All societies practice dance, either solo, in couples, or in groups. People have used dance to exercise th

Around 1966, a young male by the name of Rudolf Nureyev made what ballet was never once referred to, a man’s game. Nureyev was internationally known for his outstanding talent, phenomenal jumps, and expressive nature. He was not just a dancer as he was a director, mentor, and legacy. With having danced with almost every company in Europe, he attained quite a reputation to be possibly the greatest male dancer ever. However, his temperament was quite opposite in that it was obvious his personal problems streamed from his internal conflict with his sexuality. He met his first lover, Erik Bruhn, on a tour in Denmark. Erik was also a dancer, a director for the Royal Swedish Ballet from 1967-1972 and artistic director for the National Ballet of Canada from 1983 until his death in 1986. Nureyev’s talent began to diminish close to the end of the 1970’s. Unfortunately, his declining health prevented his director position in Paris from continuing and he was diagnosed with HIV around the early 1980's. Around 1982, the AIDS virus first became apparent; Nureyev didn’t seem to acknowledge its existence within society or within himself. For several years, he denied that his health was suffering. Toward the end, he faced reality; he was dying; from a disease, at this time, solely associated to gay men. He was given experimental treatments, as was available. Nureyev died in 1993, at age 54. AIDS has brought much sadness to the dance community. However, as a result of Nureyev’s death, a group formed in 1991 called Dancers Responding to AIDS. It is a “fundraising program with an ongoing committed response from the American dance community to an urgent worldwide health crisis” (Cortez, Hernando; Roberts, Denise; Villarreal, Ariadne C. http://www.dradance.org). His legs, as he once put it, has made him a rich man.

Richard Buckle, a well-known dance critic recently died but his name has “influenced the world of dance more so than most people might have noticed” (Barnes, 2002.). A well-educated man, who served in World War II, continued to display his homosexuality even though it was a considered a crime. "In his autobiography The Adventures of a Ballet Critic, 1953, he describes his gay encounters. However, he went to far for Lincoln Kirstein when he wrote about how they went on a gay-pub crawl and Lincoln Kirstein ended up locked in Richard Buckle's bathroom" (Buckle, 2002). He started his own magazine shortly before going to war; it was called “Ballet”. This magazine was somewhat personalized and yet complete with pictures, artistry, etc… His articles, displayed in various magazines and newspapers, “were unlike any dance criticism written up until then” (Barnes, 2002.) However, this magazine only ran for two issues due to World War II. Some earlier critics, Arnold Haskell, Cyril Beaumont, John Martin, and Walter Terry were attempting to introduce dance in a more general way. Buckle’s writings were written to influence people about dance and create an overall “fad” in relation to it. Buckle, originally started in London and went to Britain and the rest of the European world. Despite numerous anti-gay readers, the magazine itself did well. Buckle later became a “powerful influence in winning European acceptance for both George Balanchine and Martha Graham” (Barnes, 2002) until his death at the age of 85. "Richard Buckle's contribution to dance criticism was significant during a period when modern ballet style was emerging" (Buckle, 2002). His work, however, still lives on along with other various gay male advocates.

Any sport should be open to either gender despite one's orientation. Dance requires an equal amount of training as most other sports out there. Some people argue that dance is not a sport however, dance is a sport and it should be equally recognized as so. Although there isn't the same goals incorporated in dance as other sports, dance requires ultimate athleticism. “If you were to compare da

Some topics in this essay:
, Villarreal Ariadne, Linda Hamilton's, Louis XIV, Ballet Canada, Richard Buckle's, Shaun Moe, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rudolf Nureyev, Linda Hamilton, male dancers, male dancer, gay male, hamilton 1999, sexual orientation, emotions feelings, gay male dancer, barnes 2002, males dance, world war ii, dance requires, dance homosexual, associated male dancers,