As a former dancer who has grappled with questions about sexuality, I was often struck by ballet’s contradictory relationship with queer inclusion and representation. On one hand, the art form – especially in Western countries – has long been seen as a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. Ballet legends like Rudolf Nureyev, John Neumeier, and Jack Soto lived openly as gay men, and in 1997 an American study estimated that more than half of professional male dancers identified as gay or bisexual. Yet despite the sector’s inclusivity, the art form has also played a role in suppressing queer representation onstage.

Much of the classical repertoire performed by ballet companies is rooted in nineteenth-century narratives that perpetuate heteronormative ideas of gender and sexuality. While modern companies and contemporary works have begun to challenge these conventions – for example Matthew Bourne’s 1995 reimagining of Swan Lake, which replaced the traditional corps de ballet with bare-chested male swans – portrayals of queer love remain largely absent from the programming of leading ballet companies.