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He said/she said: dancers and choreographers talk about the role of gender in their lives and work.

Article Excerpt
Jae Man Joo

Growing up in Korea, being a male dancer was looked down upon. For six years, my mother kept the fact that I was taking dance classes a secret from my father, because of traditional views Koreans have on gender roles and that men don't dance. In my public school I was the only male who danced and I lost a lot of friends because of it. Even when I went to college, I was the only male dancer in a class of 39. I think in the past 15 years that has changed, and Koreans have become more open and accepting of males pursuing a career as a dancer. My father is now even proud of my dancing.--Jae Man Joo, dancer, Complexions Dance Company, NY

Jowele Willa Jo Zollar

A woman-centered space is where the women are in power, artistically and collaboratively. In the women's consciousness-raising sessions of the '70s you could express your feelings in a safe way. Now we call it dialogic learning, dialogic process. It's about asking questions and valuing everyone's voice at the table. When I first did Hands Singing Song, the section where it's about handshakes, high fives ... it was all women. Then later I said, "This is really about male energy." When I reset it on Philadanco, I made that section all male. Within the African American male culture, there is a competitive, bragging culture, which I love. We kind of took that over in Batty Moves with the raps that we do: "I'm the best," "No I'm the best, and this is why."

When men come into a dance department, often it's with scholarships, and I think women get the idea that we're a dime a dozen and that our voice has less power. I try to say to the young women, "I bet you have something to say." That's why we did this project Next Generation, which is to nurture female choreographic voices.--Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, artistic director, Urban Bush Women; faculty, Florida State University.

Joe Goode

I was a classic little boy who went to see my sister in a dance recital. She was the featured soloist in a ballet--all the other girls were fireflies, but she was the Glow Fairy. At a certain point, she reached under her tutu and switched on the battery pack, and all the lights in the theater went out and she twinkled. I looked at her and thought, "Well, that's what I want to do with the rest of my life." It never occurred to me it was something I couldn't do or wasn't allowed to do. I didn't know I was going to have to fight for it.

When I choreographed 29 Effeminate Gestures, the gestures led me to understand that there was this effeminate side of myself that I had chopped off, covered up, and retrained. I wanted to reclaim it as my essential self.

Dancers are tactile. We're in a profession where men are allowed to touch men and men are allowed to touch women, and...

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