Ballet Brothers

With special guest:

• Jake Burden
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Jake Burden tells us that everyone can dance. For those with a particular ability and the drive to do all the hard training that goes with being a dancer on the stage Jake tells us there are all sorts of rewards.

On the flip side of these benefits there remains an element in our society that thinks dancing is somehow unmanly, that only young girls should express themselves in this way and because male dancers are seen as different they can be subjected to bullying. This is where Jake Burden steps in to provide a safe haven as the creator of Ballet Brothers, based in Newcastle New South Wales.

Jake is the creator and director of Ballet Brothers an independent organisation aimed at supporting and encouraging boys who love to dance. Jake has experienced bullying himself but because of his love of dancing he did not let that stop him achieving his goals. Now he wants to let boys know that if they are passionate about dance they are not alone. As well as training boys to become better dancers Jake provides a support network and a platform for male dancers of all ages from around the world to share experience and wisdom with each other.

We talk about the movie and stage show Billy Elliot set in a tough part of Yorkshire where young Billy first started expressing himself through dance initially without the support of his family. Jake also comes from that part of England but he was lucky to have the full support of his family and we are lucky that he has chosen Australia to live and raise his own family.

While a lot of young girls are exposed to the pleasures of dancing there is a shortage of opportunity for male dancers even though they are much in demand. Jake caters for some of these would be dancers in workshops conducted in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Queensland. The workshops consist of a basic ballet class, some male virtuosic technique, a bit of choreography and a bit of contemporary. And he wants to get the parents in too.

In addition to these workshops Jake provides many personal stories, tips on exercises and general support on the Ballet Brothers website.

Boys can dance too.

Jake Burden

Jake Burden is a professional dancer and the creator of Ballet Brothers - his mission to support and encourage all boys who love to dance and to help educate the ‘non dancers’ to understand the priceless life lessons that are learnt from dancing.

Intrigued about dance he started training at the age of 9. Very quickly Jake developed a passion and the need to dance has stayed with him ever since. During his career he has danced for four different companies, travelled the world and performed for two royal families. Now Jake is able to pass on the benefit of all his experience to the next generation of young dancers in Australia through Ballet Brothers.

Song selection by our guest: Titanium by David Guetta featuring Sia

Listen Now (mp3)