For our Sounding Board column, U.S. Catholic asks authors to argue one side of a many-sided issue of importance to Catholics around the country. We also invite readers to submit their responses to these opinion essays—whether agreement or disagreement—in the survey that follows. A selection of the survey results appear below, as well as in the September 2025 issue of U.S. Catholic. You can participate in our current survey here.

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“Ballet is a woman,” famously declared George Balanchine, the legendary choreographer who helped make The Nutcracker a holiday staple. At first glance, ballet appears to center women: Most dancers are female, most children in ballet classes are girls, and the audience is largely made up of women.

Yet behind the curtain, power still skews male. Despite women holding almost 61 percent of head-of-school positions in 2025, the Data Dance Project reports that 70 percent of artistic directors at major ballet companies are men. Gender stereotypes and inequities remain deeply entrenched in the realm of ballet. As a theologian who spent much of my childhood at the barre, I can’t help but see striking parallels between the world of ballet and the Catholic Church.

Read more at: https://uscatholic.org/articles/202510/can-the-church-make-space-for-women-to-lead/