Whitney Huell – Ballet West
talent is God-given and undeniable

Last week I read a post by Deidra Riggs. I was drawn to the posts picture. A court dance scene from a ballet. I love ballet! Of course I was all over it. And the featured dancer was a young African-American man! A rare treat. So I read on. Deidras’ post highlighted an episode on the reality show Breaking Pointe, where the only African-American male dancer in the company was trying out for a role in their upcoming production of Cinderella. The role was that of a clown or jester. A slap-stick character called “Napoleon”, the brunt of all the jokes. A mid-level company member, will Josh get the role?

Deidra did a fabulous job in giving us the run down of what happened on the actual show. You can read that here…

So I’ll dig into this and join the discussion with a few remarks and since the show aired weeks ago and everyone knows by now, I’ll let you know why Josh didn’t get the role. I hope you won’t mind the diversion and pray there’s a little something here that’ll cause us to stretch and grow.

God delights in our differences…. of this I’m sure. So let’s do this…

Arthur Mitchell broke ground and made history as the first African American dancer hired by the New York City Ballet in 1955, rising to principal in 1956. Josh joins him as one of the few men who have been able to break barriers in the world of classical dance. Progress for women of color has been much slower. It wasn’t until 1990 that Lauren Anderson of Houston Ballet made history as the first African-American principal dancer in a major (read : white) dance company.

Here’s a hard truth: our country holds tight to the idea of “the princess” remaining white. Old ideas and images die hard. I watched season 1 of Breaking Pointe in 2011 hoping they would highlight Katlyn Addison and Whitney Huell, the two brown ballerinas in the studio scenes. To tell their stories. They never did. So I’ll talk here about the black girls and about the absence of black dancers in ballet in general.

Snow Flakes – The Nutcracker
that’s me on the right

I was one of the millions of little girls who dreamt of becoming a ballerina. I was one of the very few who go on to actually get paid to wear pointe shoes. By Gods grace I had the opportunity to work professionally with the internationally acclaimed Dance Theatre of Harlem. I worked with smaller regional companies as well.

Traditionally our world views a ballerina in pink. From head to toe she is swathed in pink. Leotard, tights, tutu and toe shoes….pink. She is also defined, perhaps not in word but in deed as being white. I grew up in the early 70’s and was blessed with teachers and role models who were discovering and embracing their blackness. My teachers wore dashikis and Afros and taught me about James Baldwin and Maya Angelou. I grew up with a certain sense of my self as a black woman. I know this was a blessing. Not all African-American children grow up this way.

But even then, marinated in all this positive thinking and self-love, ballerinas to me were white. Until I saw a performance by the Dance Theatre of Harlem. I was 15. A community program I participated in hosted a trip to see the company at City Center. And every dancer on the stage was brown. The girls wore pointe shoes. Graceful. Elegant. Proud. I’d never seen anything like it and my world changed. I’d always wanted to be a ballerina. Was self-taught largely through library books until then. But that night I knew it was possible. Suddenly, it was real.

I’d taken ballet classes before this. Although my parents couldn’t afford it, I found ways to dance. Community programs sponsored through the library were, back then, a haven for the arts. I’d scour the monthly calendar of free events and beg my mom to take me. I was always the only black student. I had a good time in class and teachers were mostly welcoming but a few tried to convince me to study tap or jazz. This was the late 70’s. Roughly 20 years earlier, African-Americans were sitting at the back of the bus, unable to use a library card, being hosed and inevitably – staging boycotts. As a country, we were just beginning to heal from the wounds fear, ignorance and injustice caused. Dance Theatre of Harlem made their company début in 1971 and originated as a creative response to the hatred of that time.

So the concept of African-Americans participating in the beauty of ballet was still new. Steeped in European traditions and presented as an art form for the élite – ballet and the African-American community were just being introduced. Arthur Mitchell’s is the story that made the headlines. But there were others. There were other dancers who assisted in the tearing down of these creatively restrictive walls. Doris Jones and Claire H. Haywood founded their school in 1941 and the New York Negro Ballet was founded in 1954. In church basements and community centers all over the country ballet was happening and it was happening in the ‘hood. Step by step…progress was being made.

I had to give you the history – which made this, to me, a perfect behind the scenes post. We can talk more about Josh next week and why although he didn’t get the part we can remain hopeful.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this discussion…at next weeks Behind the Scenes link-up.

Did you ever study ballet?  What are your first memories? Was there a lone black girl in your class? Was that girl, you?  I hope you’ll join me in the comments section below.