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Women's Health

A ballet company's response to one football fan's sexist insult on Facebook was epic

Ballet and football are both tough sports.


When the Philadelphia Eagles' season came to an unceremonious end last weekend, many fans were, understandably, more than a little pissed.

Take the rest of the night off to sleep in your shame, boys. Photo by Elsa/Getty Images.

After the final game, one fan allegedly commented on Facebook that the team had "played like they were wearing tutus!!!"

Photo by David R. Tribble/Wikimedia Commons.

...according to the Pennsylvania Ballet, which reported encountering the post on the social media site.

The Pennsylvania Ballet, whose company members regularly wear tutus, had a few choice words for anyone who thinks their light, frequently pink costumes mean they're not "tough."

Commence epic reply...


(full text transcribed under the post).

A Facebook user recently commented that the Eagles had "played like they were wearing tutus!!!"

Our response:

"With all due respect to the Eagles, let's take a minute to look at what our tutu wearing women have done this month:

By tomorrow afternoon, the ballerinas that wear tutus at Pennsylvania Ballet will have performed The Nutcracker 27 times in 21 days. Some of those women have performed the Snow scene and the Waltz of the Flowers without an understudy or second cast. No 'second string' to come in and spell them when they needed a break. When they have been sick they have come to the theater, put on make up and costume, smiled and performed. When they have felt an injury in the middle of a show there have been no injury timeouts. They have kept smiling, finished their job, bowed, left the stage, and then dealt with what hurts. Some of these tutu wearers have been tossed into a new position with only a moments notice. That's like a cornerback being told at halftime that they're going to play wide receiver for the second half, but they need to make sure that no one can tell they've never played wide receiver before. They have done all of this with such artistry and grace that audience after audience has clapped and cheered (no Boo Birds at the Academy) and the Philadelphia Inquirer has said this production looks "better than ever".

So no, the Eagles have not played like they were wearing tutus. If they had, Chip Kelly would still be a head coach and we'd all be looking forward to the playoffs."

Happy New Year!

In case it wasn't obvious, toughness has nothing to do with your gender.

Gendered and homophobic insults in sports have been around basically forever — how many boys are called a "pansy" on the football field or told they "throw like a girl" in Little League?

"They played like they were wearing tutus" is the same deal. It's shorthand for "You're kinda ladylike, which means you're not tough enough."

Pure intimidation.

Photo by Ralph Daily/Flickr.

Toughness, however, has a funny way of not being pinned to one particular gender. It's not just ballerinas, either. NFL cheerleaders? They get paid next to nothing to dance in bikini tops and short-shorts in all kinds of weather — and wear only ever-so-slightly heavier outfits when the thermometer drops below freezing. And don't even get me started on how mind-bogglingly badass the Rockettes are.

Toughness also has nothing to do with what kind of clothes you wear.

As my colleague Parker Molloy astutely points out, the kinds of clothes assigned to people of different genders are, and have always been, basically completely arbitrary. Pink has been both a "boys color" and a "girls color" at different points throughout history. President Franklin D. Roosevelt — longtime survivor of polio, Depression vanquisher, wartime leader, and no one's idea of a wimp — was photographed in his childhood sporting a long blonde hairstyle and wearing a dress.

Many of us are conditioned to see a frilly pink dance costume and think "delicate," and to look at a football helmet and pads and think "big and strong." But scratch the surface a little bit, and you'll meet tutu-wearing ballerinas who that are among toughest people on the planet and cleat-and-helmet-wearing football players who are ... well. The 2015 Eagles.

You just can't tell from their outerwear.

Ballerinas wear tutus for the same reason football players wear uniforms and pads:

Photo by zaimoku_woodpile/Flickr.


To get the job done.


This article originally appeared on 01.05.16

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His daughter broke down onstage, so he came to her rescue. And the video is adorable.

A dancing dad has the internet jumping for joy.

Marc Daniels is a criminal lawyer by day and a twirling ballet dad by night.

