"CHASE” portraits the unique experience of dancer Chase Johnsey, who spent 14 years playing female roles in the all men company Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo and became the first male dancer to perform as part of the female ensemble at one of the world’s major ballet companies, the English National Ballet. By publicly trying to break gender barriers in the strict ballet world, Johnsey started a long journey to find his own place in it. Very soon he discovers that advocating for diversity in ballet is much harder than he ever imagined. 

 

The film follows Johnsey as he faces a series of challenges in his profession for questioning the gender assigned to him at birth. As awareness of gender fluidity and stories of transgender people in different professions receive attention in international media, it seems surprising that the ballet world stills hangs so tightly to tradition when it comes to gender.

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