David Nixon: Prejudices against night at the ballet need to be broken

Despite so many dance shows on TV, and what appears to be a growing appreciation for everything from the tango to the American smooth, ask people to walk through the doors of a theatre and take their seat at a a ballet, and the very idea strikes fear into some.

A couple of weeks ago, while my company was performing a mixed repertoire programme and Romeo & Juliet, I was having my tea in a usual haunt. The very nice owner asked me if she might have tickets to one of the performances and when I said I would be happy to oblige, she turned towards her daughter and asked her if she would like to come too.

Without barely a pause, the girl turned to her mother and said: "No thank you. I don't like the ballet."

Seeing this as an opportune moment to pick up the gauntlet, I jumped in and asked her why. She simply said it didn't interest her, so I pushed the issue asking if she had ever seen a ballet. The answer was a simple no.

Once upon a time, the resistance to ballet existed largely among men, put off by the idea of other men in tights. However, despite the evolution in performances – tights are no longer a prerequisite – the stereotypes surrounding ballet have not only continued to exist, but they have spread.

Yes, there are ballets that are more for the discerning fan, but there are so many that can be enjoyed by a larger audience.

Take Northern Ballet Theatre's recent performances

at the Grand Theatre, in Leeds. The mixed programme was full of energy, athletic power and aesthetic beauty.

There was an eclectic range of music, from classical to contemporary, and even one ballet with classic pop songs sung live.

There was no need to understand what was going on. It was simply about watching great dancers, with glamour, display the power, elegance and beauty of the human body in motion. There were all the ingredients that engage a TV audience, other than perhaps a scoreboard.

Yes, I am biased towards dance; ballet has been my great passion since I was born, but is it really too much to ask people to try something before they decide they dislike it?

Is it too much to ask us to shed age-old prejudice and appreciate that a man displaying strength and masculine power via an elegant expression is not, by definition, a feminine activity?

In a world with so much information at the click of a mouse, should we not be greater explorers and stretch our personal experiences beyond predetermined parameters? A night at the ballet might be many things, but predictable it's most definitely not.