When his 2-year-old daughter Isabella lost it onstage during a ballet dress rehearsal, Daniels saved the day — and the internet went wild.

Shortly after walking onstage with her fellow dancers, Isabella crumpled to the floor in a heap of tears. At first, Daniels tried to comfort her from the wings, but she was inconsolable. So he stepped onto the stage, took her hand, and started following the steps the teacher was doing.

In Motion Dads are the best 💕Sometimes, you simply need your dad on stage to help bring out your inner ballerina! Check out the full video on our page! In Motion School of Dance#dressrehearsal #inmotionschoolofdancebda #dancedad #innerballerina #dadscandance #teamimsd #jointheinmotionfamily

Posted by In Motion School of Dance on Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Isabella calmed right down and they completed the dance together. And the best part? Daniels did it all while holding a baby.Swoon.

Beyond just being sweet, Daniels' swift action was #ParentingGoals.

Daniels is the father of three little girls. Isabella's breakdown could have been handled many different ways, but this video plays out like a master class in supportive parenting.

"I just wanted to make sure my daughter was calm and felt comfortable," Daniels told The Royal Gazette.

Here's what makes this dad's dance performance more than just a cute viral moment:

1. He tried a couple of different tacks to see what would help his daughter succeed.

Encouraging her from offstage was wise, giving her the chance to calm down on her own. But when that didn't work, he didn't hesitate to stand by her side. He clearly knows his daughter well and did what he needed to help her make it through her performance.

2. He led by example.

Whether Isabella was scared or embarrassed or just having a toddler outburst because she's 2, Daniels showed her how to focus on the fun of it all. He was unabashed about dancing ballet in front of a crowd, even though he'd never done it. And he gave it his all. Seeing her dad being brave undoubtedly helped her be brave herself.

3. He showed he had confidence in her.

Daniels could have taken his daughter offstage to help her calm down, which would've been a reasonable parenting choice. But by staying on the stage with her, he showed that he knew she could do it. That's a powerful message — and not always an easy one to convey under pressure.

4. He did it all with a baby in his hands.

Hands down, the best part of this video is that Daniels helps his daughter and completes a ballet routine, all while holding his baby daughter Suri in his arms. He even declines someone's offer to hold the baby while he's dancing. His "nah, I've got this" demeanor shows that he's used to being an engaged, hands-on dad and that he can multitask like a pro.

Daniels' parenting skills — not to mention his dancing chops — are totally en pointe. Watch the whole adorable scene here:

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Ballet brought big joy for this courageous 14-year-old battling cancer.

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Northwestern Mutual

Peyton had just finished performing in her seventh production of "The Nutcracker" when she started feeling extremely exhausted.

"I had dress rehearsals, dance, cheerleading, and seventh-grade homework, so I thought I was just really tired and sore," Peyton says.

But her mom, Carrie, knew better. "The change literally happened overnight. She lost 10 pounds in three weeks. She went from dancing in 'The Nutcracker' in December to being ridiculously tired in January," Carrie says.

It was watching Peyton's ballet class that really struck Carrie.

"Peyton was so exhausted that she couldn't get up on her pointe shoes," she says. "In that moment, I knew something was seriously wrong."

A visit to the pediatrician the next day verified Carrie's worries. After examining Peyton, the doctor asked Carrie if she knew what was wrong. While Carrie had never known anyone personally with leukemia, she whispered "leukemia." He nodded "yes."

That night, the Richardsons found themselves at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, about 20 miles from their hometown of Sugar Land.

"They asked what we were there for and I told them possibly leukemia. They handed Peyton a face mask," says Carrie. "I thought I was going to faint. It's something you never ever imagine going through in your life."

A few days later, it was confirmed that Peyton had acute lymphocytic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer.

She began chemotherapy the next day on Jan. 23, 2015, and ended it 844 days later on May 15, 2017.

Treatment was intense and caused Peyton serious side effects, including anaphylaxis and seizures, which resulted in her inability to walk, talk, and move her body for a while.

