Tu tu fabulous
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on June 1, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Billy Silva and a group of six others, mostly men, follow the direction of Vanessa Spiron as she leads a class to raise money and awareness for men's health during Men in Tutus at ZPAC Acme Theatre rehearsal space Saturday afternoon. The $171 raised will be donated to Southeastern Medical Oncology Center.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Dave Johnson stretches in a handmade pink tutu during the event. Many of the participants in the class had friends and family watching to cheer them on.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Charlie Holt, 2, joins her mother, Kelly, in a cool-down exercise during the Men in Tutus fundraiser Saturday. Charlie's father, Jason, also participated in the barre class.
The dancers paused to adjust their tutus Saturday.
As they stretched and tried to touch their toes, there were more than a few groans.
Ballet looks a lot easier than it is.
But the ballerinas gave it their best shot -- even if their muscles made graceful and fluid movements a little bit tough.
It was for a good cause.
The 10 brave men who converged on the Acme Theatre on Center Street were there to raise awareness about men's heath.
They had accepted the challenge to practice a workout routine traditionally performed by women that combines pilates, yoga and bodyweight strength training.
In addition to the tutus, the dancers wore special T-shirts emblazoned with the words "tu tu handsome."
The group was led by Xenia Preveziotis. The goal? To encourage men to talk about health concerns, something that is often harder than getting them to do a ballet routine, she said.
"All these men are very inspirational," Mrs. Preveziotis said. "It's hard for them to put on tutus and do this workout. Men are very vulnerable when it comes to talking about health issues, and we thought the tutus would help them break out of their shells and talk about more sensitive issues."
Mrs. Preveziotis' husband, Chris, attended the workout.
He said it was the first time he had ever seen his wife instruct a class -- or worked out with her -- even though she is a regular instructor at the local YMCA.
He was blown away.
"She's extremely flexible and I'm still sweating," he said. "Her enthusiasm for what she does really knocked me out."
The event doubled as a fundraiser for the Southeastern Medical Oncology Center.
Mrs. Preveziotis said she was happy to see residents of Goldsboro stepping outside the box to do something a bit unusual -- especially something that benefited men.
"Women are not the center of the world," Mrs. Preveziotis joked. "Goldsboro has been so narrow-minded about this class and this sort of thing, and now people are finally opening up to the idea."
Saturday's workout participants said the workout, while it might have looked funny doing it in a tutu, was no joke.
"It kicked my butt," Kevin Fortney said. "It's definitely not something that's just for women. The leg lifts we were doing was the hardest part for me. Wearing a tutu was fine. I'm always up for a little public humiliation. I'd do anything for charity."
Sandra Stewart said she couldn't stop laughing while she was watching her husband, Christopher, do the workout in a tutu.
"I was cracking up the entire time," she said.
Stewart said putting on the tutu was the easy part about the entire ordeal.
"The tutu really was OK. The stretching was the hard part," he said. "Trying to elevate my legs for the different leg lifts was definitely difficult. I know the Preveziotises through Cub Scouts. Chris is a den leader. And they asked me to come, and I didn't have any second thoughts about it."
Stewart said his wife puts his long hair in a bun each morning when they wake up.
"I've got to do his hair every morning, so seeing him in a tutu wasn't all that different," Mrs. Stewart joked.