The ballet world is finally having conversations about race
Covid and Black Lives Matter mean the ballet world can no longer use the excuse of tradition or formalities to keep certain people out. It's time to reimagine the future and address questions of accessibility, says Misty Copeland.
As a Black woman, there are certain moments that define how you see the world.
How you see your profession. How you see your peers.
Even how you see yourself.
I’ll never forget when the American Ballet Theatre was set to film Swan Lake at the Metropolitan Opera House. This was some years ago, when I was just starting with the company and I was in the corps de ballet. I remember being so excited because it was rare that ABT would choose to record a full-length performance. This is the pinnacle of ballet in this country, putting a classic on film for the world to enjoy. That’s our Super Bowl, in a sense. I was only going to be one of the girls in the corps de ballet line in the second act, but it was important to me that I would get to be a part of that documented history.
Then one day, one of my really close friends, a Black male dancer at ABT at the time, came up to me and told me he’d overheard a staff member, right in the middle of the cafeteria, say, “Misty should be pulled from the second act.”... Keep reading on The Players' Tribune
As a Black woman, there are certain moments that define how you see the world.
How you see your profession. How you see your peers.
Even how you see yourself.
I’ll never forget when the American Ballet Theatre was set to film Swan Lake at the Metropolitan Opera House. This was some years ago, when I was just starting with the company and I was in the corps de ballet. I remember being so excited because it was rare that ABT would choose to record a full-length performance. This is the pinnacle of ballet in this country, putting a classic on film for the world to enjoy. That’s our Super Bowl, in a sense. I was only going to be one of the girls in the corps de ballet line in the second act, but it was important to me that I would get to be a part of that documented history.
Then one day, one of my really close friends, a Black male dancer at ABT at the time, came up to me and told me he’d overheard a staff member, right in the middle of the cafeteria, say, “Misty should be pulled from the second act.”... Keep reading on The Players' Tribune