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Shutterstock.com (background); Michael Starghill, Jr./Getty Images for Scholastic (Jamie dancing)
Short Read,

Finding His Footing

Jamie Whitley, 15, wants to change the way people think about male ballet dancers

By Chava Pearl Lansky
From the March 2026 Issue

Learning Objective: to read a short informational text, then craft a constructed response that includes a claim, text evidence, and commentary

Complexity Factors
  • Purpose
    This article explores how one teen wants to change the way people think about male ballet dancers.
  • Structure
    The text is informational.
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity
    Vocabulary: Contains upper-tier vocabulary such as athleticism, stereotypes, and thriving.
Lexile: 910L
Featured Skill: Constructed Response,

Standards

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Jamie Whitley was 6 when his whole world changed. 

That’s when he saw a male ballet dancer take the stage for the first time. It was during a production of Don Quixote at the Houston Ballet—and Jamie will never forget it.

“It was the most beautiful ballet I’d ever seen,” says Jamie. “And I wanted to do that!”

Jamie had already been taking dance lessons from the time he was 3—and he was always the only boy in class. But watching the male dancers leap and spin across the stage that day made him realize he wasn’t alone. The performance shattered a lot of stereotypes about male dancers that Jamie had previously believed. 

“I just thought boys played football and girls took ballet class in tutus,” Jamie recalls. “But the dancers were very masculine. I realized that the stereotype of male dancers having to be feminine wasn’t true. And I knew I wanted to dance professionally.”

Today Jamie dances full-time in a professional ballet program and often performs with the Houston Ballet. 

But getting there wasn’t easy.

Feeling Free

Michael Starghill, Jr./Getty Images for Scholastic

“For me, dance is freeing,” says Jamie. He’s learned not to “let other people’s voices ruin [his] passions and goals.”

Jamie has always loved moving. When he was little, his two older brothers would play music—mostly hip-hop and Beyoncé—and teach him dance moves. Jamie often put on shows at family gatherings, so his mom figured he’d enjoy dance classes and signed him up for ballet lessons. 

But while he liked learning ballet, it was hard being the only boy in class. “Sometimes I felt lonely,” he says. 

A few months after he saw that life-changing performance of Don Quixote, he switched to an all-boys class at Houston Ballet Academy. It was eye-opening. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, there are other boys like me,’ ” says Jamie. 

He started learning the special techniques required to be a male dancer. In most ballets, men and women perform different steps. Male dancers perform higher jumps and more athletic turns. They also lift the female dancers, which requires incredible strength.

Dancing at Houston Ballet Academy was also the first time Jamie saw male dancers who were Black, like him. About 8 percent of top professional male ballet dancers are Black, so getting to know some of the Houston Ballet’s other dancers of color helped Jamie see the career possibilities open to him down the road. 

But outside the academy, Jamie’s future didn’t feel as bright.

Alana Campbell

Staying Strong

While Jamie was thriving in ballet, his life at school was becoming difficult. Even though Jamie had tremendous athleticism, other boys made fun of him and excluded him from their soccer games during recess. “I felt unseen outside of ballet. I was like, ‘Guys, I can do this,’ but nobody wanted me,” says Jamie. “It was like they thought I’d just go leap and play in the flowers.”

By seventh grade, the teasing had turned into bullying. On a group chat, a bunch of boys called Jamie nasty names and made mean comments about photos of him. “It got to a point where I was putting so much pressure on myself to be good at dance and to fit in at school,” he says. He began experiencing depression and anxiety, and even thought about ending his life. But, he says, “I just stood strong through all the stereotypes, or what they were saying about me.”

And his passion for dance has kept Jamie going. Last year, with the support of his parents, he joined the professional track at the Houston Ballet Academy, where he dances from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day before doing a full evening of homeschooling. 

And he wants to help others pursue their dance dreams too. In addition to doing his own training, he’s an assistant teacher for the younger boys at the academy. He hopes to show them that they’re not alone. A number of his students are Black, and he’s thrilled to be able to provide them with a role model who looks like them. “I’ve always loved the way that my dancing could impact someone else’s emotions,” he says. “I love seeing them smile and be happy.

Power and Grace

Although more girls go into dance than boys, plenty of men have made their mark on the field.

Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

ARTHUR MITCHELL was the first Black dancer in the New York City Ballet. He also created Dance Theatre of Harlem, the first world-renowned Black classical ballet company.

Library of Congress

Russian dancer MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV became a major ballet star in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.

MARVEL STUDIOS/COLUMBIA PICTURES/Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo 

Spider-Man: No Way Home star TOM HOLLAND took ballet, tap, and hip-hop classes growing up, and starred in the London production of the musical Billy Elliot.

A Wonderful Gift

Jamie’s hope is that more boys can go into dance without feeling any shame. He wants people to know that there are boys of all types who like to dance. “My friends at ballet are all unique,” he says. “Some are really into soccer and football; some play guitar.”

As for Jamie, he finally feels the freedom to completely be himself—both in dance and outside of it. 

“Being courageous and bold and standing out is not something you should hide,” he says. “It’s a wonderful gift.”

Short Write: Constructed Response

What is one stereotype about male ballet dancers that Jamie wants people to rethink? Answer this question in a well-organized paragraph. Use text evidence.

This article was originally published in the March 2026 issue.

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