Colorlines: At one point during "A Ballerina's Tale," the Misty Copeland documentary airing tonight (February 8) on PBS, we see the history-making principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre gazing up at a banner advertising her performance of "Firebird" at the Metropolitan Opera House. The sign displays a gorgeous photo of Copeland, back arched, flames flowing from her body. "Oh my God, that's a curvy Black woman on the front of the Met," she says with astonishment. "That's me."
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This article really emphasizes the importance of representation and accessibility. One of the things that stood out to me the most was just how ingrained racism has become in the world of ballet. Women of color are criticized for having a certain figure rather than their technique, and are incorrectly viewed as inferior for it. Children are going to dance classes where everyone looks the same other than them. The dance world should be ashamed that more progress hasn't been made more quickly, and that they haven't made more of an effort to include everyone. BGBD is such an important organization for this reason, as whiteness has for far too long been the norm in ballet. Increased accessibility to dance programs for low-income families is the first step to making change, as this will eventually lead to more representation. Once representation increases then diversity in ballet will finally become a norm, which it should have been all along.
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