A Toronto woman says she was kicked out of a modern jive class after trying to lead her male partner, in the latest sign of a push against the traditional gender roles that still dominate the ballroom dancefloor.
Andrea Seto, 25, tried to switch to a lead role during a recent class at Jive Nation Toronto, but said her instructor objected. After repeatedly pushing for an explanation, Ms. Seto says she was asked to leave. She had taken classes with the dance school since January.
“It just seemed like it was kind of sexist…. As a patron paying for a service, it seems I should be the one deciding what I’m learning,” Ms. Seto said.
Her instructor, Nicky Heatherington, said roles are sometimes switched at Jive Nation, but the sudden role change was discouraged, in part because it would complicate things for other students.
“Go to any website — guys are leads and ladies are follow. And when we say follow, it’s just an interpretation. One leads the dance, it’s not an equal thing. These are the steps that we’ve been doing…. Just because guys lead, and ladies happen to be the dance follows, I can’t see how that is sexist. If people want to think it’s sexist, I cannot control what people think.”
In competitions, a couple must consist of a male and a female and the men lead while their female partners follow, said Sandy Brittain, the president of Canada DanceSport, the regulating body for organized amateur competitions in the country.
Official ruling bodies for amateur ballroom competitions — known as DanceSport — also specify that competing pairs must consist of a man and a woman.
If a woman were to lead during a competition, the couple would lose points “because the man always leads,” Ms. Brittain said.
“It’s just traditionally done that way, and that’s just part of the sport.”
In casual classes, a switch-up of roles is fine, she said, but in competition, it is a no-no.
“It would look funny, the man with his arm in the opposite way,” she said.
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