A Male Dancer En Pointe: 5 Things You May Not Know

If you think ballet is all tutus and tiaras, read on. When you see Ballet West’s production of The Dream (Nov. 7-15), you'll witness something unusual: a male dancer en pointe. Yes, pointe shoes. On a guy. Playing a donkey. 

Why is a male dancer on pointe?

It all starts when Bottom is chumming around with his buddies in the forest and gets transformed into a donkey (That would be a Shakespeare thing). Pointe shoes seem to be the obvious costume choice for creating the illusion of hooves.

Choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton even includes "clip-clop" hops that make you actually hear the hooves. It’s equal parts brilliant and hilarious.

Is this as hard as it sounds?

It’s even harder. Ballet West's Jonas Malinka-Thompson trained for months, starting with beginner pointe classes alongside Ballet West Academy students during Summer Intensives.

"It was quite a shock when we had our first rehearsal," he admits. "No amount of beginner lessons prepares you for an entire solo of hops on pointe.”

Add a heavy donkey headpiece that blocks your vision a bit and throws off your balance, and you've got yourself a proper challenge. Hot, sweaty, claustrophobic, but totally worth it admits Malinka-Thompson.

“It was definitely a struggle at first because it’s a whole new different kind of technique that we need to use, rolling all the way up onto the points of my feet,” says Malinka-Thompson. “My favorite move that we do on pointe in the Bottom solo are these little hops on pointe where we are on one foot and we put one leg out to the side. It’s just a lot of fun.”  

Men don't usually wear pointe shoes, or do they?

Traditional ballet keeps men in flat shoes for powerful jumps, lifts, and partnering. Pointe work has historically been reserved for women, creating a floating quality. But certain roles, like Bottom in The Dream, break this rule for comedic or artistic effect.

What’s going on with Bottom, anyway?

As Bottom wanders through an enchanted forest, he is completely blindsided by a mischievous fairy (that’s you, Puck), who magically turns Bottom into a donkey, and to make things even more interesting for him, a fairy queen falls madly in love with him.

Bottom's response? "I knew this was going to happen someday!" He's just happy to be there, living his best donkey life. It's pure Shakespearean absurdity, and Ashton's choreography captures every awkward, endearing moment.

What makes The Dream so special?

The Dream is one of Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute’s all-time favorite ballets. Why? "It distills Shakespeare's story down to its essence, and is charming, funny, and moving all at once,” Sklute says. “With The Dream, Ashton not only tells the tale concisely, but he also references many other Romantic era ballets in sly and subtle ways.”

Catch Ballet West's A Midsummer Night's Dream featuring The Dream and Les Noces, Nov. 7-15 at Capitol Theatre. Because where else are you going to see a donkey do ballet?