 |
| Misty Copeland |
I have a deep love for Misty Copeland. Not only is she incredibly talented, she is VERY vocal about the lack of minorities/diversity in the Ballet world. Also, she's soooo beautiful right?? She continues to dance professionally and speak around the country on the importance of exposing Ballet and it's rich history to the youth, especially brown girls.
I used to be in love with ballet. However, because I was never encouraged to pursue it and I never saw dancers who looked like me, I gave up those dreams. I developed early, peeps, and a curvy ballerina is not the norm. No one ever came out and said no, but they did push my to try other styles so I could become a well rounded dancer (#Truth).
So I began to study different styles and found my passion in modern/contemporary dance. With that said, there is always a part of my that thinks "What if…"
I've spoken to many black dancers who reminisce of a past desire to be ballerinas but never got the support from their teachers and never saw the opportunity to make it to Prima Ballerina status.
Misty has signed on to be the face of Project Plie, which will award scholarships to black youth in an effort to diversify ballet.
What are your thoughts?
Is this the way to get more young black girls interested in ballet AND they way to get them within reach of Prima Ballerina status?
Hmmmm….
Project Plie
One way to get more dancers of color is to stop wondering where all the dancers of color are! I think it's easy to see those that look like you and decide to do the same. The real true brave and courageous dancer says, "screw it" and pursues a career in it regardless. I know how much respect I have for firsts in anything. btw: what is her nationality? Just wondering.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree!
ReplyDeleteMisty is of African American, German and Italian descent.
Don't get me wrong, I barely saw black dancers when I was young and I still pursued a dance career. I think people believe that because there are a small number of black dancers in prominent roles in the major ballet companies that young black dancers aren't inspired to study ballet. I believe two of the main reasons is MONEY and ACCESS.
Dance can get expensive, especially classical ballet. The average pointe shoe runs about $90 and for the serious pointe dancer, those shoes can last about a week. Also, you are not going to find great studios and great teachers in low income neighborhoods. That's not to say that all black people live in low income neighborhoods but you see where I am going with this.
AND ballet is very competitive no matter what you look like.
Best,
Remi