A ballet dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School is claiming that he has been unfairly dismissed because he acts in pornographic videos.
22-year-old Jeppe Hansen from Denmark, joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School in September 2012.
In an interview with CBC News he said,
My identity is built on being a ballet dancer, for me to come there was a big opportunity.
However, under the name of Jett Black, he started filming his first gay videos earlier this year, (“to express myself in a new way”), and the school directors subsequently asked him to sign a letter that he was voluntarily withdrawing from the school.
Hansen said he hadn't wanted to leave RWB:
You cannot be in a company or with the school or whatever because you've decided to take a different standpoint artistically — not because you physically can't do it, or because you're not good enough.
Being told because you're doing something else that's interrupting with what we think you can do is really difficult because they know it's your passion, they know that that's what you live off. They know my entire identity's built on it. So it was really difficult to be told that and to be told, ‘You know what? There's no space for you here.
Jeppe Hansen as Jett BlackThere is no denying his passion for dance. His Twitter account shows retweets of David Hallberg, the English National Ballet, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet itself; he even follows gramilano! One tweet accompanying a photo of him dressed for a Nutcracker with the company says: “#Nutcracker countdown. Secret love! Shhh…”. Looking at that photo, and thinking of him being filmed making hardcore pornography is rather like thinking of one's parents having sex, the clothed and unclothed images don't fit easily together. But that's not his problem.
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet have denied to comment due to privacy concerns. However, in the school's code of conduct, it is written:
“Please note that RWB School Professional Division students are not permitted to perform outside of the RWB School without permission from the RWB School Director. Any student wishing to participate in any additional dance program during RWB School breaks must also receive approval from the RWB School Director in advance.”
#Nutcracker countdown. Secret love! Shhh…I don't think that the ‘performing' Hansen was doing is the sort of extracurricular activity that this policy covers.
Hansen said that he had already been asked to consider entering the adult film business when he lived in Montreal, but he had refused. However, earlier this year he changed his mind,
It was more important for me to be me and to do the things I wanted to do for once, and not what everyone else wanted. Being a ballet dancer is restrictive. Everyone tells you what you have to do, how to look, what to weigh, how to perform [and] be the artist you are.
To me no one can tell me what art is. Art is what you and I define art by.
As American pornographer Larry Flynt's lawyer, Louis Sirkin, remarked in the 70s:
One man's obscenity is another man's art.
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.
Those people are hypocrites. He didn`t use the school name and even took a different name for this job. So what… he did porn… that`s his choice.
I support this kid 100%. What`s next in line for dancers… having to ask permission to date someone outside the company? Being told what to wear in the streets? My… this is taking us back to ancient times when couples on stage also had to be couples off stage…and we all know how good that was and how many careers were wrecked because one would have an injury and the other would be taken off the cast list.
If he had advertised himself on that porn video as “Jeppe Hansen the ballet boy from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School” then yes it would have been a problem (though it probably would have attracted a new audience… or is that not good enough for them… people can`t enjoy porn AND ballet?
I sincerely hope he finds a company who will accept him for who he is despite his choices.
I loathe pornography, and certainly have no interest in gay porn, but it does seem that this boy was working under another name, chose to do it as self-expression and not through desperation, therefore I can’t really see why (if, indeed, his version of the story is correct) that the ballet school obliged him to leave. They could have told him off, and asked him to choose their school or making videos if they felt that strongly about it, but it seems a little harsh looking the facts as they are presented here.
Having been a former classical ballet dancer for 17 yrs, as well as, having done some of my training with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, I feel strongly that the company is taking this turn of events too much to heart…………this young gentleman has been showing his talent in various ways, and as lovers of the term ART, we all should be more open-minded to just how many aspects one can show their talents………….this young man has obviously been gifted with a passion for dance that he has been sharing with audiences at large………….gay porn also has it’s audiences at large and I feel this young man has been very respectful and honest to everyone including himself……….
If the school can let someone go or encourage them to walk because of an action, it seems to me that these things should be in a policy at their school. i.e. If you sign on with us, these are the things you cannot take part in – making porn, etc. And then the person is at least making a decision with all the facts up front. If the dancers choose to go against policy and get caught then they can expect repercussions. Otherwise – back off!
As the article says, the school’s policy states: “RWB School Professional Division students are not permitted to perform outside of the RWB School without permission from the RWB School Director. Any student wishing to participate in any additional dance program during RWB School breaks must also receive approval from the RWB School Director in advance.”, so it seems as though he should have asked permission to dance outside the school, but his sort of extracurricular ‘performing’ seems to not be included in the school’s policy. Thanks Lynn.
Judging by the photo of him,he`s gorgeous with a great body. Outside of his ballet commitments,he should be able to do whatever he likes. It`s nobody else`s business what he gets up to in his “Non Ballet” time. I don`t blame him at all for making the most of his “assets”.He will probably earn a darn sight more than he ever will as a dancer anyway.You`re only young once.
Very nicely said………..and very true facts indeed.
This young man will certainly appreciate and respect the feedback we’re giving him………..tx