Former Metropolitan Ballet student Peter Weil (now a member of Boston Ballet’s pre-professional program) at a 2009 American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive

In the stereotypically female-centric ballet world, strong male role models are essential when it comes to inspiring the next generation of boys. Fortunately, well-known danseurs seem increasingly eager to get involved (like David Hallberg, who recently started a scholarship and mentorship program at American Ballet Theatre’s JKO School).

At Pennsylvania’s Metropolitan Ballet Academy, young male students are lucky to have former Pennsylvania Ballet principal Alexander Iziliaev on faculty. Iziliaev leads the school’s Boys’ Scholarship Program, which offers tuition-free classes for boys in a full curriculum of ballet, modern, jazz, and character.

Designed to draw Philadelphia’s young male community to ballet, the program has trained more than 50 dancers each year since 1999. Some have gone on to pursue professional careers. Auditions for the 2013–2014 school year will be held this weekend for boys 7–18. Click here for more information.

Photo by Rosalie O’Connor, via Metropolitan Ballet Academy