February 10-16, 2005

fine print

Delaware's Billy Elliot

by Cory Frolik

In a fifth-floor dance studio at Center City ballet school The Rock School, a sea of young dancers was treated to a screening, three hours earlier than its national airing, of the episode of MTV reality show MADE set at their school and featuring Mackenzie "Mack" Shane of Wilmington, Del.

In the episode, Shane, a 16-year-old Cab Calloway School of the Arts drama major, learned ballet at Broad Street's Rock. MTV's promos sold the show as: "Will the girls think the hottest hottie is still hot after he learns ballet?"

Shane — a vision from a Norman Rockwell dream — is tall, good looking, chiseled and a self-described "sensitive jock." While his studly rep has endured studying drama, could it survive ballet? Hard to say. When the show depicted Shane purchasing his man-thong, giggles and snickers flowed from the gathered Alicia Markovas-in-training.

Asked at the screening about Shane's peculiar interest, his best friend, Mark Brown, said, "Like people are going to make fun of him for hanging around girls all day."

But at the screening, much fun was made of Shane by his new friends (he's become close with the Rock Schoolers). His "oops, that was me body slamming my partner" face elicited uproarious laughter, and the dancers appeared to be laughing at Shane more than they were laughing with him.

When not busy helping himself to the complimentary popcorn, Rock School assistant director and resident choreographer Chris Fleming (who was Shane's tutor and resembles a pained Michael Caine in Noises Off) said of the episode, "It shows classical ballet as accessible."

Fleming wouldn't speculate whether the hottest hottie is still hot after ballet lessons. Judging by the way the troupe of bow-legged ballerinas lemminged behind him after the screening, however, the answer seems an unqualified yes.