THE Barbican Theatre is taking steps to get men into dancing.

Professional dancer Kuldip Singh-Barmi is leading specialist classes to get males moving.

The Men In Dance (MID) class started after the 2009 summer show, A Voyage to Change the World, proved popular with young men.

MID, open to men and boys aged 12 upwards, aims to create a positive profile for male dancing and to bridge a gap.

There are plenty of young men who are into street dancing culture, but few try contemporary dance or audition for the theatre's resident training company, PYDC.

Kuldip and the dancers are developing new performance work and urging others to join them.

Kuldip, a dancer, choreographer and teacher, who trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, is acutely aware of the importance of dance for men.

"I got into it through a combination of my sister being a dancer and at the same time, body poppin' and breakin' first came over to the UK," he says.

"It was a really new and exciting way of moving and this sparked an interest in dance in general.

"It is about breaking down the stigma of men dancing. It's about empowerment and men and boys harnessing their physicality. In terms of health and fitness and meeting like-minded creative people, classes like these are a good way of doing it."

Men in Dance runs on Monday nights at the Barbican Theatre and costs £50 for 9 sessions.

Meanwhile, MID is offering free workshops for schools, colleges, community and youth groups (funded by the Transformation Fund) that would like to try dance.

These are available throughout March and April. For more information call 01752 267131 or email bookings@barbicantheatre.co.uk.