Networks in the United Kingdom are outraged by the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), one of the most prestigious classical ballet academies in the world and founded in 1920. As published Reduxx Magazinea transgender woman known as Sophie Rebecca, passed her intermediate exams with ‘excellence’ in 2017, and became the company’s first transgender artist. Rebecca has caused a huge stir online, especially during the difficult times regarding the acceptance of transgender women’s sports.

Sophie Rebecca is a former rally driver who is 1.90 tall, started dancing at the age of 33 a very strange fact in the world of ballet, because ballet dancers usually leave their career around the age of 30 due to the burden this sport puts on a woman’s body. In her presentation on the Royal Ballet Academy’s website, Rebecca wrote “I’m faced with stereotypes all the time. People have this image in their heads when you say ‘ballet’. They believe that there is the corps de ballet or the refined and feminine. It can be, but it can also be strong and powerful. It takes a lot to become a dancer, both physically and mentally. Professional dancers are the people who inspire me the most.”

“Don’t know how to dance”

This week, Sophie Rebecca became the center of controversy on social networks after various media outlets shared a video in which she can be seen dancing. While there were users who praised her looks, many criticized Rebecca’s techniques. User LunarLemonade posted a video of himself doing a similar performance with a Royal Academy dancer, in which he reveals what the artist is capable of.

Among the comments this post received, several Twitter users criticized that “diversity should be about finding high-quality artists from different backgrounds. Diversity shouldn’t be about prioritizing mediocre artists because they have different backgrounds. Things like this hurt everyone.” Twitter user Ian Miles Cheong, who is known for speaking out about US politics, claimed that Rebecca had “all the grace of a giraffe on roller skates. Girls spend their entire childhood dabbling in ballet, but Sophie Rebecca, then 37 years old, passed the Royal Ballet Academy exam just two years after identifying as a woman.”