Still, she remained determined to get back to ballet.

"I was in the hospital for two weeks before I started having outpatient visits. At my first outpatient visit, my doctor asked if I had any questions. I said, 'When can I dance again?'" Peyton recalls.

She meant it.

And two months into her treatment, Peyton was back on the dance floor.

"A few months earlier, she literally could not lift her foot an inch above the ground, and here she was dancing across the floor," says Carrie. "Everyone in that room was crying."

Peyton also took private dance lessons throughout her treatment to help gain strength back.

Her dedication and love of ballet was well-known among her doctors, so when Northwestern Mutual’s Childhood Cancer Program held a contest asking kids to share their greatest adventure, Peyton’s doctor at Texas Children’s Hospital immediately knew she had to enter.

Her entry, which focused on her love of dance, won, and resulted in a ballerina-inspired float during the 2016 Rose Parade as part of the company's initiative to spread awareness about childhood cancer.

As she sat atop the float, Peyton says that despite being drained from treatment she was overcome with gratitude for the chance to represent all those who were fighting childhood cancer.

And that’s a big audience to stand up for. More than 15,000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer each year in the U.S.

The good news? Survival rates for childhood cancer continue to increase, thanks to improved treatments through research. That means the more research that can get funded, the better.

"I think seeing me on the float in the middle of treatment gave other kids going through the same thing hope that it would be OK," says Peyton.

And for children like Peyton, those moments of hope — whether they come in the form of pointe shoes or a float in a parade — are ones to embrace.

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This ballerina inherited a love of dance from her mom, even though she's adopted.

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Minute Maid

When you adopt a child, there’s no telling what kind of person they will be.

Their talents, their personality, their likes and dislikes — everything about them will be a surprise. So when Alison Stroming, originally from Brazil, was adopted into a family of dancers, it was anybody's guess whether she, too, would take to the stage.

All photos courtesy of Minute Maid.

Her mother, Jackie, let her try everything from horseback riding to gymnastics. But as it turned out, it was indeed dance that stuck — something she was pretty amazing at. With her mom's help, she trained extensively throughout her childhood and has gone on to dance at Juilliard, the Guggenheim, and the Metropolitan Opera.

The only drawback is that today, Allison lives and dances in Manhattan and rarely gets to see her mom, who lives in Los Angeles.

Luckily, they recently had a chance to sit down and talk, and Alison took the opportunity to thank Jackie — with a care package made of memories especially for her.  

Watch:

"What was it like the first time you saw me?" A conversation between a mother and her adopted daughter.

Posted by Upworthy on Monday, July 3, 2017

It was clear from the beginning that what Alison wanted was to dance.

But though she was clearly born with the same natural talent for dance as her siblings, there was one way in which they differed — Alison was much more shy than her four older siblings.

It was Jackie who guided her, time and again, back to what she loved. "When you would go on stage, you lost all fear," Jackie says.

Now, Alison isn't just a dancer — she's an impressive one who can even name Misty Copeland as a mentor.

She's toured across Europe with the American Ballet Theatre and currently trains at the Dance Theatre of Harlem, one of the most prestigious dance schools in the country.

Dance also would continue to unite Alison and her mom — through cross-country moves, international tours, and all of life’s obstacles — for years to come.

Throughout her life, Alison's mom was there to help guide her toward achieving her dreams.

It was Jackie who taught her to overcome her hesitations. "You go after what you want, and don't worry if it doesn't work out," she would tell Alison.

As a mom and a supportive resource for her dancing children, Jackie has clearly done an amazing job. Alison is quick to acknowledge how much her mom's help contributed to her ability to achieve her dreams. "I wouldn't be where I am today without her love and support," she said.

It can be hard to find a way to thank our parents for all they've done.

It sometimes feels like there are no words that are sufficient to express our appreciation for all that our parents do.

But Alison's story reminds us that sometimes, all it takes is a treasured memory to show them we care — and that it's not just genetics that determine what runs in a family.

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