Makhachkala: scandal around school ballet points to transformation of public perception

A comic dance of young men in ballet tutus at the Makhachkala Lyceum had no bad connotation, said a lyceum employee. Similar dances have been performed in schools earlier, but due to the increased attention to the LGBT community, they are now perceived perversely, psychologists believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Shamil Khadulaev, a member of the Public Chamber of Dagestan, and some social media users have sharply criticized the comic dance performed by young men from one of the Makhachkala schools dressed in ballet tutus.

The employee of the Makhachkala Lyceum has assured the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the pupils, who performed the ballet, as well as the dance director, had no ill intentions. "Everyone who was in the hall understood that it was humour,” the teacher said.

Such humorous performances were staged back in the 1970s, but now they are perceived perversely, says Sergey Chepashvili, a psychologist and an associate professor of the Division of General and Social Psychology of the Dagestan State University.

"It's always funny when men portray women. Many comedy films, both American and Soviet, are based on this," the psychologist told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The increased interest in the LGBT community in the information space leads to the fact that people begin perceiving such performances differently, Mr Chepashvili has noted.

In his opinion, this is unacceptable. "You shouldn't take a joke dance as a perversion," he has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 27, 2021 at 00:59 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.