Thursday, March 28, 2024
Misty Copeland reflects on the ‘generational trauma’ felt by Black ballet dancers
Entertainment | phillytrib.com: Misty Copeland has grown used to having the spotlight on her at center stage.
In 2015, Copeland sprang into the highest echelons of dance when she became the first African American woman to be a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, one of the most prestigious and well-renowned dance companies in the world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I’ve always been impressed with Misty Copeland’s story. I still can’t believe that she was the only black woman in a company with 100 dancers. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that black dancers have been told that they “ruin the aesthetic” or that they can’t play the role of a sawn. It is ridiculous how much their skin color can be criticized based on meaningless things. I’m glad that Copleand was able to finally break this barrier so that more dancers of all races can feel inspired and represented in the dancer world. I cannot believe that even while Copeland was able to make it to this point, they still tried to ask her to lighten her skin tone. Dancers should not have to change their appearance in such a substantial way just to make them “easier” to light or fit the “aesthetic.” I also think it is incredible that Copeland is using her position to highlight other powerful Black women in dance and tries to recognize others who are working towards more diversity in the dance world.
For a bit of my childhood, I danced at Jones-Haywood Ballet School which is a ballet school in DC founded to give black dancers in DC a place to dance. The words of Misty Copeland reminded me a lot to those of my instructors, while not spoken directly towards me, the issue of discrimination in the dance industry is not the case of only Misty Copeland. Having to hand paint pointe shoes different colors, custom buy tights, and not having proper headpieces. I’m glad that Misty Copeland has acted as a trailblazer in this industry and is speaking out about how things need to change. While ballet still needs to work on racism, sizeism, pay parity, and general elitism, I’m glad that this conversation is finally starting to commence. It’s long overdue. My mom’s bookstore sells her book and being able to see its impact among young dancers has been wonderful.
Post a Comment