World’s Tallest Ballet Dancer Doesn’t Let His Height Halt His Dreams!

Within the last decade (more so the last five years), performing arts have become far more accepted and mainstream than ever before. Thanks to controversial yet entertaining plays like Rent and The Book of Mormon, Disney incorporating a more thespian direction with their animated classics (that’s Frozen if you didn’t know), and sports clothing companies now sponsoring ballerinas, performing arts is now what Neil Patrick Harris once said: “not just for gays anymore.”

Now there is a special report that was recently released by the Huffington Post on Fabrice Calmels. For those who are out of the loop, he is a ballet dancer. However, there is one detail about him that landed him in the Guinness Book of Records. Fabrice is the tallest ballet dancer in the world.

Before we even jump into the literary matter of the special report, it is probably best to consult Guinness World Records on the record details for Fabrice Calmels. Like we wrote earlier, he is the tallest ballet dancer in the world, standing officially at 199.73 cm (6? 6.63?) during his record measurement in Chicago, Illinois, on September 25, 2014. Compared to other ballet dancers, Fabrice towers over them like Goliath.

To some people, standing at 6? 6? doesn’t seem so tall compared to basketball players or some professional wrestlers. However, people must take into account that Fabrice Calmels is a ballet dancer. We won’t bombard you with official ballet moves and how they are done. Instead, we will provide a visual. Imagine how much a well-toned six-foot man weighs. Now imagine that man carrying a ballerina while standing on his toes. Intense, right? That is probably one of the reasons why tall men traditionally don’t perform as ballet dancers and for those who do attempt such, their height is seen as a problem.

Fabrice Calmels started ballet at the age of 4 because his younger sister also took lessons. Within a short span of time after his initiation into the craft, Fabrice realized he had a lot of potential, resulting in him taking it seriously at 11. At that age, he left home and began training at the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet School. It was also at this age that growth spurts started to kick in, which — as stated above — would be a problem. Fabrice gave a personal statement about how it felt in the beginning when ballet gigs turned him down just for his height.

“I knew I had the technique and could do a lot of things principal dancers could do and I wanted my chance. But everyone was like, ‘You know, I think you’re really tall. I don’t think you’ll ever have a career. I think you should be doing something else from ballet.’ And when you’re young, that really f***s with you. You think, ‘Maybe they’re right and maybe I’m being completely stubborn doing this.'”

“There were so many times I wondered what the h*** I was doing.”

Fortunately, Fabrice Calmels relocated to the United States, where he was given more opportunity since ballet companies are more open to taller dancers. This includes dancing in the Pennsylvania Ballet, Boston Ballet, and presently for Joffrey Ballet starting back in 2002. It is also thanks to Joffrey that Fabrice is now a prominently-known ballet dancer. He even had his first principle role as “Apollo” at the age of 23. That, along with the fact that fans of ballet recognized Fabrice’s talent, helped him in gaining confidence in his abilities, something he lacked earlier in his career.

First 2K likes on #Instagram Thank you everyone http://t.co/wTcmG8J3AY pic.twitter.com/tuJQHWPCVZ

— Fabrice Calmels (@fabricecalmels) November 27, 2014

However, there is a catch to his fame. Because Fabrice Calmels is dedicated to his craft, he spends a lot of time training. This makes his life very lonely. Instead of wallowing in the mood, Fabrice spends time partaking in other hobbies outside of dancing, including playing instruments and drawing cartoons. He also spends a lot of time on social media with his 35,000 Instagram followers and 20,000 fans who like him on Facebook. As a matter of fact, Fabrice states that his fans who’ve supported him are his “big giant family.”

It is evident that Fabrice Calmels weathered the storm and is now in a place where his dreams are producing fruit. Now, he hopes to serve as an inspiration to other tall ballet dancers aspiring to shake up the obsolete perception of what ballet should be.

“I feel a responsibility to change things because it’s a problem not only for me but for many others. These rules are so outdated. I think when you’re in the year 2014, things do need to change.”

Now that you’ve read about Fabrice Calmels’ story, what are you’re views about it? Do you find him inspiring to pursue his dream despite his physical features being a stereotypical clutch in the traditional sense of ballet?

[Images via Bing]