents support your artistic endeavor play into your desire to pursue the arts?

“I think it was everything. I think I probably would have had a harder time if I was interested in finance or economics. My father has very little respect for those industries, which is funny because he's a businessman, but he's a bit of a dreamer. He just loved the fact that I danced.”

“If your family doesn't believe in what you're doing, I can't imagine trying to fight against that...I think it is mostly born out of fear, right? Parents are afraid that their kid is not going to succeed in some way—all they want to do is take care of them. [So] it really depends on what parents’ definition of success and a worthwhile pursuit is. And a lot of that is education, right?”

In my mind, the issue that I am tackling stems from a general lack of public education as to what ballet really is. What’s your take?

“I think the question that you're really asking is whether American culture cares about ballet and if it ever will. There are other cultures that do, the Russians and the Cubans for example, but that is because ballet has become a part of their national identities, a "we're good at this" kind of thing.”

“I would imagine you need to educate parents a lot. The biggest drop-off point is just exposure in general…many young boys in ballet get comments from their friends or parents like, “That's stupid.” But if all of the sudden, all the biggest football players in the country started taking ballet and promoting it, that would be something that would really change the dialogue and the narrative around the art form.”

In your opinion, what would you like to see improve about the dance industry, specifically regarding boys and men in the US?

“As far as dance for men is concerned, I actually think there's a fair amount happening when it comes to commercial dance. There are more men willing to try out dance now than there has ever been, primarily because of TikTok, and other social media platforms…there’s a new willingness to experiment.”

“The societal one is hard to change. That's true. Can you change the entire temperament of a community? I mean, blessings if you can, but that is not easy to do. But, Alvin Ailey does a remarkable job of tying it's identity to a cultural movement—pursuing a career at Alvin Ailey is respected in the African American community because it's attached to this idea of culture, history, and prestige in a way that matters to that culture.”

How would you say that as an industry and in the broader community, we can work to support male ballet dancers in their pursuit?

“It's mostly just education. The more you can get people to see the work, the more you can get people to understand that it's not what they think it is, the more you can expose people. That's really the biggest thing.”

“Raising scholarship funds or starting a community support network or some type of resource for younger kids that want to have conversations around things that are difficult for them. That would be really impactful.”

How have you or how can you raise awareness and help alleviate this issue through your current career in photography, videography, and choreography?

“It's all about putting it out there, capturing it, promoting it, supporting it, talking about it. And that’s exactly what I’m doing."

learn more about Quinn Wharton's story and his work here

interview by William McClure Stout